<p>us<em>uk</em>mom - Your d’s thought process sounds very similar to my D’s. She would also like to double major with a BFA and BA. Not sure with a BFA if it can happen in 4 years. But a minor is very possible. Right now we are looking at schools with a BFA and then will narrow it down based on the schools that will allow another major. Good luck!</p>
<p>Here is a personal story (about my daughter). But I hope it’s of some value to others for the lessons learned.</p>
<p>Whether or not someone double majors, the heavy concentration of studio courses in a BFA program is very constraining. In the case of an art school such as RISD (which my daughter graduated from, with a major in industrial design), although 70-75% of course credits are in studio classes, there are some non-studio courses. My daughter took these courses at Brown as well as RISD. But the time demand for the studio courses both in class and especially out of class can be overwhelming. At RISD the time spent in three day-long studio courses per week didn’t compare with the time spent on “homework” for those studio courses.</p>
<p>So it is a very legitimate question whether the art school BFA approach is the best approach for most students with an interest in studio art but who have an interest in exploring other areas as well. In my D’s case, she really gained a lot from her non-studio courses and wished she had had time to take more. Don’t get me wrong. She loved RISD and never regretted her decision to attend there. But she also wished she’s had a broader education in college. However, this is a conclusion that she reached in hindsight – as a high school student she willingly, knowingly chose the type of intensive studio curriculum that she got from RISD. What could seem better than immersing yourself 24/7 in an activity that you loved?</p>
<p>In high school, although she looked at several non-art school college options, she only applied to one: CMU. She was admitted there, and had she attended she planned to try to get a minor in business. Several years after graduating from RISD guess what she’s doing now? Earning an MBA. This isn’t so much a change in career interests but rather in career qualifications and certification, as she is still interested in design but from a broader perspective than she had before – product development (not strictly “design”) from a “green” perspective. It’s an uncommon career path, BFA to MBA. But it seems to be working out well so far.</p>
<p>mackinaw - Thanks so much for sharing your D’s story. I am rather glad that my D has decided that a stand alone art school is not the place for her. She does want to focus on art as an undergraduate (at least right now!), but she does feel that attending a regular university leaves her with other options. What you think you want at 16 can be very different from what you want as you get a little older and have some more experiences. </p>
<p>I think a BFA and and MBA sound like a great combination. To combine business skills with her artistic skills should make her a very employable person!</p>
<p>About CMU-CFA. If the student is sure that he/she wants to do a dual degree, the student should apply to both colleges that she/he is interested in. The special BXA program allows the student to complete two degrees in the 4 years. If they try to add on the second major after they arrive – sophomore year-- they will probably end up doing at least a summer or extra semester. Not the best way to go about it but it does happen according to admissions. However, doing a bXA with arts and humanities or social sciences is very doable (like with languages or linguistics) because there are less required courses compared to the science and comp sci.</p>
<p>My son did get admitted into the engineering school and wait-listed for comp sci but he is not sure that he wants to do the whole dual thing and is more inclined to a minor. He chose not to do the BXA route. If he ends up doing an extra summer or semester, we would probably be happy to help out financially but he will have to pay for some of the extra. </p>
<p>There is no harm in applying to up to 4 different colleges at CMU but the supplemental essay should probably say if/why student would like to do two degrees and choose the option to do a BXA program (humanities/arts, science/arts, compsci/arts, engineering/arts). The schools do admissions seperately so the student must first be admitted into each of the schools to then be admitted into the BXA program. Obviously, getting into compsci or engineering is very tough so it is possible to go registered as a CFA student, do some prereqs in the other school and then apply to take on the BXA program…unfortunately, this usually is too late to make up fully for the freshman year in the arts which has very little latitude to take classes out of the major.</p>
<p>SO he’s going to do a combo art and engineering? Or at least qualified for both? Now this is one interesting kid!</p>
<p>^ that’s what I’m trying to tell you all along!
I see you don’t snoop much, smarty.</p>
<p>CMU just sent S the Randy Pausch book–the last lecture–it covers his thoughts on preparing for the last lecture as well as musings on all sorts of topics. Lots of good advice for students although it may come across as a bit preachy. But as a parent it is hard to read since you can’t stop thinking that he is trying to put down all the good advice he would have liked to give to his kids slowly and at the appropriate moments but knows he doesn’t have the luxury to do it over a long lifetime.</p>
<p>The freshmen are supposed to read it before orientation but, of course, S is still living the good life in Europe so ol’helicopter mom (that’s me!) read it at the pool today. I feel so much better about him going to CMU just sad this Pausch character left this earth too early. CMU sounds to be full of geeky kids who are interested in theatre, art, virtual reality and computers and all simultaneaously. Pausch describes one of his most successful students as a kid flunking, really flunking calculus, because he couldn’t be bothered to go to class when he only wanted to work on creating Alice code. Another kid wanted to do special effects and his single mindedness, good python coding skills plus creativity managed to do exactly that for Lucas films. My son in a nutshell…sometimes its coding, sometimes it is sketching, sometimes it is building a huge sculpture, staying up to watch a web cast of the new supercollider doing its stuff, shakespeare in the park–whatever he is into he will give it his all but if it isn’t his thing for the moment…well it will not get much attention. If lots of kids are like this at CMU and the professors there actually encourage single minded creative quirkiness even without Pausch my S is going to be in heaven.</p>
