<p>Our son has decided that he wants to major in Graphic Design and stay in so. calif. or worst case up north. When we applied he wanted to major in Business so we choose those schools accordingly. The only school he has been admitted to that has an actual "Graphic Design" degree is Chapman U. in Orange. The overall cost is about $48K/year and he would have to finance his last year. I don't have a clue if Master's degrees are necessary for this major. The two other schools in this area have Art degrees with emphasis in graphics. He doesn't want to go to a community college either and transfer.
Any suggestions would be appreciated as I don't have any idea about careers in this field or how to even finance this.</p>
<p>Find out exactly what he wants to do as a graphic designer and contact companies to find out where they recruit from? It can be worth it if Chapman has lots of employers wanting their grads.</p>
<p>If you are really good at Graphic Design you may not even need a BA since the portfolio and the interview will count for much, that said there is value to the experience of education, the potential of the design school to be recruited and if a Graphic Designer were to find employment with a large company, a degree could be an asset for potential advancement or lateral moves to a different career track. How much that $$ value is worth paying for is highly individual. Some schools might lead to a better portfolio or might be more heavily recruited which might have some $$ value. Some people spend $50,000 on a car and some spend $24,000 yet both cars get you from home to work and back every day.</p>
<p>Seattle central community college- has an excellent graphic design program.
Older D, who had taken two art classes all through her private high school and was the most gifted artist in her class, applied to SCCC and had Emily carr in Vancouver as a backup- wasn't accepted at SCCC. She had a good portfolio too. However, she also IMO wasn't thrilled about college, after attending school full time since she was 3 & agreed with my suggestion to take a year off.
( she didn't do it because she wasn't accepted at SCCC, it was in the works already)
I also promoted my opinion, that since she was also interested in the sciences, that it was easier to do art on the side than science- lab work anyway. ;) ( she went on to get a bio degree @ Reed college)</p>
<p>I think business classes are a great thing to take plenty of- at the same time you are taking design courses. Personally, I would go for the best fit school- assuming that the art dept has good support. Often students are not sure what they want to major in as a freshman. That is one thing college is for, to discover and strengthen your interests and talents.</p>
<p>I would suggest to him, that he think about what sort of job that he is thinking of, and research the backgrounds those in the field have. Advertising? Web pages? Ergonomic design? He may find that business classes & a BA is plenty & that $50K, would be not a good idea to spend.</p>
<p>He may end up doing something completely different- keep his options open, but don't pay more than he has to.</p>
<p>As EK says, business classes are a good idea. I have a sister-in-law who graduated from the Philadelphia Inst of Art with a degree in Graphic Design who lives in So Cal. She now is a secretary at Kaiser. It's a tough field.</p>
<p>Thank you for the great responses so far! We are encouraging him to minor in Business but he says he hates business now. When this post is done I will let him look at the responses and digest it. I know it's a tough field but he is horrible in math and sciences and loves art(graphic design) and writing. Not big money making options in these areas.</p>
<p>I've been in the field for long enough to see graphic design move from ruling pens and letraset to computer graphics and now web design and all its offshoots. I had a LAC English degree but I never went to art school other than to take some continuing ed courses. I'm not outgoing or a self-promotional type of person. I've learned my skills on jobs and by investing in new software as it became available over the years. Being literate (a good writer) and developing really sound technical skills -- especially how to prepare files properly for printing or other production methods -- made a huge difference. Some designers were more 'cutting edge' and 'artsy' but I could get the job done right the first time, on time and on budget. I agree that business skills are an asset, and I'd add that oral and written communication ability is critical. You'll do a much better job laying out a publication if you have a feel for the content and some skill as an editor/proofreader. In summary, I'd hesitate to pay 50k for a graphic design degree. I'd give my kid a great Macintosh computer and a collection of essential LEGAL software from Adobe (set your standards against 'pirating' from the get go) and some basic courses in design & typography. Obviously, a college degree is essential in this world, but I just can't see private school tuition in this field as paying off.</p>
<p>Thank you for the great responses so far! We are encouraging him to minor in Business but he says he has no interest now. When this post is done I will let him look at the responses and digest it. I know GD is a tough field but he struggles with math and science and loves art(graphic design) and writing. Not big money making options in these areas.</p>
<p>Finaid.org has a loan calculator that lets you plug in the loan amount, interest rate etc and gives you the monthly payment and the recommended salary required to be able to pay it.</p>
<p>FinAid</a> | Calculators | Loan Calculator</p>
<p>For a $50,000 loan (assuming any interest during school has been paid and not capitalized which would increase the starting debt)at 6.8% interest paid over 10 years the monthly payment is $575 a month - for 10 years! - with a recommended salary of $69,000. Is it likely he will start with a $69,000 salary in the graphic design field? </p>
