The same student would not necessarily produce an equally high-quality portfolio at each school. There is a reason that certain schools are top-ranked for specific fields.
My daughter graduated from RISD. No question that to the extent that a degree in art or design matters to a career, RISD is very credible. But a few qualifiers and recommendations.
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If you’re at RISD you should maximize your use of Brown courses (even 3 or 4 can matter for broadening your experience). My daughter completed several courses in environmental science and sociology during her tenure at RISD, through the cross-enrollment program. That helped her to define a future career course focusing on environmental design (she majored in industrial design at RISD).
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When you get into the wider world (and job market), it’s always your “portfolio,” by which I mean not just the objects you’ve created but also the range of skills and interests that you have, including your ability to communicate and present and promote your work. Your broader portfolio and accomplishments matter more than the degree itself.
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When you graduate and are out of college 5-8 years, the BFA credential is still valuable in “certifying” that you know the essentials and tools and the language of art and design. But as your career moves on, it’s what you’ve accomplished and who you’ve met after college that defines you most. In my daughter’s case, after several years in the economy designing objects (and after the economy went to hell in 2008), she decided it was time to take seriously her desire to affect environmental design in broader contexts (not just making objects). To broaden her credentials she went back to school to earn an MBA and an MS in sustainable development. Now her background in environmental systems and design, coupled with the earned degrees, are all important in her current job.
@jpcool, I think @mackinaw, got it exactly right: hire-ability is a complex issue and there’s no one size fits that all jobs. Design is a wide and varied industry. As your son travels through his education he will hopefully be exposed to a range of potential jobs and employers through summer jobs and and internships and contacts that he makes at school. RISD has a terrific network. Cornell’s Art Department network may be less powerful, but the Cornell name carries a lot of weight overall, especially in New York.
Surely an aspiring design professional could be successful with either a degree from RISD or from Cornell. Neither is “better” than the other, but the experience is quite different.
My son studied art and art history at a small liberal arts college. This was the right course for him, better than an art school would have been. Although he ultimately chose to pursue a design driven profession (Masters of Architecture at Cornell), his exposure to the academic breadth of a liberal arts education continues to benefit him.
No real on-point knowledge here to draw from- but when did that ever stop someone from posting on the internet??
So here’s some uninformed ranting, FWIW:
- AFAIK RISD is primo name in the design field, no? -But people here are saying these fields are more "what can you do" types. So your son should think about, and find out: -What does HE wants to do, specifically
- What can each school offer to help him develop his skills in what he wants to do, specifically
- What will each school offer, specifically, to help him get a job doing it after he graduates? And thereafter? (if anything) A school can offer opportunities, but it is up to your son to utilize them. So where is he more likely to actually utilize opportunities that exist? (Saying this because my D2s post-college success to date is largely due to her extracurricular initiatives in college; not in art or design though.).
From what you posted, socially Cornell can potentially be better, if he gets into the right housing and social arrangements. For one thing, they had a plethora of intramural sports programs, back in the day; he might want to verify that this is still the case. He’d have to figure out what teams he can get on though.Lots of teams are through people’s fraternities, coops, etc Maybe AARP has a team?? He can inquire. Or he can try to assemble a team from fellow transfer students? etc. maybe talk to somebody in the phys ed department about how this is/can be done, while he’s there. And find out when/what dates teams have to apply.
If it appears to be at least a push, or very close, professionally, and he’s unhappy where he is, transferring can be a good thing. D2 did it, and it turned out great for her. If it is done with full information, and for the right reasons.
in terms of industry recognized and highly respected art/design schools RISD along with other programs like VCUARTS, MICA, PRATT,PARSONS,UCLA, etc are all stronger fundamentally in the field than Cornell. If however,
you a not likely to pursue work specifically in the field, then Cornell is a very solid school. However, there is no question
these others listed are of the same (if not better) quality programs then RISD. I suggest if you wish to remain in design , to try to transfer to one of these programs. Just visit and you find the social vibe at these might be to your liking. Frankly its why our D chose VCUARTS in Richmond over these others which also accepted her. She never applied to RISD as she did not like the vibe from the moment she was there.
Would he be happy coming in to Cornell as a transfer, when most of the other students in his year have already found their social niches?
If he already has friends at Cornell – and he very well may since he comes from central New York – this may not be a problem. But if he doesn’t, he might find the social environment challenging. Most upperclassmen at Cornell do not live in the dorms. They live in Greek houses or off-campus, and they usually have well-established social networks by sophomore year. Although Cornell is more hospitable to transfers than many other schools of similar prestige, it can still be tough for a transfer to make friends – and I suspect it’s harder for art students than for many others since art students spend so much time in the studio.
