An Artistic Kid who Doesn't Want to Major in Art

Parents Forum
1

Like many young college students, my daughter hasn’t found her “passion” and is currently having a mild crisis about choosing a major. She’s a first semester freshman. She goes to a small LAC.

I tried to talk her into attending a large university because I could see this coming a mile away, but she insisted on choosing a small school, which doesn’t offer a wide variety of majors.

She is very talented at art, but she outright rejects any kind of art major - she says she wants to do “something more meaningful” in life. With her particular talents she would be great at fashion design (she drew beautiful clothing for years between the ages of 7-13, then decided she was too old for that anymore), textile design, interior decorating - but she’s not interested. But she gets a lot of enjoyment out of doing creative things, and incorporates art and creativity whenever she can in her school work.

She’s not interested in STEM majors, even though she’s academically capable. She has a great love of reading and literature, so I’ve been slightly nudging her toward an English major, because I think there would be some good job opportunities for people who are skilled in writing. None of the majors that her school offers seems really interesting to her.

My opinion is that she could express her artistic creativity in practically any job - I was a professional in a natural resource management field and I had a lot of opportunities to use my comparatively lame artistic talents even in writing dull technical documents (I liked to draw maps and technical illustrations using software like Adobe Illustrator).

But I also think she’s passing up some opportunities to develop her talents and do what makes her happy, but I just don’t know what to suggest for her to do (and she has asked for my opinion). Her school has a minor in a program called “Visual Studies” which from what I’ve read is a few art classes combined with various electives in a wide range of fields like math and computer science, and humanities. The thought is to study the way visual images impact our thinking, attitudes, etc. is what I make of it.

I’ve looked through the catalogs of the nearby schools where she is allowed to take classes and there are classes in art of course, but also photography, digital design, GIS (she says no to maps though), video production, web design, etc. which I think could be interesting and useful in a lot of careers, but there’s no “major” or “program” for taking random classes like that.

So does anyone have any advice or ideas for how she could incorporate her love of art into some sort of career where she could actually make a living and “do something meaningful”. I know she could always do art as a hobby, but drawing is something that she really loves doing. She was in a gifted/talented program for creativity in elementary school (got in after completing some type of test???), so her creativity was recognized as early as 2nd grade.

Thanks for any help!

2

Being good at art is not the same as being an artist.
Our extended family has many of the former (including one of my sons) and only one (two by some definitions) of the latter.

She will find her path. Not to be disrespectful, and I’m sure you’re motivated by love, but butt out. Give her some space and time.

3

Thanks, no disrespect, but I’m thinking I’ll get some helpful opinions and advice that I can pass on to her here.

BTW, I made it clear that she has no illusions about being an “artist” and does not want to make art her career. And I don’t exactly agree with your definition either.

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Marketing, graphic design.

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That was intended to be helpful. Sorry if you only want advice to relay to her, rather than advice to you. I hope it works out.

6

Rather than asking her to commit to a major, ask her to “try a class” in multiple possible departments. Kids often don’t realize what a field is about, either because it wasn’t offered in high school or because it’s a different ballgame in college.

Encourage her to use academic advising at her school. She needs to supplement your advice by talking to someone who works with undecided kids regularly and who isn’t involved emotionally.

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@intparent They don’t offer either of those programs at the three schools she can take courses at. They have like one graphic design course, one web design course, and no business programs. These are very small LAC’s, so that’s the problem. She’s not really interested in business either - that’s not “meaningful” enough for her.

I kind of think some sort of self designed communications minor might work, where she could include those few courses that are available in graphic design, web design, etc.

If not, she’ll have to transfer to another school to have more options - which I know she doesn’t want to do.

8

Sustainable design, urban planning, environmental studies- anything involving how to incorporate Green principles into industrial practices or how people live and interact with the environment will have a huge visual component. What will airports look like with the adoption of the driverless car or the ubiquity of Uber/Lyft (i.e. what to do with a half empty parking garage?)

Branding, marketing/advertising, social media management. All very visually oriented.

