Top Art & Design Schools In 2021

The recently released QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021 features 220 of the top higher education institutions to study art and design.

QS Rankings by Subject are based on four indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations per paper and the H-index (a way of measuring the productivity and published work of a scientist or scholar). You can find more details about the methodology behind the subject rankings here. The weightings of certain indicators vary by subject, with art and design assessed based solely on academic reputation and employer reputation.

Read on to learn more about the best art and design schools in each region. Alternatively, if you would like to explore the top art and design schools further, click here to view the full table.

An impressive 39 schools in the US feature in the art and design rankings, as well as seven schools in Canada. The top ten is comprised of five US Art & Design schools, three British ones, and Italy’s Politecnico di Milano and Finland’s Aalto University - the highest position achieved by any Finnish institution across the 48 subject tables.

Outside of the top 10, other highly ranked US schools include new entrant, New York’s New School University (14th place), California Institute of the Arts (17th)  Carnegie Mellon University (18th) and Stanford University (19th).

Heading north, Canada has one entrant in the top 50 this year, the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, who climb up the rankings from joint 40th to 30th in 2021. Other notable art and design schools in Canada include Concordia University and University of Toronto (both ranked 51-100).

There are 91 leading European art schools featured in the ranking, including 18 in the global top 50. The United Kingdom is the most well-represented country in Europe, with 27 programs in the rankings. Outside of the top 10, notable institutions in the UK include Goldsmiths, University of London (joint 15^th place), Loughborough University (31^st), University of Oxford (36^th) and University College London (UCL, joint 48^th).

Outside of the UK, Italy is the most well-represented country in Europe, with nine schools in the rankings. Highest ranked of these is Politecnico di Milano, ranked fifth in the world, plus Italy has two new entrants this year: NABA - Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (51-100) and Università degli Studi di Firenze (UNIFI, 201-220).

Whilst there are no French schools in the top 10, two make it into the top 50, with École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle, ENSCI Les Ateliers taking 26^th place and Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs (ENSAD) in joint 39^th. Also, with two entrants in the top 50 is Sweden, with Umeå University in joint 33^rd and Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design rising to 26^th place this year. 

Other notable European institutions in the global top 50 for art and design include new entrant, the Netherlands’ Delft University of Technology (11^th) Design Academy Eindhoven (12^th place), The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts - The School of Design (22^nd), Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK, 35^th) and Universität der Knste Berlin (joint 41^st).