<p>Do any of you also have a child who is or was torn between art school and a liberal-arts education? My D has always had a passion for art and knows she wants to pursue a career in interior design. She could go right to art school, get a BFA, and hopefully enter the workforce right away. However, the college that really tugs at her heart is a small LAC with a great art department but not interior design. She would almost certainly have to get a masters degree if she went to this LAC I truly do not know what to advise her and am beginning to lose sleep. </p>
<p>My heart agrees with her about this small LAC--I love it and want that cozy campus experience for her. But I wonder if it will be four wasted years since she already seems to know that she wants interior design. She does enjoy dance, music, literature and other things, but art is her primary passion. We can probably help her out somewhat with grad school costs, and I'm enough of a realist (snob???) to believe that a masters degree is always a good thing. Thoughts, anyone? </p>
<p>I have to say, there don’t seem to be any LACs offering an interior design major. I will say that students do change their major fairly often – she may pick a school for that major, and then change her mind. But if my kid really wanted that major, I would probably go for one of the state flagships that offer it (U of MN - Twin Cities, Ohio State, Michigan State, Oregon State – I think I spotted them on the list). Depends on what state you are in, of course, although U of MN has pretty reasonable tuition for OOS, and Ohio State has some decent scholarhips available. If she changes her mind, there are a lot of other majors she could switch to. </p>
<p>Grad school would not be funded in interior design. Unless you have a LOT of money saved for her education, I would tell her she can go the LAC route if she wishes, but grad school will be on her dime if she ends up wanting to go down that path.</p>
<p>I’m an architect who who got a liberal arts education first (at a medium sized university not an LAC). It offered a major that included a lot of what I was interested in, but it did not offer a professional degree. I was lucky that my parents were able to fund seven years of schooling. Even now there are times when I wonder if I would have had a better time going to art school and majoring in illustration. Interior design is a funny field - there are a lot of people who just put up a shingle without any training at all, but I know at least at Parsons it’s 12 to 18 months in addition to a BA. What interior design programs has she looked at? Perhaps she should look at both, apply to both, and make the decision in April.</p>
<p>The D of a friend of mine attended an art school for two years and dropped out due to burnout - always having to work on projects. What was once a joy became a chore. I would go with the LAC.</p>
<p>I agree with @mathmom and I would look at and apply to both types of schools. There is a benefit to having a traditional LAC experience if you will be able to afford to send her for a degree in interior design later. And about half of the people entering college end up changing their major so she may still decide again interior design at some point. </p>
<p>My D’s friend had a similar experience at an art school as described above – she found it too intense and the pressure and competition took the joy out of creating for her. She is now studying art at a university and is much happier.</p>
<p>Thank you, all. Part of the issue is that she thinks she’ll have a better shot getting into the LAC if she applies ED…and she’s afraid to turn her back on art school at this point. Honestly, we haven’t budgeted for grad school, although I think we’ll be able to help out somewhat. </p>
<p>Replying as someone who has hired many interior designers over the years–I thought the most talented ones were people who didn’t necessarily have degrees in interior design but were people with arts backgrounds who got on the job experience. If your D goes the liberal arts route–she could major in art or something similar and do internship/summer programs specifically geared to interior design. A number of the designers I worked with had interns from Suffolk University (Boston)–which isn’t an LA C but has an interior design major.</p>
<p>I vote with all ten fingers and ten toes for the LAC. Your daughter may end up discovering other fields she never even knew existed, so why narrow it down now before the learning process has even started?</p>
<p>I’ll bet that there are certificate programs and adult continuing ed she can do later rather than a graduate degree if she does stay with wanting to do interior design. </p>
<p>I have worked with interior designers and i never even thought to ask them about their educational background. </p>
<p>I admit to not being a fan of the BFA in general. We’ve seen countless young people go that route in theatre but a few in art as well. It’s a rather inflexible major to be choosing so early in ones educational career. Most do not allow for academic work at all. A B.A. in art at least tells future employers that you’ve had a full education and you never know what other subject is going to strike them in a broader LAC setting. If it were me I’d look for an LAC with a strong art program that offers an arts management concentration. Maybe dabble a bit in scenic design with the theatre department. B.A’s are just more adaptable and that seems more fitting for kids just starting out. </p>
<p>And someone who is a teenager who is interested in interior design may discover fields in college that are of greater interest- theatrical set design, urban planning, landscape architecture, historical preservation, archival studies, art history, etc.</p>
<p>Another vote for the LAC. There are lots of interior designers in my area and I don’t think a single one majored in the field (a very popular person has a Master’s in Psychology and I bet she uses THAT every day working with clients!)</p>
<p>I don’t know much about interior design, but the one thing I like about a lot of the posts is they are saying that there is more than one path to the career. There are discussions like this with music, about whether it is better to go to a conservatory versus going to a music program in a college, and there a case can be made for the conservatory route because with music, it comes down to training and the single minded focus in a conservatory may prepare students better (I am talking classical music here), key word being may…but other fields may not require that kind of linear path, actually majoring in the subject to be able to get into it (which it sounds like). IT for example is full of people who didn’t major in computer science or info systems, and same for other fields, lot of programmers majored in something else, then later on took extension courses and continuing ed courses in programming…with music and conservatory it depends on the student, about their passion, and I tell people if the kid wants to try a BM but isn’t so sure about their total passion for it, then a college may be better, and in this case, unless all she wants to do is live, breathe and eat art with other focused kids, the BA might be the better route. The environment is important, and if the LAC appeals to her more, then as others have pointed out there can be a path to the interior design field that may not even involve grad school, it doesn’t seem to have the rigidity that you absolutely need a bfa or mfa…</p>
<p>My d was a double major in art and art history at Brandeis. She did not want to go to art school for undergrad because she wanted a complete university experience. She does have an MFA from one of the leading art schools in the US. That said she did a post-bac year to prepare her portfolio for grad school admission in painting and drawing.</p>
<p>As far as interior design, I do know that many people who pursue this field do so after completing a one year program post-college. I am not familiar with many schools, LAC’s in particular that offer this as an undergraduate major. So many people change majors and interests. Actually my older d was originally bio/studio art but lost interest in a double science major after honors freshman chem. </p>
<p>Bookmama22, tell me more! My D would be a double legacy at Brandeis but I CANNOT convince her to apply there because she doesn’t think the art department is anything special. Did your D spent most of her time doing art? Or just a small percentage? Where did she get her MFA?</p>
<p>Does this LAC have an Architecture major or concentration? Otherwise, an Art or Art History major will provide a solid foundation, and she can explore internships with design firms. </p>
<p>If you’re D is gung-ho on interior design and the cost is comparable to other schools you are looking at, look at Ringling College of Art and Design. 100 percent of their interior design graduates are working in the field. The last graduating class I heard about all had jobs before they graduated. Being an art school it has the small campus atmosphere that your D is looking for. It is accredited and credits are transferable to other institutions. But I do know that it is an intense program.</p>