<p>My daughter fits the classic "preppy" profile and she would be most comfortable on a small New England (or PA or NY) liberal arts campus. She is an award-winning high school photographer (national contests) and interested in focusing on (possibly majoring in) photography in college. The typical art school environment would not be a fit for her--she does not want to be around a lot of spiked hair and bohemian dress. She is far more conservative than the typical RISD student, for example. Her aunt went to RISD and loved the program but found the environment very difficult (most of her more conservative friends and boyfriends were off campus). </p>
<p>My daughter currently attends a small private school in CT--and she has excelled in the photography program. Because of this experience, we know that she does not necessarily need to be in a school that is filled with talented artists in order for her to continue her passion. </p>
<p>We've just started looking at colleges--and wonder if anyone has advice about the best art/photography programs at liberal arts colleges and smaller universities. </p>
<p>photogirl, Thought I’d repost what I wrote on the other thread:</p>
<p>YES! Colleges need artists too. They don’t necessarily recruit them like football players, but a strong portfolio and art resume can play a big part in admissions at a university or a liberal arts college.</p>
<p>I’d recommend the following small LACs for studio art and strong academics: Williams, Wesleyan, Hamilton, Skidmore, Conn College, Kenyon, Vassar, Smith.
Wesleyan and Smith may be more liberal than what your daughter’s looking for, so she’d need to visit.</p>
<p>I don’t know of any small school that offers a degree in photography per se. Usually an art major takes a range of media with focus on their area of interest (unintentional pun). I know Williams, for example, has a couple of very talented photographers on its faculty, and frequently enlists photographers as visiting professors or to teach Winter Study course; however, I wouldn’t say that photography is a specialty of the school.</p>
<p>Bard is very strong in photography and not as goth as you think – not the typical “art school” crowd, though it is liberal. I really suggest a visit because I am sure you can major in photography there; they have a masters in affiliation with ICP, International Center of Photography in NYC.</p>
<p>I hesitate to say Sarah Lawrence because it is artier than Bard. (I’ve looked at each many times.)</p>
<p>My H is a professional photographer and he is down on most programs because he finds the photographers he hires lack technical skill. And with digital becoming so important, most photographers will be computer people. (He still prefers film, but it can be a hard sell with customers.) Are goals teaching? Newspaper work? Fashion? Print ads? Photojournalism? I know it’s early to answer these questions, but it is relevant to choosing a school. For instance, if international photojournalism is goal, photography gets paired with international studies and journalism; if teaching an all around art degree is necessary. Most programs beside technical schools have art prereq’s for majors (drawing and the like). So think about what she really wants.</p>
<p>I know you said small LAC, but I am going to put in a bid for Barnard because NYC has just about everything a young photographer could want, including internships at the most amazing places.</p>
<p>(NYU’s Steinhardt school is great, but obviously that’s far from a LAC, though with Stern there NYC is not as arty as you may think.)</p>
<p>RIT might be a great place for your daughter. We aren’t really “that artsy type” which is one of the reasons i am here. although, with so many engineers we are slightly nerdy.</p>
<p>I second RIT. Also, She might want to consider Syracuse University, Who has photography as part of either their art school or communication school.Syracuse, like RIT, tends to have a bit more conservative kids especially in their communication school.</p>
<p>One person above noted that digital knowledge is becomming very crucial in today’s environment. University of Cincinnati has a program in Digital Design,which is part digital photography and part digital and graphic design. It isn’t pure photography,but it might be of interest to your daughter since it is more broad based. Cincinnati is a very highly rated school for Design. Check out their school of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning (DAAP).</p>
<p>RISD’s not full of goths, we dress more normally than the brown kids. RISD even has a “healthy choices” dorm and a christian club. If you visit the campus you won’t find many preps but the people here aren’t bohemians. Don’t dismiss any schools because of what your aunt said, things change.</p>
<p>While your daughter may have won national competitions for her work what she really needs to think about is what aspect of photography she is interested in pursuing.</p>
<p>I graduated from RISD’s photography program 3 1/2 years ago. It is not crazy, no one had spiked hair. In fact, the RISD photography program requires a written thesis and thesis portfolio. Along with the architects and designers, we were the more normal kids in school.</p>
<p>RISD’s program is focused primarily on art photography, but offers courses in lighting, digital imaging, etc. The teaching philosophy makes use of the critique process extensively and turns out students who know how to think about and discuss visual problems formally which is probably the most important creative skill have, technique can be learned anywhere including internships and assisting. RISD students also benefit from the, albeit difficult to schedule, opportunity to take course at Brown. In fact RISD and Brown just announced a dual degree program. Brown also offers an excellent degree in Modern Culture and Media which is essentially a combination of semiotics and creative practice. Many of my friends graduated form that program and have gone on to great jobs here in New York. Again, Brown students may take RISD classes, but scheduling is difficult, but perhaps this might be a good path for your duaghter.</p>
<p>A program like those at Brooks or RIT is more technically rigorous and turns out photographers specifically trained for fashion, still life, automotive, scientific, etc. My brother is currently at Brooks and I do not recommend it. The corporation that owns and operates Brooks has been having financial difficulties which is affecting the quality of the education they provide. I don’t have much familiarity with RIT, but as I said, these are very technically-oriented schools.</p>
<p>It’s very important to visit these places to get a feel for the strengths, weaknesses and nuances of each program. Order course catalogs and look over the offerings. Talk to students and faculty.</p>
<p>How does your daughter expect to become a great photographer if she encloses herself in a comfort zone full of other people just like her? Preps to boot. </p>
<p>Hi OP: I wouldn’t worry too much about lilybbloom’s comments (though I am amused by them). If she’s lucky, your daughter will meet Arbus and Mapplethorpe soon enough.</p>