New York is a mecca for design and architecture students — graduating more of both than any other city in the country, according to a new report. It goes on to suggest that the city should do more to help job growth in those industries.
The report, released yesterday by the Center for an Urban Future, lauds the number of graduates in both design and architecture fields. It notes that graduates from each create jobs and launch notable firms such as Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan International.
As planning for a new applied science campus at Roosevelt Island, proposed by Cornell University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, gets underway, the report said that this kind of attention should be lavished on the design fields.
New York is first in design degrees, awarding 3,693 in 2010, and second in architecture, giving out 585 degrees in 2010 as a runner-up to Boston.
And one third of the Council of Fashion Designers of America — 129 of 386 members — attended one of three New York City designs schools: The Fashion Institute of Technology, Pratt Institute or Parsons The New School for Design. About 20 percent of Pratt, Parsons and School of Visual Arts graduates started their own businesses, at a higher rate than graduates from design schools elsewhere, the report noted.
Enrollment is also up, with enrollment at the 10 largest design and architecture schools growing by 34 percent between 2001 and 2010.
The report suggested that the Roosevelt Island school, focusing on the applied sciences and engineering, should be linked to design work.
“Designers and architects have a huge role to play in all of these areas,” according to the report.
Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter @AlisonatMetro
