<p>Hello,
My HS senior and I have looked @ several Colleges with BFA programs in Ceramics, and she has applied to several but there is not 1 clear standout to her yet. She definately wants a traditional university setting rather that Art only school. These are the schools that are currently on her list: New Paltz, Syracuse, RIT, Universty of Hartford, Alfred, Eckerd, and Skidmore. She has a 3.5 GPA and 27 ACT, 1750 SAT. She has gone to a National Portfolio Review Day and U Hart told her they would offer her "big $" to go there. Alfred also hinted at $, and Syracuse accepted her portfolio pending academic admission. Each reviewer gave her lots of positive feedback on her overall portfolio and told her that her pottery is what they would expect from a college sophomore or junior. I don't know much about art or Art Schools, so I am hoping that some of you may have some feedback for me about some of the programs above. Any information would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>I don’t know much of BFA programs and especially ones that are focused on ceramics, but I wish your daughter much success and I love to read about students that have unique interests and who follow those interests, especially in our “STEM pressured” world. Good for her!!!</p>
<p>Try asking also in the CC section called “Visual Arts and Film Majors.” </p>
<p>To find it, click on “Discussion Home” (top left menu on this page); scroll down below all the sections that list Universities by alphabet, until you see “College Majors.”</p>
<p>Thank you! We have had many people tell us we need to steer her into a more financially sound path, but we feel we need to support her in pursing her passion. Although she is a solid academic student, she has never enjoyed her coursework until she discovered art a few years ago. She has been told by many Art teachers that she has a gift, so we hope her talent and passion will help her to find success and happiness!</p>
<p>Have you visited any of these schools? I ask because I was very impressed during a visit to Alfred by the size of something (looked like a piece of furniture) that was rolling into their giant kiln.</p>
<p>We have visited Syracuse, Skidmore, RIT, and New Paltz. We haven’t visited Alfred yet, but probably will in the spring. They have a great rep for Ceramics, but the campus in in the middle of nowhere so she is hesitant. We did go to the National Portfolio review Day @ U of Hartford, but didn’t get to tour the campus because we were there on the day of thier recent fall blizzard that left the city paralyzed for days!</p>
<p>By all means, visit Alfred. The art facilities are top notch, and their post graduation placement rate (when my s considered the school a number of years ago) was incredible. Whereas the isolated campus is considered a disadvantage and inconvenience to many, if you are a NY state resident, the tuition cost is truly compelling.</p>
<p>[Tyler</a> School of Art - Ceramics](<a href=“http://www.temple.edu/ceramics/undergraduate_gallery/undergraduate.html]Tyler”>http://www.temple.edu/ceramics/undergraduate_gallery/undergraduate.html)</p>
<p>Tyler School of Arts is a part of Temple University in Philadelphia.
The art school recently relocated from off site to main campus.
There is quite a bit of new and great art coming out of Phila. I’s a pretty exciting place to be.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input everyone! We will visit Alfred in the spring. She did look online @ Temple, but feels like it is a bit too far away and too big.</p>
<p>It’s not a BFA, but the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University (Minnesota) has an interesting ceramics studio. Search for “Saint John’s Pottery”. It has an apprenticeship program.</p>
<p>I believe Tulane has a ceramics program.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the suggestions, but I was really hoping for any info folks may know about the specific schools I listed above to help her narrow down her list. Thanks again!</p>
<p>VCU (Virginia Commonwealth) in Richmond is often listed at the top of public university art schools. My son graduated with a BFA in theater and playwriting in 2010. Their admission is well juried and sometimes difficult but the program in all the arts is exceptional.</p>
<p>Check out Pollywogg holler if you can. They have food and lodging, as well as sculpture and ceramics from Alfred along a wooded path. I haven’t been there, but I’ve heard good things about it. </p>
<p>Alfred also offered my D a good amount of merit aid, which combined with their already low cost, made it quite affordable. </p>
<p>[The</a> Sculpture Gardens](<a href=“http://www.pollywoggholler.com/sculpture.htm]The”>The Sculpture Gardens | Pollywogg Holler Eco-resort)</p>
<p>Thanks, we will!</p>
<p>ASU (Tempe AZ) has one of the strongest ceramics programs in the country.
