Person standing indoors points at a large wall display of printed design boards and diagrams while holding notes. Several architectural and urban design images are mounted on the wall, and two seated viewers are visible below, looking up at the presentation.

Design Degree Programs

What Will You Design?

Buildings. Brands. Apps. Solutions. Sustainable spaces. Experiences no one has thought of yet.

At the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture, design starts with curiosity and becomes something you can make, test, share, and put into the world. Learn by doing. Work alongside other creative people. Explore new technologies. Take on real design problems. Develop the skills to make real changes.

You see possibilities everywhere. So do we.

Explore ideas in the studio, experiment with new tools and technologies, solve problems that matter, and learn how great design can connect people, tell stories, shape experiences, and impact the way we see the world.

Start exploring. Your kind of design is here.

Request Information Schedule a Visit Apply Now

Undergraduate Design Programs

Design Minors + Certificates

Alumni Spotlight

Design

Makeup in the window.
Punks on a ledge.
Headshot of

alumni spotlight

J. Ryan Ulsh

Graphic Design, B.Des. 2012

J. Ryan Ulsh is a New York City-based photographer, art director and entrepreneur. He started his own successful business specializing in art direction, photography, and prop styling for beauty, fashion, and lifestyle clients, including Elle and GQ magazines, Carolina Herrera, and Urban Outfitters.

www.jryanulsh.com

Design Happening...

First year architecture students collaborated on a group project, building a structure made out of cardboard.
Inside spreads of High Steaks magazine
The inside of a packaging design for the product Ink.
The exterior, floorplans, schematic, and cross section of a proposed building.
Several inside spreads of Echo Ego magazine.
View of a mixing board, from over the shoulder of the operating student
Student pointing to costume designs shown on a wall; part of a student work showcase
View of a CNC control computer screen with a CNC router running in the background
A student holds a small 3D‑pen sculpture made of white and red filament while shaping it with a handheld 3D printing pen.
Colorful wall display featuring rows of illustrated Interboro beer cans with varied graphic labels arranged against bright blocks of color.
Theatre student running control board
Closeup of a hand, sketching an architectural drawing on transparent paper
Architectural landscape plans covered with drafting pens, pencils, a green template, and a sketchbook with hand-drawn design studies.
A student, seen reflected in a mirror surrounded by plants; part of the national Parking Day landscape architecture event
Knitted tension structure on display.