Psychology- particularly focused on behavioral economics- why will someone pay $1.00 per bag for 5 cookies with a calorie count of 100 vs. paying $3.00 for a bag of 50 cookies (i.e. paying more for many fewer cookies). Why don’t casinos have clocks? Why does Weight Watchers use the colors it uses in its graphics, how do hotels use the layout of their lobbies to get you to pay more for a cruddier room than you could get at a competitor with better rooms across the street, how to reconfigure the restrooms in public spaces (airports, arenas, etc.) to minimize the “line of women down the block but no line for the men” problem?

Your D likely doesn’t realize how integral space/design/visual cues are in a wide range of fields which is totally fine- she’s a freshman!

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@AroundHere Oh, she’s doing that! She’s required to take classes in a wide variety a fields during the first two years, and after one semester of “experimenting” she’s still kind of lost. She has definitely found out that she doesn’t want to delve any further in a couple of areas, she thinks one class is interesting but she can’t see what she’d do with the major, and the class she loves is the intensive writing course based on readings on an interesting theme.

And yes, I did tell her just last night to talk to her advisor, who she feels isn’t really letting her “experiment” enough. I also advised her to talk to someone in the visual art department re her desire to incorporate art-y type courses into a non-art major and she seemed open to doing that. I just have found that the CC community can offer some great ideas, so I thought I’d fish for some input here :).

Thanks for your help.

10

My gifted artist D will graduate next year with degrees in architectural and structural engineering. The other artistic D is studying economics and math, studying abroad a lot, doing internships with nonprofits, and using her artistic skills doing newsletters and light graphic design at those things. She also does some artistic stuff at her campus job in the events office. She’s at an LAC so I understand the limitations you see, but my D is also taking advantage of the ease of talking to professors about her interests, plenty of advising and help, and the things a small school does well.

Best advice—encourage your D to work on her general requirements by taking classes in a variety of subjects, especially those she didn’t encounter in high school. She should talk to her advisors about her indecision, talk to the career center about what services they offer to help her decide, consider studying abroad. If she settles on something that she just can’t get at her LAC, have her, not you, look into transferring and you can discuss any financial limitations with her if she’s serious about that. It doesn’t have to be art just because she’s great at it and enjoys it. My engineering kid absolutely did not want art to be her job. She still does a lot of art on her own and it’s a source of joy for her.

I was an undecided major. It took me the first two years to figure out a major, but I did. Don’t rush your D unnecessarily or push her towards art just because she isn’t sure. Sounds like she’s good at a lot of things and will have many options in the future.

11

As a first semester frosh, she has a few more semesters to decide. (It would be more worrisome if she were a second year student approaching the deadline to choose a major.)

Does she have any possible majors or subjects of interest that she can take introductory courses in?

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Thanks @blossom No business/marketing programs available.

I do think that many fields indeed have some visual aspect, but she seems to have a need for real hands-on creative work - not broad visual theory. She’s kind of hyper and it seems to be very calming and satisfying for her to create art, or other visual works like powerpoints, etc.

Her school does have urban planning, and I’ve suggested she look into that. She sadly does not want to have anything to do with Environmental Studies (my youngest does though). Both my husband and I worked in “outdoor environmental” fields, and she’s told us she will not be following in our footsteps.

I do think that she will find a way to use her visual creativity in some meaningful way, but she’s feeling pressure in scheduling her courses for next semester from her adviser who she doesn’t feel is being very understanding of her strengths and interests. This is a time when she is supposed to be experimenting and dabbling in a wide range of study areas, and her adviser has denied her from choosing a couple of courses (not anything art related) and she’s kind of frustrated. I told her that maybe her adviser was looking out for her best interests - maybe she was familiar with those particular courses/professors and had a reason for not allowing her to take them. Anyway, I guess I’m just searching for some ideas that she could present to her adviser to help her communicate to her what she feels is academically and mentally fulfilling for her.

Thanks again for your help.

13

Sounds like she has a lot of ideas of what she doesn’t want… she would benefit from spending time in her college career center, I suspect.

