Toy Design Degrees

Overview

Every individual has a favorite toy from their childhood. It could be a soft toy, blocks, or any other toy piece. If you love toys and are also interested in creating one, you can take up a course in toy designing. Toy designing degrees will help you implement your creative ideas and create a unique toy.

Some of the factors you need to keep in mind while designing the toy include the material to use, colors, utility, and an appealing effect for children. Also, while designing a toy, you need to make up your mind as to whether you plan to design an educative toy or one that is purely for amusement purposes. Toy design schools train their students on all these factors and considerations. The curriculum of this degree generally includes toy design, drawing, technical illustration, child psychology, model making, and technical problem solving.

Benefits

You can hope to have diverse job opportunities once you complete a toy design degree. You can take up the job of a toy designer at a big manufacturing company where your ideas may be implemented and result in the mass production of the toys. However, if entrepreneurship interests you, then you can start your own toy design and manufacturing company. Other options include implementation of your ideas and artistic talents in industrial and furniture design or even animation illustration. You can even take to writing books on toy design or become a design instructor at a college. The salary package for a toy designer with a few years of experience can range anywhere between $43,083 and $62,065.

Costs

The cost of pursuing a toy design degree course depends on the length of the program and the college that you have opted for. For a bachelor's degree in toy designing, you may have to shell out $30,660 towards the tuition fee alone. Food, lodging, and transportation may result in additional expenditure. You can hope to minimize the expense if you succeed in getting a scholarship or funding from your college.

Schools

Otis College of Art and Design and Fashion Institute of Technology are two of the colleges in the United States that offer toy design degree courses. There are some other schools, like the Pratt Institute, that offers this course as a part of the industrial design graduate program.

Testing & Preparation

You may be required to take up the American College Test (ACT) or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) to determine your eligibility for the admission. If you happen to be an international student, then you will also be required to produce your Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score. You are expected to have a good academic score in your high school or graduation and the completed certificates may have to be produced. You can prepare a portfolio of all the artwork done by you, which will be an added advantage. Attending crash courses and workshops related to toy designing might help you to have a better idea about the full time degree course.

Financial Aid

The colleges have a program to offer financial aid and scholarships to their students. You may get in touch with the Otis College of Art and Design and Fashion Institute of Technology for more details on their financial aid program. Federal Student Aid also provides scholarships to the worthy students. Apart from these scholarships, you may also avail student loans from several banks. If you are an international student looking to study in the US, or an American student looking for a study abroad program, you can also apply for the International Student Loan.