Select Page

Animation Career Review ranks MIAD Communication Design program top in state

In its 2024 rankings, Animation Career Review named the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) the top college for graphic design in Wisconsin and among the top 15 in the midwest. The rankings considered over 700 schools with graphic design programs from across the United States.

Animation Career Review compiles regional and national rankings based on surveys, employment data and US Department of Education scorecards, among other methods. The journal considers factors like academic reputation, admissions, program faculty, program value, and graduation and retention rates.

MIAD’s Communication Design program ranked #1 in Wisconsin and is among the top 15 graphic design colleges in the midwest. MIAD is also ranked in the top 25 private colleges offering graphic design in the nation.

“These rankings are a direct reflection of my faculty’s hard work and dedication to our program [and] college, as well as their incredible drive to provide the best design education in the country to all of MIAD’s students, every single day,” says Adam Setala, Chair of Communication Design at MIAD. “It’s also a testament to just how amazing and likewise dedicated our students are.”

Communication Design at MIAD emphasizes solution-oriented and hands-on visual literacy, professional preparation and clear communication. Employers of MIAD’s Communication Design graduates include Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Google, Nike, Wizards of the Coast, Anthropologie, and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Recently, Graphic Design USA Magazine also recognized MIAD as a 2024 Top Design School. Two MIAD students were named 2024 GDUSA Students to Watch, and in 2023 three additional students were awarded at the GDUSA 60th Anniversary Design Competition Awards.

Learn more about MIAD’s Communication Design program!

News

MIAD Values Recognition Award: Leslie Fedorchuk

Leslie Fedorchuk, Professor of Writing & Humanities and Director of Service Learning, received the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) MIAD Values Recognition Award for February 2026. Leslie received nominations that highlighted her embodiment of MIAD’s Core Values, especially Integrity, Kindness and Community.

MIAD Innovation Center and MAM provide career experience

Through a partnership with the MIAD Lubar Innovation Center, stunning campaign artwork by a student at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) once again is helping to launch Art in Bloom – the Milwaukee Art Museum’s annual celebration of art and spring. Illustrations by senior Emily Porven ’26 are both vibrant and subtle, colorful and evocative, capturing the essence of the event.

Nohl Alumni Award propels lasting impact for MIAD professor

Receiving a Ruth Arts Mary L. Nohl Alumni Award has both immediate and longer-term impacts for Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design Professor Jon Horvath; for himself as an artist, for the arts community and for MIAD students. Horvath, who teaches in MIAD’s Fine Art + New Studio Practice major, was one of three artists and one collective recently given the award, which provides $25,000 in unrestricted funds to each.

Arts education lays groundwork for MIAD alum curatorial role

Nikki Ranney ’22 (Illustration), the new curator of the Cedarburg Art Museum, says she “is so grateful that I went through my Bachelor of Fine Arts and got to experience a traditional art education at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design because it laid the groundwork for the more academic side of the curatorial field.”

Museum Studies class: Hands-on exhibition and career experience

Last fall’s Museum Studies class at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) has solidified a career choice for at least one of the 16 students who took it. The class was on the go all semester, visiting museums throughout Milwaukee, meeting with professionals and thinking critically about the role of museums in our society.