I’m interested in studying design and want to go to a university that provides a good variety of options and is located in an urban setting.
Possibilities (depending on your qualifications and budget) might include Carnegie Mellon, MIT, RISD, Cooper Union, Pratt, Parsons, MICA, NYU, and UCincinnati. Depending on what you mean by an “urban setting”, Stanford might be another good choice.
If none of these work for your qualifications/budget, then check out programs at public schools in your home state. If cost isn’t an issue, then depending on what you mean by “design”, many other art schools, technical institutes, or comprehensive research universities might work.
You might get better-tailored advice if you provide more details about your interests & goals, qualifications, personal preferences (school location, size, etc.), and family financial circumstances (income, college savings/budget, etc.)
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1621234-before-you-ask-which-colleges-to-apply-to-please-consider-p1.html
You could add The New School (NYC) to the excellent suggestions above.
@merc81 …Parsons is part of The New School!
My nephew was in the DAP program at Univ. of Cinci and had a great experience. He did two semester long co-ops in industry, a summer internship and a semester in Berlin. Not your traditional college experience b/c he was off campus so much but he loved it and immediately got a great job with a design firm in Boston after graduating.
NC State has some strong design programs too and great industry partnerships too – though I’m less familiar with them.
What kind of design are you interested in? Different programs have different options and strengths. It’s a very different picture if you want Product Design vs. Graphic Design vs. Fashion Design vs. Interior Design and etc. etc.
It’s also hard to tell what you should be targeting without some basics about stats and financial constraints.
But Northeastern has some very interesting design programs as well as the option of combined majors that blend design with other fields like computer science, journalism, business, communications, etc. In addition to great co-op experiences, you can also get involved in the student-led design studio: https://web.northeastern.edu/scout/ And you can’t beat the urban setting. Also, if you like co-op schools look at U of Cincinnati as mentioned above, and Drexel, and RIT.
Virginia Commonwealth University has great graphic and interior design programs, and Richmond is a very fun city with lots going on, great food, parks, museums, festivals, etc.
Rochester Institute of Technology is another good choice to consider.
Seconding Parsons, then, @smile_in.
Rhode Island School of Design !