<p>I am planning on majoring in studio art with a concentration in graphic arts, but was thinking that it might be a good idea to double major in something else as job prospects in art aren’t always that great. Does anyone know of any majors that may work well with this/ know how difficult it is to fit in a second major? I do have AP credits, and if I get the scores I am expecting when they get here then I will be starting with 28 credits completed (as far as I know they do all apply for the BFA core requirements). I haven’t talked to the art department yet about doing this but will definitely do so when I get there in the fall. Thanks for any info!</p>
<p>My daughter is also planning on pursuing a BFA with painting as her concentration. Back in the spring, she was going to double major with either math or physics, mostly because she loves both those subjects. Her ultimate goal is to get into video game development. She has since decided that having a minor in Computer Science would give her an extra “in”. She could either pursue the art side or the programming side. </p>
<p>When she was planning on the double major, the art department told her it was possible but that is takes a lot of planning and work.</p>
<p>What would you like to ultimately do? That could maybe lead you into a possible second major.</p>
<p>Good luck! What classes are you planning on taking this fall? D was told to take as many as possible if she is doing the BFA. She is registered for Design II, Drawing II and an art history.</p>
<p>Thank you so much, that sounds awesome! I’d love to get into video game design too but I’d be open to doing anything where I would get to use art. I was also thinking about maybe web design, medical illustration, or teaching (just switched from elementary education actually)- pretty much anything really! I thought about computer science as a second major but it seems like a LOT of math classes- I’m okay at math but I really don’t enjoy it and would prefer to just take (hopefully!) the AP calc credit and be done haha. My parents said a business major might be a good idea incase I ended up starting my own business of some kind so that might work too. This semester I’m signed up for Drawing I, Design I, art history 252, and a fine arts credit/english class I needed for core requirements. I was thinking about maybe using the 20 credit override you get for NMF to take another class too, but it’s probably not a good idea to take on too much first semester.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t get a double major with CS since that is an engineering major and you have all the engineering core to do (ie, math and science). By doing the minor, there is only one math you have to do, Math 301 Discrete Mathematics.</p>
<p>D emailed Dr. Brown about doing a minor with the BFA and this is what he said:</p>
<p>"There are two minors the CS department offers. I’ve attached documents describing each one. </p>
<p>The “traditional” minor is a subset of the major. If you want to take that minor, the first course, CS 150, has Math 112 as a prerequisite. You need to take the Math Placement test, and hopefully you’ll place above Math 112 (Math 115 or 125), so you could take CS 150 in your first semester here. You can take CS 121 and CS 160 without any prerequisite.</p>
<p>The other minor focuses largely on applications that students should find helpful in their careers outside of CS. So there are courses on things like spreadsheets and databases, and on the internet and building web sites, along with a few courses on programming in languages like Visual Basic. If that’s the major you want, you should take the CS Placement test in Bama Bound, and hopefully you’ll place out of CS 102, which would allow you to take other (probably more interesting) CS courses."</p>
<p>Business might not be a bad idea, but I’m sure those with more experience with the business school will chime in.</p>
<p>What kind of override does the NMF get? Is it to pay for the extra classes or does it allow you to take that many? D is also a NMF, but she for now she is registered for 16 hours. She may want to take more in the future but thought she scholarship only paid for 16 hours.</p>
<p>Second Major for Studio art/graphic arts-
Kind of depends on what direction you want to go…
(Dr Hall @ New College would allow you design your own second major)</p>
<p>Advertising
Business
Communication
Computer Science
Game Design
Geography (cartography)
Interior Design
Journalism
Fashion Design
Marketing
Photography
Political Science (campaign art/media)
Public Relations
Teaching
Telecommunications/film
Theater (Scenic Design or Costume Design)
Web Design</p>
<p>not getting picky here - but unless something has changed graphic arts is not a concentration area -
listed are -
Ceramics
Digital Media
Painting
Photography
Printmaking
Sculpture</p>
<p>I have a niece who just graduated (not from UA) with double major, studio arts and education. She did her student teaching during her last semester, so she is now officially a teacher. She will pursue her masters in either special education or art. This option has opened many opportunities for her. She currently is working as a substitute teacher.</p>
<p>Oh probably not a good idea to major in CS then, but one of those minors might work! I think the override is so you can take up to 20 hours, I’m not sure if they are included in the scholarship or not though. </p>
<p>Thanks for the list- hadn’t thought about some of those, theater would be really fun to do!</p>
<p>For the graphic arts concentration- I was going off the BFA list that pulls up in the DegreeWorks. I couldn’t find it on the art dept. website either but I am pretty sure it exists as I saw someone on the news page was majoring in that. Maybe it is another name for digital media? I need to check with them about that too.</p>
<p>Teaching would be fun too! I’m not sure if UA allows double major in art and education though, when I was originally majoring in elem. education the advisors weren’t sure if even an art minor would work 
But I’m definitely going to look into that too, thanks!</p>
<p>[Studio</a> Art at The University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History](<a href=“http://art.ua.edu/site/programs/undergraduate/studio-art/]Studio”>http://art.ua.edu/site/programs/undergraduate/studio-art/)</p>
<p>also checking in the academic catalog and the list was the same.