I’m a Cornell graduate and the parent of a Cornell graduate. I love the place, and my daughter also had a good experience there. But Cornell is not for everyone, and it can be formidably large and impersonal. If one of my kids had wanted to transfer to Cornell as a sophomore, I would have been concerned about the social aspects of the situation.
Re#25, well yes and no. I agree upperclassmen will be less welcoming on the whole. This is true as a generic matter, like everywhere.
But the good thing about Cornell is it has a relatively large contingent of incoming transfer students, who will be in the same boat as OP’s kid. A lot of the initial social contacts will likely be drawn from fellow transfers. From this perspective I actually think Cornell may be better to transfer into than a lot of other schools.
D2 transferred in. I was “concerned about the social aspects of the situation”. And, for the first time in her life, she did struggle for the first couple of months. But after that she was fine. Better than fine. By the next semester she wasn’t coming home for some holidays because she was celebrating them with her friends in Ithaca !!
I think it could be worse/riskier transferring to a school that doesn’t have a large cohort of fellow transfer students.
However, as the saying goes, “Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome”. OR YMMV.
The trick with any large school (or city, for that matter) is you have to find ways to make it functionally smaller. So that people have to really interact with the same people repeatedly, within that smaller environment. That way you get to know each other, rather than just passing different people on the street without interacting.
AARP itself has a work environment that is conducive to this. The architects spend nearly 24/7 holed up in their building(s) together. But I don’t know the extent to which this carries over to the art & design people. For housing, best target smaller more intimate living situations. My D2 shared a Collegetown apartment (with a fellow transfer student she met the first week she arrived there, plus a random “other” transfer student ) and became best friends with like everyone in the house. They, and their friends, did everything together. It was as if they created their own fraternity. Actual fraternities, and coops, may also be choices. Along with some other living units. Then there are clubs, extracurriculars, on-campus jobs, where it’s possible to meet people. All as time permits though.
Although it takes a while to get a Cornell architecture degree, it generally doesn’t take long enough that people would be eligible for AARP membership by the time they graduate. 
The college is called Architecture, Art, and Planning – AAP.
HA!
I continue to show my qualification for the former, via my posts on these boards.
And you guys continue to correct me.
For which I am grateful.
Just sorry that I put you to the task.
I think I got the university name right though. Hope that was the one I was thinking of…
If he moves to Cornell, he is still the same person, his ‘struggles with the social aspect’ may have more to do with himself than with RISD and its small size.
Ask in the Visual Art subforum: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/
Isn’t the studio art program at Cornell tiny? Like a total of 140 all four years??? Talk about small!
I’m a Cornell grad and have a daughter who just finished freshman year at RISD etc. With that said, the architecture and the interior design departments at Cornell are considered to be very strong programs. However, the studio arts aren’t really well known and that will also affect the networking and job searching he does beyond college.
Have you considered Syracuse? We visited twice and my daughter really angsted about her final school choice between them and RISD. It has a great art department, nearer to you AND all the activities your son seems to be missing (actually that was the ‘con’ for my kid since she didn’t want such a big school and isn’t into sports). And the art department seemed to have a really robust alumi network (as does Syracuse in general).
Also I second the suggestion to also ask in the Visual Arts forum since there’s more parents who both have students and/or work in the arts fields. http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/
As an employer in the arts who holds three degrees ( two Ivies non-Art) and a post grad from RISD, here is my take. I think he should decide whether he is going to do art full time or be in an art field. They are very different. A BFA will serve you very well if you stay in the pure artist field. If you cross into the business of art a related degree with an art basis might serve him better. In the art world, RISD is highly respected. It produces some of the best fine arts folks around. That being said, not all go on to make money ( which as an employer and parent is also important to note). A degree from Cornell in fine arts in my humble opinion isn’t that impressive. Why didn’t you go to an art school if you wanted to get an BFA would be my first question. But if as an employer you could also answer my question and tell me about your marketing and business skills, I might hire you on the spot. I have met many people who dabbled in art and went to some of the finest schools around (fine but not for fine art). There are some other programs he might want to consider. Does he know about the Mass Art/Tufts program? Or the Brown/RISD degree? As an employer in the arts, I would consider how good is this person in their chosen field as a more important contextual cue than where did they receive their degree. Also, do not discount the RISD connection if he is in the arts. His peers will be in related field which can help immensely in the working world. All this being said, if he choses Cornell, it is likely he could transfer into another field and his degree would still have value. Although I am an arts person, I strongly favor a BFA/ BA with lots of studio work. There is just so much instability in the art world you need to have the other skills as well.