Founded in 1916 as The Commercial Art School, the College was one of the first applied art and design schools in the United States. The College became widely known in the 1930s as Ray-Vogue School in recognition of its professional programs in art and design. The College was renamed Ray College of Design in 1981, and grew to the Schaumburg location in 1983. In 1995, the College joined The Art Institutes and then became The Illinois Institute of Art-Schaumburg.