<a href=“http://www.art.asu.edu/ceramics/[/url]”>www.art.asu.edu/ceramics/</a></p>
<p>Hi Cathy, I’m wondering if you don’t want to both help her pursue her dream and encourage a backup too. </p>
<p>As someone who has worked with kids choosing colleges and careers for many years, I have to say I was a much bigger champion of supporting the things kids love but don’t lend themselves to a career paying for a middle class lifestyle early on.</p>
<p>I’ve followed kids for a long time, and I think those who had a backup plan for their art were the happiest in the long run. At 18 they simply don’t know what they don’t know. They don’t know how much life costs, kids cost or what the tradeoffs are. It’s brutally hard out there right now…I’d go for a program that leaves her with options.</p>
<p>One thing that jumped out at me about her list is all are upstate NY locations, with the warm exception of Eckerd in Florida. You have Syracuse, Rochester, New Paltz, Alfred. My personal thought is that none of these locations is a great art magnet (like a NYC, Chicago, LA…) so each location merits equal consideration, then a careful look at the program itself.</p>
<p>Eckerd sounds just lovely all winter in Florida, produces an exhibit, is planning to build a larger studio soon, and has only one professor in Ceramics. Think seriously about this: only one Ceramics professor over a four-year period. Perhaps she can save Florida for Spring Break? </p>
<p>You have the old industrial cities of Syracuse and Rochester, with lively universities and midsized museums in art and science for more inspiration. She’d need to measure the size and dynamism of each art department by metrics such as how many profs, courses, facilities, studio space, etc. </p>
<p>New Paltz is a hip, progressive small rural/suburban town, energized and dominated by the university SUNY campus. It has many small arts galleries, a very good theater offering, so it could fuel her creative juices if not directly in Ceramics. </p>
<p>Alfred University’s well developed program in Ceramics – with a choice there of Engineering or Fine Arts emphasis – might impress her when she visits. If so, she might put up with the isolated location. I think their Engineering option in Ceramics is worth serious thought if she’d like more employment options after graduation than strict Fine Arts.</p>
<p>Alfred has 5 faculty members in Ceramics, plus several technical personnel staffing the studios. They require a major senior project under faculty supervision. There’s an important museum collection in Ceramics to inspire students throughout the year. </p>
<p>Alfred is isolated but in a beautiful, unspoiled rural Allegany County, NY. Would she find the natural beauty inspiring, or perhaps share other students’ perception of “nuthin to do here but drink”? If she’s got some imagination and access to a car, she can make some nice daytrips on weekends: Niagara Falls, the Albright Knox Museum and new Birchfield Penney Museums in Buffalo, Corning Glass Museum. Three hours away is Toronto, a great weekend overnight trip for students, especially art students.</p>
<p>You say traditional university setting, and the colleges you cited kind of made it sound like she wants a New England feel, but CU Boulder (my home state) has one of the top ceramic programs in the country. A lot of my friends go there right now, and are loving it. I visit them all the time, and Boulder is a beautiful place with a lot of places to look for inspiration. Boulder isn’t New England, but its Ceramics program is top notch. </p>
<p>They do not have a BFA specifically in Ceramics, but a BFA in Studio Arts would give her access to Ceramics classes once she declared her focus (I think that’s how the program works), and would give her a leg up if she wanted to apply for their graduate program which is ranked in the top 15 in the nation. She would take all the general art courses but definitely have her foundation in Ceramics! </p>
<p>[Ceramics:</a> A Small Program with a Large Reputation | Inside CU | University of Colorado at Boulder](<a href=“http://www.colorado.edu/insidecu/editions/2006/2-28/story2.html]Ceramics:”>http://www.colorado.edu/insidecu/editions/2006/2-28/story2.html)</p>
<p>That’s an old article but their program could have only grown. Also… they just built a new Visual Arts Complex and it’s amazing. I’ve been inside a few times and it’s easily the nicest building on campus. The classrooms are beautiful, studios are wide open, and there’s a really great gallery where all the undergraduate and graduate work is showcased. I’m into art too and I would love working in some of the spaces they provide. </p>
<p>It’s worth looking into.</p>
<p>Plus I think Waverly has a point, CU Boulder is great for that reason as well because even though they’re a public university, their BA in Studio Arts is much more liberal arts driven.</p>