<p>Don’t assume that all classes at big state universities are huge. yes the survey/intro english, etc classes are humongous. BUT, at VCU the art foundation classes are larger than at private schools but S girlfriend doesn’t have any larger than 20 and says she gets plenty of individual attention. Her language classes, even intro spanish, have been small. Her survey required courses have been large -200 but with small break out classes led by TAs. ALl art courses taught by professors full and part time. There are many, many opportunities there and she already has had pieces in teh undergraduate shows and even some at local galleries! She is double majoring in art education and, the benefits of being a really driven student in a really laid back enviornment,…she is able to stand out from her peers and is getting a lot of attention from the faculty. She didn’t take a lot of APs in HS but she got lots of credits for 3s and 4s which have helped get her out of some of the really big classes…my son could have been a second semester sophomore in arts and sciences or skipped most of his math and computer science prerequisites at VCU while CMU accepts ZERO of his AP 4s in AB and BC calc and only his spanish 5s are any help for credits. IB credits–that’s a joke at CMU–he wont get credit for HL COmpsci and 7s on math but they will let him skip 1 semsester of calc and the first semester of python. Absolutely no credit for art courses at CMU but he could have had some from VCU.</p>
<p>fineartsmajormom, thanks so much for your insights! I am confused regarding CMU-CFA options: what’s better - apply just for BFA and then select second major later (or transfer into the BxA program), OR apply directly to the BxA program? Extra summer or semester is not going to be the end of the world. I assume it is possible to just have double major BFA without going through BxA.</p>
<p>The problem is, my D doesn’t know yet what the second major will be, but BxA application requires her to specify exact major and apply to a specific college! She would probably pick something in humanities or social sciences, definitely not engineering, but she wants the freedom to explore a little before she commits. It makes sense to get second major in computer science, since she is interested in animation, but she won’t hack it at CMU and she won’t be accepted to SCS - her math is relatively weak, she is only taking Math SL in IB (has 7, but it’s not enough for CMU).</p>
<p>if anyone haven’t seen it yet
the last lecture
my regret is he got tacky taste in stuffed bears</p>
<p><a href=“Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams - YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo</a></p>
<p>I don’t know if there is an advantage in the BXA versus going and adding a minor or major later but starting in the BXA program makes double major easier if you know what you want to do from the get go. That being said, few 17 year olds have a clear sense of what they want to major in, much less two areas so the BXA freshman are a small group. If my son was considering a spanish major (do art in Salamanca) or become a writer (wanted to be an art critic or something) then I think the path to picking up the second major could be pretty easy at CMU. The sciences are certainly more tricky because of the large number of required courses/prerequisites that leave less flexibility. </p>
<p>My advice to S who is also unsure whether he wants to tackle a double major is to enjoy the first semester of art foundation since there is no flexibility in the curriculum and listen/learn from other students about good courses in other schools for the next semester and year when some flexibility comes into play. Also, there are clubs of student artists and techies doing game design, animations, etc together for fun and that could be a great place to explore interests. If she is interested in art/language…she could sit in on some linguistics classes, go to some outside lectures, talk to other students and professors. My S is going to room with an engineer/artificial intelligence kid so he should get some perspective on how tough the coursework will be. </p>
<p>Don’t discourage your daughter from applying to colleges outside of CMU-CFA. I had no idea my son had applied engineering and comp sci until the results came back. I asked why…and he said he just wanted to know if he would be able to handle the workload. Girl engineers/comp sci are still rare and get special consideration. Applying to multiple colleges doesn’t hurt and provides options. S’s roomate had comp sci as first choice but was rejected so is thrilled about the engineering and had college of science as a backup.</p>
<p>Go to the carnegie mellon forum for some interesting discussions about double majors, etc.</p>
<p>Update for uskoolfish regarding NYU-Steinhardt and double majoring. Here is the answer directly from the BFA program advisor:</p>
<p>"Yes, Steinhardt Studio Art majors are permitted to double major with one of the majors in the College of Arts and Sciences (only)…however, we don’t recommend it because it would probably take more than 4 years depending on any AP or other college credits you may be able to transfer in… and it also takes away from your ability to take a broader range of liberal arts classes. "</p>
<p>I think University of Delaware would be good choice. I’m going into my senior year here.</p>
<p>We have an excellent art program. The way it works is that first year you have to take foundations, and then you apply to either the fine art or visual communications program. Fine art areas of study include sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, screenprinting. Visual communications areas of study include illustration, photography, graphic design, advertising design, and new media (web design, animation, video).</p>
<p>I am in the visual communications program, concentrating in illustration. VC is the harder program to get in to. However, if one does not get into VC, they are guaranteed a spot a fine arts. What I love about the VC major is that they stress studio art courses, so if she is interested in illustration, UD would be a good choice. UD VC’s program was last year ranked in the top 10 schools nationwide for visual communications programs, right up there with RISD.</p>
<p>Many people here double major. I think the way it works here is that depending on the “college” you’re in, the art major falls into the College of Art and Sciences, you can major in any other major within the college. You can even triple major here.</p>
<p>Our VC program has excellent connections in the art world. Senior year over the winter you’re required to do an internship. Last year we had people intern at Vogue, Details, Widen and Kennedy, and many others. Widen and Kennedy is one of the single largest advertising agencies in the world. They came up with “Just Do It” for Nike, to put it in perspective. The two people that interned there were offered jobs even before they graduated, and are working there now. Summer before senior year there is an annual study abroad to London for 5 weeks, and there are many excellent opportunities in that as well.</p>
<p>If you want any more information, feel free to send me a message. You can check out my portfolio if you’re interested in seeing what kind of work I do, and maybe what comes out of UD: [Katy</a> Orr on the Behance Network](<a href=“http://www.behance.net/katyorr]Katy”>http://www.behance.net/katyorr)</p>
<p>I just think it would be a good choice for someone that has a strong interest in something more “design” related, but would still love studio art courses (because I’m very much the same way).</p>