<p>Hi! So, I've been doing a lot of research about visual arts at LACs. I already have a list of art colleges that I'm applying to, but I'm uncertain about the regular universities I've picked out. My problem is basically that I want to study subjects besides art (French, English, history, etc) but I know I want to major in a visual arts subject. However, I don't want to be limited to studying/majoring in fine arts; I'm looking for a school that offers a range that includes subjects like graphic design (which I know is hard to find!). Here are the schools I'm interested in:
Columbia
Tufts/SMFA
Brown/RISD
NYU
UCLA
UC Berkeley
Yale
University College London
So, does anyone have any info about the specifics of art at these schools? Or, any recommendations for me about where to apply based on what I'm looking for? Thanks!</p>
<p>How good are your grades/test scores? Is money a concern at all?
Just wondering if you should look at a broader range–ie, better admit odds and/or better costs. </p>
<p>If stats are tip-top and money’s no object…</p>
<p>Money isn’t an issue. My cumulative unweighted GPA is about 3.9, though hopefully by the end of the semester it’ll be a little higher. My cumulative weighted is 4.26 or something like that, though, since I’m taking mostly IB classes. In terms of test scores, my first SAT was 2040 and my ACT was 29, but I’m retaking the SAT soon after doing some more prep work. But, all that said, I’m open to considering less competitive schools for sure.</p>
<p>Check out Carnegie Mellon – great design major and top academics.
Brown/RISD would be a great option.</p>
<p>chloe, when you say LAC do you mean liberal arts in general as in an area of study within a larger full-service university, as opposed to an art school? </p>
<p>Or do you mean a small liberal arts college (which is what LAC usually means on this site). If you are interested in the latter, then I would add Williams, Wesleyan, Hamilton, Skidmore, Haverford, Vassar, Smith. These all have excellent studio art and art history departments and allow a wide range of academic exposure and experimentation.</p>
<p>The art departments of both small LACs and large and medium universities are, as you note, more skewed toward traditional media, but depending on the size of the department, more options are available and independent study is usually available.</p>
<p>I’m most familiar with the eastcoast universities that you list. Of those I would say that Yale and Brown offer the best studio art departments (though they are very selective). The Tufts/MFA partnership is unwieldy. I wouldn’t consider Columbia a fine art destination and the core curriculum limits choice. NYU (and CMU as someone mentioned) have excellent art departments but they are more specialized and less flexible.</p>