My d graduated NYU with a BFA is studio art. Plenty of opportunity for other academics.
DD who’s an illustration major junior at RISD is getting a “minor” in English/creative writing. It’s a 27-credit undergraduate concentration in “Literary Arts and Studies”. She’s hoping to someday write and illustrate her own books. But she’s also taken some really fascinating history classes too towards her liberal requirements.
They accepted several AP credits towards her liberal requirements, so she’s had a bit of wiggle room to go after this concentration.
Hi all! Just wanted to update the forum on my experience here at Ringling so far!
I love this place so far! In the three weeks classes have been in session, we’ve already had Telltale come do a presentation, and Hasbro is coming in in a few weeks to do a presentation and workshop! The work has been challenging, and there is a lot of homework, but not to the point where I have no social life. I can already feel myself improving, especially when it comes to figure drawing.
I have joined many clubs here, including the Students of Color Alliance, Improv Club, Comic Book Club, and the Student Government Association. And I have time for all of them, which is amazing!
The food is…definitely meh. It’s not the most amazing thing, but it could also be much worse. The great thing is that there are a lot of inexpensive places to eat/order from nearby.
The faculty and upperclassmen have been so helpful! If you’re in the illustration major, like I am, you’re eligible to get a mentor (freshmen are mentored by juniors, sophomores are mentored by seniors). I have a mentor, and she has already been so helpful. I also have met with my academic advisor and she has helped me plan out my four years here so I can successfully finish my illustration major and my minor in visual development.
But yeah, Ringling is amazing. I’m very very happy here and am so glad I made this decision. Please let me know if you have any questions!!
@pastelrain great to hear from you! My DS is seriously looking at Ringling for illustration/concept art too. One ‘mom’ question re the food - is there many options for vegetarian? My kids pretty much been one his whole life AND he’s a bit of a foodie so I’m curious about the ‘meh’ on the dining. Not a make or break issue, just wondering. 
@ArtAngst my friend here is a vegetarian and is managing pretty well! They have a dedicated vegetarian buffet, and again- the food is just okay- but there are a lot of options for vegetarians/vegans/gluten-free people. 
There’s also a very yummy vegan cafe my friends and I have discovered around here, and even as someone that eats meat, I really like the food there.
Thanks for the update @pastelrain !! That’s so good to hear. It’s great to feel you made the right decision. Congrats!! 
Penn or Cornell, Which is better for Fine Arts?
It looks like that Cornell has a much stronger program. A Fine arts program in School of Architecture, Art, and Planning.
Penn’s Fine arts in housing in College of Arts and Science, is kind of obscure.
However, many rankings place Penn ahead of Cornell in Fine Arts.
So which one is stronger and which one easier to get in?
@pastelrain – So happy you’re happy! Keep us updated from time to time on how the classes are going and your impressions.
@f2000sa I think the Penn one is NOT a BFA whereas Cornell is. That will make a difference it how much studio time is required. Also what exactly are you going for (re concentration in painting or sculpture etc)?
I don’t know much about their programs but I’d start a new thread here (or under each school) asking if anyone has had experience at either school since this thread has got kind of bloated. Just make sure to change your question to apply to each school, since it can get tagged if it’s a repeat post.
@ArtAngst Good point, Penn offers BA, and Cornell BFA. Thanks for the advice.
@f2000sa Are you considering these two schools because they are ivies? Because that idea needs to be explored. While some ivy grad programs in the arts are stellar—think Columbia and Yale—the ivies are not known for their undergrad studio art programs. So you may find yourself at an ivy but in an underfunded, not particularly competitive program in terms of talent (academics aside.)
Being that she’s interested in science as well as art, has she thought about Carnegie Mellon?
My son is a freshman BFA with a minor in Game Design. It’s not rare for art student to have science minors or to double major.
He loves it so far.
University of Michigan is also very flexible with majors, you can easily get a BFA along with a minor in just about anything you want or they even support a double major. My daughter attends Stamps school of Art and Design at UM and we have been impressed with them so far.
^ Keep in mind that some double majors will be designated as “dual degree” and may take additional time as a result. The child of some friends was attempting to double major in music performance and economics at UMich. but dropped one of them because it would take longer than four years. The B.Mus and the BA are two different degrees; most schools (there are exceptions) require you to fulfill the requirements of both degree programs in order to complete a double major.
This is a question that can probably be easily answered by going online and perusing the degree requirements or options for double-majoring at UMich.
Whenever you think about doing double undergrad majors and it is not doable in 4 years, I advise to look at the requirements for attaining a graduate degree in one of those majors instead. Often grad programs require one has 24 to 30 credits in a subject for admission. That is sometimes less than what an undergrad major requires and does not include the other requirements often needed for a major. So it is often possible to start a grad program (and sometimes finish an accelerated program) in the second major, rather than use the 5th year of study for two undergrad degrees.
Glad to have found this thread!
@ArtAngst that recom situation sounds exactly like my D. The commonapp is requiring the counselor recom, but for the other teacher recom. in common app and for schools that dont use commonapp she has used one art teacher and another art history (as academic). sad to say our interaction with counselor is zero here and just for that few lines of preformatted commonapp recom we have had to write 4 essay questions describing D and she had to write 7!! they seem to read that and base their recom on what we give them
@SomaRathore thankfully DS has a different counselor and he totally got having (1) academic and (1) art teacher so not a problem this time around. Also a couple of the art schools had “other recommendations” sections so he was able to add additional academic or the counselor etc.
Our school does the same thing re the parents and kids both answer questions too. And the new counselor knows alot of behind-the-scenes stuff DS had to deal with in running a club so in a nice way can speak to how maturely he handled some really big issues. And he’s asked already if DS would come back next year on their ‘freshman panel’ and talk about art school and applying. So thankful we got him instead of daughter’s old counselor!
@SomaRathore that has been our situation as well with the GC and the teacher rec. letters - even for the art kids. My kids know to follow up with a self-descriptive cover letter and resume after they’ve made the personal request. That way no one is lost for words when writing these. While the GC and instructors know the kids pretty well, they still find that material useful. The school has a form with space for short-answers from both student and parent, but my kids don’t use it since the cover-letter/resume approach just seems more comprehensive - and more personalized, since it can be tailored to each person writing the letters. The kids just make sure to touch on the questions that are asked in the form.
@JBStillFlying we have forms here too. But we just did our own and submitted attached to the forms. We still had to use the prompts but didnt follow the printed lines on the forms. It hasnt been easy for us communicating with the administration here overall.
For anyone that is looking for a strong Animation program in a university setting… Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a fantastic option. They provide students with strong studios arts classes and balance it with animation and core. The animation classes offered vary, and currently there are 2D, 3D, and even a new stop-motion class taught by an animator on Robot Chicken. For students that want the pre-production concept side of animation, that is offered too with character design, world building, and many intensive storyboarding classes.
Though the website is not too informational, when you visit the actual program, you realize how much LMU truly offers in their animation program, that is housed in the School of Film and Television.
The program is relatively newer compared to others and is currently ranked #12 on the West Coast (Animation Career Review) and is climbing the rankings every year!
Alumni work at Dreamworks, Disney Animation, nickelodeon, Warner bros, Sony, blizzard, stoopid buddy, bento box, bix pix, and many more.
I recommend checking this program out if you are looking for an intense, but worthwhile Arts/Animation program in a university setting.
https://sftv.lmu.edu/academics/undergraduateprograms/animation/