Only mentioning this because when DS applied they were very clear that there was not a graphic arts major, that’s the reason DSs friend chose to go to that other Alabama college. I’m sure digital media covers some similar territory, but not at all the same as coming out with a degree in graphic arts.</p>
<p>Let us know what you find out!</p>
<p>Oops, so I think I must have read it wrong on the news page, the girl I saw earlier was actually majoring in graphic design. I’m still a little bit confused about the degree works thing- maybe I remembered that wrong too haha. I’ll definitely post once I find out which programs they offer exactly, if there really is no graphic arts concentration that might be a problem for me 
Hopefully digital media will be close enough! It’s a shame they don’t offer animation or illustration either, those would have been my top choices but I guess for really specific concentrations you’d have to go to an art school.</p>
<p>EDIT: I just checked degree works and the BFA concentration I saw was actually graphic design. That will probably be fine for me too but definitely good to know, thanks for pointing that out!</p>
<p>What Calc credit are you getting with your AP? Cal I…or I and II?</p>
<p>It looks like Comp Sci requires: Cal I, II, Discrete, and Matrix Theory.</p>
<p>I’m thinking that majoring in Comp Sci or Management Information Systems …and doing the Studio Art minor might be better career-wise.</p>
<p>now I’m definitely confused - as we were told and have seen no sign at all of a degree in graphic design at UA. UAB yes, but not UA.</p>
<p>Comp. Sci with Studio Art Minor may be a good path career-wise but to throw that in like it’s a no-brainer is a bit much, especially given that the other majors discussed here have been theater, elementary education etc., understandably still challenging in some ways but quite frankly not in the same category as Comp. Sci.
Might as well suggest pairing Studio Art with Chemical Engineering or any other Engr. major.
and yes I realize I’m sensitive about this (and not singling you out Mom2K!) but I’ve had to bite my tongue more times than I could count when listening to people assume the difficulty of this major is akin to learning how to make a website! :)</p>
<p>I just checked D degreeworks and it has Digital Media listed as one of the concentrations.</p>
<p>D heard that they are trying to start an animation concentration, but no word on when that might actually come to fruition. Maybe if they repeatedly hear that students want it…</p>
<p>^ told DS to make sure and find the right person to discuss this with. His Drawing II teacher is now listed TBA? so maybe it’s the new guy you spoke of earlier (crossing fingers!)</p>
<p>We mourn the deaths of all the April 27 tornado victims. Morgan Sigler was a UA graphic design major who died from her injuries while taking shelter with her friends in her friends house. Memorial page for the UA students who died in the tornado.</p>
<p>^That is the thing about the girl I saw who was majoring in graphic design- it might be possible that they wrote the wrong thing though. Maybe UAB uses the same degreeworks as UA? In that case the graphic design BFA might just be for students there- I really need to check that then since the other concentrations I wasn’t that interested in. Very confusing!</p>
<p>I took AP Calc AB so if I pass (pretty sure I will) I think that is just Calc I credit. </p>
<p>As far as majoring in comp. sci vs. the other majors mentioned- It isn’t that I don’t think I could handle a STEM major (Overall I am a pretty good student, I have 5s on all the APs I have taken so far and NMF), it’s just that the other fields are things that I think I would enjoy doing more after graduation. If one of those did end up being the best option career-wise though I would definitely consider it (I do realize that they are very difficult though and that it would take a LOT of hard work).</p>
<p>I saw the digital media concentration- does anyone know what exactly that involves? The description on the site was a little bit vague so if anyone knows someone majoring in it and know what kind of things they do that would be great :)</p>
<p>xHollyx,</p>
<p>I know a bit about advertising/graphic design/photography etc.,
I’m encouraging you to think about where/what you want to do,