<p>Have him think about his long term plans rather than just the next 4 years and what else he may like to do in the following 10 years - such as buy a house, nice car, nice vacations, maybe get married. The debt will limit his options. He will be in his 30s by the time it is paid off (assuming the 10 years). </p>
<p>Personally I think a $50k debt is much too high for undergrad especially in a field such as graphic design (about which I admit I know nothing). I would strongly discourage my own child from taking on such debt. And remember student debt is not dischargeable by bankruptcy.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, you mean 50K debt per year?</p>
<p>I too think $50,000 is too much debt for a graphic design degree, and I'm assuming it's $50,000 total after graduation.</p>
<p>I'm going to go with the no go for the 50k debt. My son just graduated last June from UCLA with a degree similar to what your child wants to study and has not been able to find a job in his field. Currently making $12 parttime and barely scraping by. When he applies for jobs there are up to 200 other candidates with way more experience than him applying also. I'm just hoping he's going to make it, with his "love" of art.</p>
<p>I wish I could get through to my d - she wants to major in Graphic Art, also. Currently, she is also planning a double major with Computer Science, as a back up. She will end up with about $ 40k in loans, simply because we can't pay for everything. (We'll have PLUS loans of our own)</p>
<p>I know college isn't all about vocational training, but the reality is, you have to have a job which pays enough to cover the loans !!</p>
<p>Yes, it is $50K total. Chapman is about $48K/year and we have enough for 3 years saved for him. I think it's crazy to have that much debt and we could possibly split it with him but we feel that we are already contributing enough towards his education and we don't feel it's worth the investment in the long run but I want to make sure we are not out of touch. Even the Chapman Chair of the dept. sent me an email saying it's not the degree but the work that matters. He said a few classes and some up to date software in GD is sufficient.</p>
<p>"Even the Chapman Chair of the dept. sent me an email saying it's not the degree but the work that matters. He said a few classes and some up to date software in GD is sufficient."</p>
<p>This disturbs me. Doesn't seem to speak too highly of the dept or the degree.</p>
<p>The degree is very good there. What he basically said is that talent is talent and the degree isn't the deciding factor. Someone with amazing talent and self taught skill can get a job over the degreed person.</p>
<p>Remember that in 4 years, Chapman will be charging more than $48,000/year. Add about 5% increase per year, that comes to $58,000 for the last year.</p>
<p>I've worked a bit in the graphic design field, and would say that it's not the highest paying field -- earning $69,000 starting salary would be difficult, I'd think.</p>
<p>Yes, that is what I was saying in my original post - talent is talent but mtnest2B is also adding valuable comments to any potential graphic designers. The really good ones are not only graphically talented, but organized and able to grasp the content. Typically they "shine" in an interview situation, too, and are able to present themselves and their strengths. A degree can help people grow in those areas. Whether $200,000 will do a "better job" than $60,000 is going to have more context dependent the students inate design ability. Plus there are "areas" of graphic design that people gravitate to from industrial design, to publication design to the type of design that creates advertising and shades in between. Two people could be "graphic designers" - one could design washing machine and fridges for a multi-national company and the next could be doing layout for Nebaska Birdwatcher Magazine or some such small circulation publication...ends of the design spectrum and also ends of the potential income spectrum. Ultimately the cost of the education may not have that much direct bearing on what the potential earned income will be. To the OP, if your son is deadly serious that he IS going to be a graphic designer and you are seriously considering spending $50,000 for him to do to this, you might want to go visit and talk to people at Art Center College in Pasadena - maybe have your son spend a year or two getting some basics out of the way, confirm his passion for Graphic Design and then transfer to Art Center College. Their grads are thought highly of in the industrial design world. For the car industry it's Center for Creative Studies in Michigan - there are alot of KCIA students designing cards and making decent livings for Hallmark - different companies have their fav schools and fav programs for recruiting. It might be a stronger use of $200,000 than Chapman for graphic design. And yes while some design still starts with maker and paper most design of any type quickly moves to computer technology.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information. Chapman does cap the tuition increase per year to incoming students. I believe it was 2%/year. Regardless it will be a big investment.
I suggested Art schools to him but he isn't ready to commit and he wants the "college life" experience as well. They don't have sports, etc. either.
I thought it would make sense for him to go to his second choice LAC and explore Graphic Design and Media Arts and then maybe take some graduate courses at an Art College if he feels that it is necessary.</p>
<p>My Son #2 is seriously considering Graphic Design. An area I was involved in early in my career and an area my mom spent her life in...When the pedal hits the metal, I will want my son to have a well round liberal education at least for 2 years and boy kids do change their majors which is a huge consideration. Fortunately my husband and I have another year to put a dollar value on this decision. I totally respect your original question and I like Chapman, too. My Son #1 was interested in it a couple years ago and we toured but he never ended up applying. Good luck to you and your son!</p>