Pratt Institute’s Graduate Communications & Packaging Design department began as this nation’s first Master’s-level visual communications program. The department has always aimed at creating leaders in the visual communications & design industry. From it’s inception, our degree program has provided students with the skills to use the most effective media to express ideas, but the focus has always been on creative problem solving. Many of our students come here to further their career in the design industry, or begin a journey towards design education. For every student, graduate school provides the opportunity to develop and refine their design process and creative skills leading to professional competence and leadership. But first and foremost, graduate school is a time for each individual to discover his design voice.

Our Graduate Communications Design degree is ranked in the top 10 of 220 graduate schools in the nation, as reported in U.S. News & World Report in June 2008. The department’s faculty includes highly regarded professional designers, authors, marketing and media specialists, who are associated with some of New York’s most creative firms and prestigious companies. Several faculty have written pivotal design books, and many have been been honored with design awards and articles from the AIGA, Print Magazine, Communication Arts Magazine, Eye Magazine, and The Art Directors Club. The faculty members are important contacts who introduce their students to the latest industry trends and technologies and whose varied areas of expertise allow students to explore many avenues of design and social issues, such as digital media, design ethics, and environmentally-conscious packaging.