Hi,
My son who is currently a junior is interested in animation program.
One web site says the difference is the proportion of liberal arts classes vs arts classes.
Does it really make a difference? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Does it make a difference when it comes to job hunting?
Any help is greatly appreciated. Many thanks.
Paul
The BFA is a professional degree resulting from an intense studio program with 2/3 or more of your credits consisting of studio (the remaining 1/3 would be academic courses or “liberal arts” credits). With most BFA programs, you major in a specific speciality (graphic design, animation, painting/drawing, sculpture, industrial design, illustration, etc.) although you receive in-depth training in a variety of studios through the foundation year and elective courses. Many will minor in something else; however, double majors are rare w/o spending additional time in school. BFA’s go into a variety of fields depending on their major and their interests (they may join a design firm, work in the entertainment industry, work for a Fortune 500 in their creative departments, work in advertising, etc.), although many also opt for a solo practice or freelance career and a few will go right on to earn an MFA or another grad degree. In any case, the BFA is supposed to prepare you for working as a creative professional upon graduation.
The BA, in contrast, is a liberal arts degree, not a professional degree (that does NOT mean you aren’t prepared for a job, btw, more on that below). A liberal arts exposure in the fine arts is very similar to a liberal arts exposure in any discipline: you take a broad range of courses (humanities, sciences, social sciences, arts, etc.) in addition to more specialized classes in your choice of major. The BA program for Art may or may not have a first year foundation but it will have prereqs you must fulfill before advancing on to the upper div. classes. It may or may not offer the type of specialized training that a BFA program does (for instance, your major might be “Art” rather than “Painting” or “Graphic Design”, etc.). There will be more room to double major, and obviously your studio courses aren’t going to be a majority of classes you take. Your ability to get a job will depend more on your college or university’s placement office than your specific degree and you may have to do a lot more independent searching for a career in a creative field.
Both stand-alone art/design schools and uni’s offer the BFA. The BA is typically a uni. or LAC setting, although at some art/design schools there might be a BA option for certain majors (art history, for instance, or something else that straddles the liberal and studio arts).
Either degree is a fine option - it really depends on what school you wish to attend and what you want to do with your degree. Someone who wishes to study art along with another discipline (physics, history, music, for example) might consider double majoring under a BA program. Someone who needs the intense studio experience and wishes to delve deeply into a specialized field will gravitate to the BFA. Your student’s preferences and goals will be determining which path to take.
That’s the basics.
When it comes to animation specifically, a LOT depends on what type of animation your son wants to do, although nearly all of the top animation programs offer training in 3D and 2D. If your son is attracted to computers and game design, the BFA may not be for him (although certainly many BFA programs offer wonderful training in that field). If he’s “drawn” to character animation, then the BFA is typically going to be the degree that gets him a job (though if he has excellent figure drawing skills to begin with, perhaps he can get away with a BA). Just as important is the school’s connections and ability to place students in good jobs. Not sure what set of schools your son is looking at, but when it comes to something like animation, the reputation of the program will be a bigger factor than the specific degree. Some great animation programs offer a BSc, for instance, just due to their tech-y nature. It’s really about his medium of preference, and whether he’s into technical stuff or storytelling.
Here is a decent list of the top animation programs, including the type of degree offered. If you nose around the internet or click on a few links from this one, you might find some specialized lists such as top programs by region, or top game design programs, etc. Ranking aren’t everything but pretty much everyone agrees on the top 10 or so, and most agree on the top 20-30.
http://www.animationcareerreview.com/articles/top-50-animation-schools-and-colleges-us-–-2016
Good luck to him!
In a nutshell, though, my D just counted the credits she took in studio art and art history to calculate her undergraduate major GPA for a job application. Counting all studio art and art history classes, she took 93 credits in art (her BFA degree called for 128 credit in total, but she graduated with 134.)
In contrast, she has friends who earned a BA degree in studio art and took 30 credits total in art and art history.
D took 3 times that amount for her BFA.
Look up the top 10 animation schools in the US. The link JB gives takes you to an international school list (not US).
Ugh! Thanks @gouf78 I didn’t realize that was a bad link - not sure what’s happening there. Here is another one that looks similar to what I’ve seen in the past:
Since artists and designers are hired on the basis of their portfolios – and not their degrees – pursue whichever helps them develop a competitive portfolio.
When you look at lists of top schools–look at what you are interested in doing. Although related in many ways graphic design, gaming, motion study is not the same as animation. Take the time to study the various fields. It can make a difference in what path to ultimately follow.
For animation Cal Arts and Ringling are the tops. Expensive and difficult to get into for a reason.
They are primarily ART schools. Pretty much 24/7 with some extra classes thrown in. It’s hard work.
When evaluating colleges for animation :
Compare student work (Ringling has theirs on the website)
Career opportunities (companies that actually come on campus to recruit–not just where alumni may now work)
Consider the non-profit vs profit status.
Don’t just look at shiny new computers (although Ringling I can attest has the shiniest).
When considering costs add in the number of years to final goal–many schools have CA as a graduate program or have things scheduled so it takes 5 years.
There are really two sides to animation–the technical side and the art side. So many CS people end up in gaming and animation fields as well. There are more paths to the industry depending on your interests and talents.
Comicdude is right–everything will ultimately hinge on your portfolio–your “reel” (your 2-3 minute film) at the end of your college career. The top schools work on getting you to the best reel possible.
Many thanks to all for the information.
How important is it to be NASAD accredited?
NASAD-accreditation is nice because those are the schools that coordinate all the National Portfolio Days, etc. They’ve also agreed upon curriculum for foundation year, and so forth. However, it’s not necessary to attend an NASAD-accredited school to get an outstanding education in art/design and make a living in your creative field. SCAD, for instance, is a notable example of a non-NASAD-accredited institution with a decent reputation in several areas.
NASAD probably sets the standard and has helped to normalize the professional preparation and bring it up a notch or two, which is a great thing. But in the end, the decision as to whether a certain school is the right school for your student will likely depend on a whole host of factors that have nothing to do - at least directly - with NASAD.
I realize some schools require or suggest internship in junior year. Is internship a criteria to select the school?