Looking for advice for art schools

Parent Cafe
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<p>Hello, I am new to CC and have a son headed for college in 2009. He is interested in a sequential art degree and is currently looking at SCAD. We have a local art school in Denver, RMCAD, that he visited, but they do not offer a degree specifically in sequential art. I have looked at some of the threads on SCAD and other art schools and would appreciate some advice on a few things.</p>

<p>Some of the art schools mentioned were SVA and RISD, what is the full name of these schools?</p>

<p>Would he be better served getting a general art degree at a good school (art or otherwise) and focusing on the sequential aspect at grad level?</p>

<p>Another interesting element is that his scores may place him in National Merit running. Of course, that won't be known fully until next school year ('08-'09) when he goes through the process, but his scores are certainly good for Colorado. Thus, we are also looking at schools that give full tuition for NM finalists AND have a decent art department. Any suggestions to look at? Some that I have run across in research are Southeast Missouri State University, University of Central Arkansas, Oklahoma State, and University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. I would appreciate feedback on the art departments for the schools and any others.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>I’ll help you out with the parts I can.
SVA is the School of Visual Arts in NYC.
RISD is Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI.</p>

<p>Personally, I have a low opinion of SCAD, but other people here will tend to disagree.</p>

<p>Your other questions, I may not be able to answer them too well so its better you wait for someone else to come along =)</p>

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<p>There is a Brown-RISD joint program he might want to look into (the schools are right next door to each other)</p>

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<p>You might want to have a look at the Arts majors forum:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/arts-majors/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/arts-majors/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Muffy333, is the ‘Brown’ in Brown-RISD Brown University?</p>

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<p>The Brown part of “Brown RISD” is absolutely Brown University. It is a new 5-year program, dual enrollment, that is having its inaugural year next year. You have to be admitted to each school separately. Very competitive, as you might guess. Here is the website:</p>

<p><a href=“http://risd.brown.edu/[/url]”>http://risd.brown.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>@ skiercolo</p>

<p>I would also consider the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. One of the premier art schools in the nation in an urban setting.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.saic.edu/[/url]”>http://www.saic.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>As a Missouri resident, I have never heard anyone recommend SEMO for an art degree. I know they have built a new arts campus, so they may be trying to improve their status in the arts. I know from the NCES website that SEMO has very few art graduates.</p>

<p>I have heard MO art teachers suggest Missouri State. They will start moving into a new art campus next year, have more art graduates, and higher ACT scores than SEMO.</p>

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<p>And if you enroll at RISD but not in the Brown-RISD program, you can take some courses at Brown or vice versa and a lot of the student activities run by the two colleges are joint. I think Providence is a really cool city.</p>

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<p>skier, welcome! As I think you’ve understood there are very few full service colleges or universities (as opposed to pure art schools) that offer programs in sequential art or animation. I think the Brown/RISD combination is intriguing, but, as others have pointed out, it’s wildly selective and has some other unknowns as it is brand new.</p>

<p>If your son chooses to go the liberal arts degree route and chooses a college or university instead of art school he may have to concentrate on more traditional art (drawing, painting, sculpture) and postpone his immediate area of interest. In that case I would recommend looking into the following:
Medium/Large: Brown, Yale, Michigan, Carnegie Melon, Johns Hopkins
Small: Williams, Wesleyan, Kenyon, Hamilton, Skidmore, Connecticut College</p>

<p>For pure art school, I’d second the suggestion that you take a look at the Arts Major board on this site. There are several parents and students who post there who are quite knowledgable in this field.</p>

<p>As far as money goes, most liberal arts colleges and universities will offer need based aid if your family qualifies. If you need or want merit aid, then you will have to develop a list of schools that spcifically offer merit aid.</p>

<p>For aid at art schools, again, I’d defer to the experts on the Art Majors board.</p>

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<p>Hi skier-I am in the film industry, and can recommend schools that are strong in animation/film. Programs that have lots of traditional art classes along with the animation classes are the best bet. I wouldn’t recommend grad school route, hardly anyone in the industry has advanced degrees. If you want the university experience, look at Loyola Marymount U in Los Angeles or San Jose State. Art schools that are animation oriented are Cal Arts, Laguna College of Art, and Art Center (more for Visual Development). Film schools to consider are USC, NYU or UCLA. These are schools that Disney-Pixar, EA, Dreamworks etc. recruits from. The only intriguing post grad program I know of is the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon, if he is interested in gaming or theme parks. (And I only know of it bc my D attends CMU).</p>