20 Best Automotive Design Schools in US 2024
The 20 Best Automotive Design Schools in US. Passion for design and creativity are the benchmarks in becoming a transportation designer, that includes designing a car or bike or any mobility product. An automotive design degree from one of the best automobile design schools will convert your unrefined auto designs to world wonders.
Design schools come in various forms, like variations in tuition fee, scholarships, degrees awarded, connect with the automotive industry and internships provided, course duration, industry-sponsored projects, student exchange programs. We would show you the right degrees you need and the best schools to attend to get them. We will also give you adequate career information for automobile designers.
What are the Best Automotive Design School in the USA?
Here is the list of design schools/colleges recommended for enrolment to advance a career in automotive design.
- Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Tech.
- Clemson Automotive Engineering.
- Art Center College of Design.
- Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design.
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kettering University.
- School of Engineering and Technology, IUPUI.
- Herberger Institute for Design and Arts – ASU.
- Integrative Systems + Design department, the University of Michigan.
- Art + Art History + Design, University of Washington.
- The School of Art + Design, the University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign.
- College of Design, NC State University.
What Kind of Education do you Need to Become an Automotive Designer?
The minimum educational requirement for automotive designers is a bachelor’s degree. However, you will hardly see a college in the USA offering an automotive designer degree. You will need either an undergraduate degree in Industrial Design, Automotive Engineering, or Industrial Engineering to progress in your career.
For Industrial Engineering, however, your program will cover courses in computer science and electronics technology. For Automotive engineering, you will take courses in prototype and operational testing and vehicular systems technology.
Top 10 Best Automotive Design Schools in US
Passion for design and creativity are the benchmarks in becoming a transportation designer, that includes designing a car or bike or any mobility product.
1. The School of Art + Design, the University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign
The School of Art + Design of the University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign offers its Industrial Design degrees. These degree which prepares automotive designers for a career path in Product design, transport design, etc are one of the best in the United State.
2. Integrative Systems + Design department, the University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is arguably the best school in the USA to take an automotive engineering program towards an automobile design career. This university in Michigan offers a Master of Engineering in Automotive Engineering and a Sequential Undergraduate/Graduate Study (SUGS). It does this through its Integrative Systems + Design department (ISD).
3. Art + Art History + Design, University of Washington.
The University of Washington – Seatle Campus offers its Industrial Design through its School of Art + Art History + Design. It is one of the best automobile schools in the USA with its Industrial degree programs.
4. Herberger Institute for Design and Arts – ASU
Arizona State University (ASU) is one of the best schools for automotive design. The Art Career Project ranked ASU Design School’s Industrial Design program 20th in 2018. ASU’s degree in Industrial Design prepares students for a professional career in product design, concentrating on the development of manufactured objects people use on a daily basis.
5. College of Design, NC State University
North Carolina (NC) State University at Raleigh with its “Think and do the Extraordinary” slogan offers one of the best Industrial Design Programs in the US. Through its College of Design, NC State University offers a Bachelor of Industrial Design (BID) degree for undergraduates and a Master of Industrial Design (MID) for graduates.
6. Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design
The University of Houston through its Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design offers two kinds of degree programs in Industrial Design. These programs create a pathway for a career in Automobile Design as well as in other innovative areas of design.
7. Clemson Automotive Engineering
Clemson University is almost a school of automotive engineering, having a department wholly dedicated to the discipline. This is unlike most schools that offer the automotive engineering program through their mechanical engineering faculty. The university actually proclaims its Automotive Engineering department as the school for the brightest and best talented automotive-inclined students.
8. School of Engineering and Technology, IUPUI.
Indiana University – Purdue University (IUPUI) is especially the school for automobile designers who are interested in motorsports. Through its School of Engineering and Technology, IUPUI offers a bachelor of science in motorsports engineering (B.S.M.O.E).
9. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Tech.
Georgia Institute of technology or Georgia Tech is one of the best schools in the USA to take an automotive engineering degree towards a career as an automotive designer. Through its Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Tech offers both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Engineering with an Automotive concentration.
10. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kettering University.
Kettering University is another of the best schools in the USA for Engineering students who wish to grow a career in the automobile field. At Kettering, you will get an internationally respected master of science in Engineering with a concentration in Automotive Systems.
Types of Automotive Degrees
Degrees for Automotive Engineering can be far and few between, but there are several institutions that provide the extra emphasis on vehicles.
- Mechanical Engineering will branch out into any mechanical system, making it the broadest degree available in the engineering field. While it will encompass some specifics for vehicles, it will also overlap aerospace, metallurgical, civil, electrical, chemical, manufacturing, industrial, and even biomedical engineering.
- Automobile/Automotive Engineering is entirely focused on the design, manufacturing, and operation of motorcycles, automobiles, and trucks.
The World’s Best Automotive Design Schools and Colleges
1. College for Creative Studies – USA
College for Creative Studies (CCS) is one of the world’s leading automotive design schools located in Detroit, Michigan, US. It has a very impressive college campus within the most populous and largest city of the US with well-equipped, distinguished space and top-notch facilities for each department of studies.
2. IAAD – Torino
IAAD department of “Car Body Architecture” is the first in Italy that opened in Turin in 1978. We know Turin is the epicenter of automotive design and one of the centres of excellence in the international automotive industry.
3. Pforzheim University – Germany
Pforzheim is the oldest art and design school. It offers one of the leading automotive programs worldwide. More than 130 years of education in design. The campus is close to well-known automotive headquarters like Bosch, Porsche, and surrounded by leading companies. Transportation degree course at Pforzheim is internationally recognized for its excellence.
4. ISD Rubika – France.
ISD Rubika is known for its design methodology that goes beyond aesthetics and/or functionality, into a multidisciplinary approach for all projects. Student projects from ISD have won Ferrari’s Top Design School Challenge (2015), IF Concept Design awards (2014).
5. Strate School of Design – France
Strate is a reputed design school. The school claims that there is not a single car company without Strate alumni. Students at Strate are well-trained by experienced designers through master classes and internships in reputed automotive firms.
6. Umea Institute of Design – Sweden
Umea University is the fifth oldest within Sweden’s present borders. The Institute is known for its high academic standards. Education at Umea means students to have an open mind on conceptual and realistic design solutions. Most student projects at Umea are to build realistic vehicle concepts for the future.
7. Royal College of Art – London, UK.
Royal College of Art (RCA) is an entirely postgraduate art and design university in the world. Specializing in teaching and research, RCA offers degrees in MA, MPhil and PhD across various disciplines like fine arts, applied art, design, communications and humanities.
8. Coventry University – UK
School of art and design at Coventry University is known for producing highly employable graduates, whose contribution to the automotive industry is tremendous. Students receive support from the faculty who are practitioners and researchers in their respective fields.
9. Art Center College of Design – CA, USA.
Art Center is a global leader in Art and Design education. Renowned for both its ties to industry and social impact initiatives, the College is the first design school to receive the United Nations’ Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status.
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Good morning my name is Maccido Abdullahi from Nigeria.
I’m a designer please I need scholarship