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College of Design
Female student working on graphic design drawing

Iowa State University College of Design

Welcome to one of the nation’s most comprehensive design institutions for art and design

You’re invited to create a better future at the College of Design. We offer an impressive array of majors under one roof, providing a strong, multidisciplinary experience that encourages experimentation, unconstrained creativity, and global collaboration.

We offer 11 undergraduate majors; 8 undergraduate minors; 1 post-baccalaureate certificate; 10 graduate majors; 2 graduate certificates and 3 graduate minors.

  • 94%

    of our graduates were either employed or continuing education within six months of graduation, showing they graduate highly-skilled and are in high-demand

A small college, a big university, and you benefit from both

The College of Design is the smallest college at Iowa State University, comprising around 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Design students benefit from a breadth of opportunities and services to complement and enrich their academic careers, all while enjoying an average class size of 16 students.

With hands-on instruction from our nationally and internationally renowned faculty and state-of-the-art production and fabrication facilities, you really get the best of both worlds.

We are proud to be housed within a land-grant institution.

Luis Rico-Gutierrez headshot

In design, we use our understanding of human aspirations to imagine the future. We marry the poetic and the pragmatic to improve people’s lives.

Luis Rico-Gutierrez, Dean, Iowa State University College of Design

Interdisciplinary Studios

As one of the country’s most comprehensive design institutions Iowa State University’s College of Design is uniquely positioned to solve complex, contemporary design challenges through interdisciplinary collaboration. Explore our unique annual interdisciplinary studios wherein students work together across majors to innovate and implement the UN’s Goals of Sustainable Development in today’s design issues.

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Explore our departments

Professor of Architecture teaching a class.

Making a difference

At the College of Design, our faculty, staff, and students don’t just dream of the future. They enable it.

Through research and outreach programs and initiatives, our designers are helping to build solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges and actively seek to improve the quality of life experiences for everyone, everywhere.

What’s happening in the College of Design?

Where innovation is a state of mind

Our students regularly test the boundaries of what is thought to be possible. They strive to make a difference in their communities and the world. They want to leave their mark and at the College of Design, we work to make it possible. Through coursework and extracurricular activities, our students are constantly honing their skills.

Students collaborating and brainstorming as part of an Innovation and Entrepreneurship event.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

We believe everyone has a spark of innovation within them. That’s why we embed innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities into our coursework, research, facilities, and student resources. See what innovative and entrepreneurial opportunities await you at the College of Design.

College of Design student working on class project.

A Cyclone in the Making

Find your place at Iowa State University’s College of Design, where we like to ask questions, poke and prod, create something new, and make a difference through design.