14

What kinds of things DOES she find “meaningful”?

IANAP but just a thought that she may secretly feel as if her talent is not “good enough” to pass muster in the “real world”. While this may or may not be true, she may not be able to know for sure without more training.

And since when can an advisor prevent you from registering from something? Maybe she should get more advice from someone else?

15

She does not need to major in business to get a job in business.

There are many types of roles in environmental studies with only a tenuous link to the “outdoors”- people who work in sustainability for apparel companies for example. They deal with supply chain management, the health and safety of the people who handle dyes and chemicals, breathe in fibers in textile plants, and calculate the costs/benefits of various modes of transportation, storage, “just in time” technologies, etc.

She needs to read!!! If her reaction to every suggestion is “not me” she likely doesn’t know enough about these fields to even assess critically.

16

Here’s one important comment by the OP: “But she gets a lot of enjoyment out of doing creative things, and incorporates art and creativity whenever she can in her school work.”

That will be her hallmark in whatever she does later in studies and life. My daughter was also talented in art and insisted that she only wanted to apply to art schools. And that she did. She attended RISD, and majored in “industrial design.” But at RISD she was able to take several courses at Brown. She discovered an interest in ecological/environmental issues, an in fact was awarded a “Rachel Carson Award” at RISD for her environmental focus. After struggling in the real economy as a designer for several years, and then running into the 2008 market crash, she decided to go back to school. She studied hard for the GMAT, then earned an MS in “Sustainable Systems” and an MBA. This permitted a career shift. While she doesn’t DO art, she does do design as well as projects promoting sustainable business.

This is not an exact model for the OP’s daughter. But it’s intended as a lesson. Student learn to adapt their studies and work to fit their underlying talents and interests. This can take time. What’s most important is to be a thinking, creative and hard-working person. Then ideas and projects (and jobs) will likely eventually come along. And thus a career is made. You cannot predict or preset this exactly. You let it happen. The important thing is to keep thinking, learning about yourself, improving your skills, and adapting your school or work based on experience.

17

I agree as a first semester freshman, there is still plenty of time. A little patience may be called for here.

If there is a major she is interested in, but doesn’t know what she would do with it, realize that most majors don’t lead to careers. French majors don’t all become translators, art history majors don’t all work in art museums, etc. Finding something she would enjoy studying in depth for a major and figuring out what she wants to do in her first job after graduation are two separate problems if she majors in liberal arts.

18

@ucbalumnus Yes, she’s doing that. She’s taking intro courses in a couple of majors that she’s interested in, and has ruled out a couple of areas of study already after sampling some courses.

I should have framed my comment better. She IS worried about choosing a major, but I’m just searching for some ideas or examples of how creative/artistic skills can be used in non-art related careers and possibly what kind of approach she could use to develop those skills while in college (that she could communicate to her adviser). There are probably many careers she’d enjoy if she was able to be creative, and she wouldn’t be so wound up about having to choose a major.

I think the answer is to just tell her that she should talk with her adviser and see if she can do a self-designed minor and cherry pick the few courses that are available that would help her build some professional digital media skills.

I get that choosing a major is a very common problem and the first response is to tell students to be patient, and parents to butt out. But IMO, since my husband and I are spending thousands of dollars a year on her education, and right now is when she has the opportunity to develop career skills that will be useful in the job market and personally satisfying to her, why shouldn’t I help guide her towards that goal (since she did ask me for my advice just last night). I don’t think waiting two years is the best approach.

Thanks for your input :).

19

Her interest in doing something with meaning speaks well for both your D and for how she was raised. Does she have any thoughts on what that means in practical terms? Is she interested in helping people, saving endangered species, environmental issues, or what? There are many nonprofits and NGOs that would benefit from someone with creative abilities. One possibility might be to explore internships in those fields as a way to get boots on the ground.

Another approach might be to have her spend some time going through the course offerings at her school and marking those she is strongly interested in vs neutral vs would not want to take. That might in itself suggest a major.

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I was going to say marketing and graphic design also. @inparent How about education?