<p>I graduated from O(klahoma)SU in '05 with my BA in History, minors in Japanese & Asian Studies. I recently moved out to Arlington, VA. in search of career opportunities, and long story short I want to go back and get a degree in graphic design.</p>
<p>Now, returning to my alma marter is an option, it is in fact my safety option; due to various circumstances, each semester of undergrad study there costs me just $2,000- even if it takes 4 years (it better not), I could do this without financial aid. However, I've been in VA. since November, so I want to see what programs there are in the area before I pack back up and head "home".</p>
<p>I've sent out feelers to Virginia Tech, American University, George Washington, and Howard University- the U of VA doesn't seem to have anything but studio art- regarding the cost of tuition for in and out of state. VTech appears to easily be the cheapest option assuming I can establish residency, Howard a pretty distant second, and AU and GW take up the rear with disgusting bills of $30k and $39k. </p>
<p>The thing is, none of these schools show up on the very few lists of graphic design programs. At first this bothered me, but then I saw that one of these lists included schools of architecture and the absence of the OSU architecture department (one of the best around) was rather conspicuous.</p>
<p>Is there any resource out there that could evaluate the relative quality of the graphic design programs at these schools? Has anyone here heard good things? Is it honestly worth it to pay even $14k a year for tuition (Howard, apparently) when I can pursue the same degree for roughly $4k a year at OSU?</p>
<p>I have other issues to discuss- namely getting the degree in 2 years rather than 4-, but I will save that for a future thread as I'm sure this is long winded enough as it is.</p>
<p>Have you looked at Virginia Commonwealth? How about University of Cincinatti, UBaltimore, or Towson? A bit further away is MassArt, which is pretty well known too. If you're looking for state programs with good graphic design, I'd definitely include those in your search.</p>
<p>The best evaluator of the program is YOU: as an older student, you should have a very clear idea of what you are looking for in terms of curriculum, and are hopefully discerning enough to be able to tell by a look at current student work which programs are of the highest quality. Look at all the rankings as a place from which to start your own research, nothing more.</p>
<p>The issue I'm wondering about is why you're looking for an undergraduate degree. Do you have absolutely no art experience? I would encourage you to also look at options such as Post-bac years, Certificate or Graduate Certificate programs, and also the so-called "finishing" schools like Portfolio Center and Creative Circus. You've had the undergrad experience and are now looking for training in a specific field, so look beyond the standard realm of bachelors or masters degrees. If nothing else, take some night classes in your area to help get your portfolio up to par if you've not been working in the industry, and confirm that you're sure this is what you want to do.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>I was in honors/gifted art programs all through high school (7 years ago... wow), but in college I took no art classes. I know that I have the skills required to get past requisite art courses (drawing 1 & 2, "this is your copy of photoshop") and into a competive undergraduate design program, but I don't see how I'd be qualified for a master's or post graduate work in the field.</p>
<p>yeah, I don't mean a traditional masters degree (although that's where I'm going myself, I understand it's not for everyone). Most post-bac or certificate programs are basically undergraduate level art courses... but <em>only</em> the art courses. Just thought it might be something worth checking out. For instance, I noticed that the Corcoran College of Art in your area even has two different level certificates in graphic design: one for those who want to gain the technical knowledge, and another for those who know the computer programs and such and want a more in-depth exploration. That seems like an interesting setup, as I took some courses at Otis for personal development, and there were definitely two separate levels of students so a system like that would have been nice.</p>
<p><a href="http://corcoran.edu/continuing/index.asp%5B/url%5D">http://corcoran.edu/continuing/index.asp</a></p>
<p>Thanks for the clarification, I'll take a look at that</p>