<p>I am high school student getting ready for application time! (yay!) I know that studio art is something I'm passionate about. I've decided against going to Art School. I've taken credit classes at an art school and loved it! I have many other passions though and realize that it would be safe to be at a liberal arts college just in case I change my mind about art... </p>
<pre><code> I am looking at liberal art colleges and universitys. The only way I have been judging the schools is by looking at the art on campus and asking what happens to students when they graduate. Is there anything else I should be checking???? I want to push my art to its limits!
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<p>Studio art is not a concentration to my knowledge. What do you want to specialize in? Examples would be painting, illustration, graphic or communication design, digital design, crafts, glass, fiber or textiles, architecture and interior design, fashion design, industrial design etc. </p>
<p>Overall, some very good programs within a university setting would be Syracuse University, Wash U St Louis, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Brown. If you are interested in either crafts or graphic or industrial design, add RIT to this list. I believe that UCLA also has an undergraduate art program too. </p>
<p>If you are solely interested in fine arts such as painting or art history, many of the LACs have strong fine art programs. Examples would be Skidmore, Alfred University, perhaps Williams etc. </p>
<p>A number of folks who don't want stand alone art programs also consider RISD. The reason is that RISD is normally considered the top art school in the US PLUS there is a lot of interaction with Brown. You can take liberal arts at Brown for example and use all of Brown's facilities. In fact, kids at both schools get a Brown-RISD ID card.</p>
<p>Thanks Taxguy! I'm sorry I didn't mention my art field. I am primarily into painting and will probably end up getting a MFA in painting someday. Perhaps I will go into art therapy or teaching.....</p>
<pre><code> Thanks for your opinions -- I'm just curious about one thing --- how did you choose to tell me the schools that you chose? I have toured several colleges and many have good looking art depts.
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<p>My daughter is against going to an art school too with the possible exception of RISD. Thus, she and you have similar schools that you would focus on. All the schools mentioned have strong art and/or design programs as noted in US News and World Report, if you can believe US News and World Report ratings.</p>
<p>By the way, did you ever consider that fact that you can go to an "stand alone" art school and then transfer if you change your mind as to majoring in art?I am saying this because the top rated schools for painting are: SAIC ( school of art institute in Chicago), RISD, and MICA.</p>
<p>There are many more schools with good art departments than are listed in the national rankings that keep getting mentioned. U of Delaware esp. for graphic design, commercial photo, etc. They also have fine arts. (You get a bfa.) U of Hartford has an art school (bfa). Kenyon Collere has a great art department - a liberal arts school in ohio. Bennington. Bard, Vassar Many more.</p>
<p>Thanks ... I will just have to research these colleges ...
It seems that you can get a good Fine arts education at many places. I'm glad that you have all mentioned some programs I have heard of but haven't been mentioned so much in the posts.
The only disadvantage I can think of in going to a lesser known school for fine arts is that it may be more difficult to find a job after graduation....</p>
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The only disadvantage I can think of in going to a lesser known school for fine arts is that it may be more difficult to find a job after graduation....
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FF, if you're talking about fine arts (painting, sculpture, etc.) as opposed to the more applied design disciplines (graphic design, industrial design, illustration, etc.), it's tough to get a job after graduation no matter where you go. So much depends on whether you're willing to take any (related?) work just so that you can survive while you're trying to make a reputation in art. But if you're into one of the applied areas, then one issue worth considering is the depth of study or preparation that you may get. In a full-scale studio program at an art school, you're going to get roughly double the amount of studio-based experience and training as you would get at a small college, for example, and this could affect your marketability right out of school. But in the longer run, it may make less difference. And a lot of different factors come into play aside from the school you might attend, above all your own portfolio, your connections, luck, and the range of skills you may have.</p>
<p>Fluffy, like you, my son decided that he wanted to pursue a liberal arts degree but also wanted to continue to take serious studio art classes. He was interested in a small or medium sized college on the East Coast or Midwest. He found the best way to start to appraise the strength of the studio art department was to cruise through the colleges course catalog to get an idea of the number of classes offered each semester, the number of professors, the instructors' background, the depth and breadth of media taught. He also checked the colleges website to see how many kids majored in studio art and to learn what was required to get into studio art courses as some colleges prescreen their studio students; others allow anyone to take introductory courses. </p>
<p>The real deciding factor, however, was visiting and actually looking at the facilities. It was fairly easy to tell how much of a commitment the college had to the studio art department by looking at the teaching space, the student studios, the availability of specialized equipment like print making or photography. It was also a positive to have a strong Art History department and access to a teaching museum. Another factor was the to try to get a handle on the focus of the department -- some are heavily theory oriented, some lean toward process.</p>
<p>The next step was to look at the colleges career counseling departments (also on their websites) and see what kind of support they provide to help their graduates find positions in the arts. For example, do they have a teaching program? Do their graduates go on to art related fields like architecture, museum work, advertising? What kind of alumni/ai network do they provide? </p>
<p>The colleges that made his shortlist were: Skidmore, Hamilton, Kenyon, Wesleyan, Brown, Yale and Williams -- his eventual choice. (I could probably name another 10 or so, but these are ones that Im most familiar with.) And totally contrary to everything I just wrote :) he also planned to apply to Amherst and Swarthmore, even though their studio programs were not especially strong points just on the basis of their excellent academics.</p>
<p>Wow! Thank you for the brilliant information momrath! No one , not even my art teacher has been able to give me such good advice. Now I feel I am more in control of the whole process. </p>
<pre><code> Can you tell me of more schools your son considered for art? I have little time to college tour ... I would like to be wise with my choices. I sound like your son too -- I am an East Coast/ Midwest kind of person. I am also considering Texas.
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