thinking past degrees to what you want your life to be.</p>
<p>Example 1; In a commercial/advertising agency environment, a junior graphic designer is very low on the totem pole. If you want to do well in that environment, you must have good conceptual skills, and be able to find clients, meet with those clients, understand their needs, and then deliver to them product(s) that meet their needs- by supervising the junior graphic designer’s to accomplish what you have envisioned. The pay can be lucrative, it’s intense and demanding, high end jobs are in the largest media markets. Requires an quite agile mind set.</p>
<p>Example 2: Theater set design and teaching degrees, work in a school setting,
doing highly creative theater productions/sets on a shoe string, pay is modest, job is rewarding, stress is low. You could realistically stay at one school for your entire career, have a job, family, be part of a community etc.,</p>
<p>Example 3: Study digital media and computer science, with the idea of attending grad school to work later for Pixar or EA or Nintendo etc., Would require keeping up on rapidly changing technology as long as you are ‘in the game’ (University of Central Florida has one of the top graduate programs in the country) </p>
<p>Example 4, Study Design, and get a MBA, work for P&G, Coke or another big company as a Brand manager, supervising the design, Art Direction and marketing of products (A shampoo, new drink etc) Corporate environment, good pay and benefits. Expect travel and transfers.</p>
<p>All valid, all rewarding careers, what type person are you?</p>
<p>[Top</a> Video Game Design Press Release](<a href=“http://www.princetonreview.com/game-design-press-release.aspx]Top”>Top Game Design Press Release | Public Relations | The Princeton Review | The Princeton Review)</p>
<p>Thank you so much, that was really helpful! I think the best fit for me would probably be teaching- I volunteered at an elementary school during HS for volunteer hours and it was a lot of fun and something I could definitely see myself doing. I also really like that the hours aren’t that bad and there’s time off in the summer when I could work on my own art projects if I wanted too, and eventually if I wanted a family that would be possible as well. I’m don’t think UA offers an art education program (was thinking about doing that originally), but if there is no way I could get teacher certification during undergrad I’m sure I could find some way of getting a masters in education afterwards. Right now my major is still technically listed as elem. ed until I move in to campus in the fall, so I’ll talk to the advisors about what options there are there. And that would still leave me with a BFA if I did end up changing my mind about teaching by the time I graduated. Thanks!</p>
<p>A double major in elementary ed and Art is very do-able.
it might take you an extra semester or two, but it’s better to
do both simultaneously than one then another later, with careful planning
you can get a lot of your core courses to fulfill other degree requirements.
A dual art/ed degree makes you very employable, maybe even more so if you go
secondary ed. Right out of high school its hard to think of yourself as a High School Teacher or college professor- after a few yrs in college that may change for you if you keep an open mind. It’s really about what level students you want to teach.</p>
<p>Also most school systems are very supportive of their teachers continuing their education, and the pay goes up if you get an more advanced degree.</p>
<p>I think because of my AP credits I had already completed almost all of the classes the elem. ed advisors had down for first semester anyways, so that frees me up to take the foundation art classes this semester so that I can take the following ones in order. I am probably also going to take additional classes at the local community college each summer if needed as well so I don’t become overwhelmed if the studio courses end up being really time consuming. I think I’d prefer to teach elementary school, but I’d definitely still consider secondary education- I’m not totally sure if that’s possible at UA since it isn’t listed as a concentration but they might be willing to let me work something out so I could take the classes required for certification. Thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate it :)</p>