Please help--Art Schools?/UofM

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
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<p>Beachy, yes, you didn't specifically say meeting deadlines. Instead you said, "understanding working within a budget," To me this connotes deadlines or at least doing things in a timely manner.</p>

<p>However, we really are on the same page. I am in full agreement that the more writing and reading courses a person has, the better the person will be in many ways as well. I just don't believe that having x credits in science, math, woman's studies, cultural studies and other requirements necessarily makes people the way you describe. For what it's worth, I would require all art students to take tough reading and writing courses! At least kids at some art schools like RISD can take their liberal arts at Brown, which is no slouch school.</p>

<p>However, I believe that we have belabored the subject and gotten away from the original post. I think it is fair to say that both types of environment have their pros and cons.</p>

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<p>Thank you all so much for your input; it really has helped a great deal. I think I have to sit down with myself and contact one of my professors from my Summer Art program about which type of school would help me in the best way possible. In Michigan there are two art-oriented schools...CCS and Kendall, and I don't really have a great feeling about either of them. I love the city of Ann Arbor (UMICH), AND financing all of these out-of-state art schools would be VERY difficult for my family. I know I can get some scholarships, but again...it all seems very daunting. I know I want to get a good technical art education...so I could then use that to put across what I want to say. I guess what I would like to know now is how everyone would rank the art schools, based on drawing and painting. And, if anyone has experience, how UMICH might fit into that picture. I just want to get an intense education.
Thank you all for giving opinions on both side of the major question, as well. You're all so helpful.</p>

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<p>heartheart, an intense liberal arts education and an intense artschool education are two different animals. You don't need to make a decision for several months, so keep investigating your options.</p>

<p>Many small liberal arts colleges are generous with financial aid, either need based or merit aid. With your academic credentials you could be a contendor for merit aid and possibly needbased aid depending on your family's financial situation. </p>

<p>What I'd suggest you do is to narrow in on two or three schools in each category Art School, Research University, Liberal Arts College. For example, RISD, Pratt, UMich, CMU, Brown, Williams, Skidmore, Smith (if you are female).</p>

<p>You should make your shortlist based on whatever's on your wishlist, like location, culture, ambience etc. Then you could take a look at their distribution requirements and see if a typical course schedule would be appealing to you. Then, and this is probably the most important, you could evaluate the affordability. This takes some trial and error before you get a reasonable list. </p>

<p>It's okay to apply to different types of schools and delay making your decision until you get your acceptances. A lot can change between now and April 2006!</p>

<p>My son really loves making art and will indoubtedly end up in some art related field. He just wasn't ready to make the decision to choose the field yet and wanted to continue to study (at the college level) other academic subjects. So for him, the liberal arts education was the obvious choice, even though it means he will most likely have to continue on in graduate school for a more career based degree. </p>

<p>Because he's majoring in both art and art history he's only taking one studio course per semester. If he dropped the art history part he would be taking two. He likes the balance of making art, studying art, and studying other disciplines simultaneously. That's just his path; everyone has to choose his/her own.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
It's okay to apply to different types of schools and delay making your decision until you get your acceptances. A lot can change between now and April 2006!

[/quote]
I wholeheartedly endorse that approach in this case. My son followed it (though art wasn't his special interest). To make an arbitrary choice this early really isn't needed, and so you can indeed get a "market basket" of options of different types of schools. Just be careful not to make every school a "reach" -- the best or among the most selective of each type -- but to have schools of each type that are across the range of degree of difficulty of admission, and also to have one or two true back-ups or safeties.</p>

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<p>I wholeheartedly agree Mackinaw. My daughter will be applying to a number of different types of schools. We will see where she gets admitted and what money is offered by each school before she has to make a decision.</p>

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<p>As far as having a broad liberal arts background, I firmly believe that this is the single biggest problem among art students when it comes to critical thinking. Like most professions, there are varying degrees of involvement and investment depending on your own personality, and many students find success at some early stage when they discover that they actually can do something most other people cannot. However, and this is important, any decent professor/artist will be able to see through this and not let it go unchallenged. The lack of a liberal arts background among art students confines many aspiring artists to knee-jerk responses and oversimplified answers to complex questions. This is okay since there are a number of galleries and art collectors who support this type of work. But I doubt it will get you into the Whitney Bienniel or a grant from the Pollock/Krasner Foundation. The streets of Rome or Florence or Paris are filled with talented artists selling superb technical skill to tourists, but most have little more to offer than craftsmanship. Art students need to have some general knowledge of psychology, sociology, history, philosophy, etc. before they can 1) understand what teachers, artists, critics, theorists etc are saying to them; and 2) decide if they are going to accept, reject, deny, support, counter, etc. </p>

<p>And as far as art and design... these are two very different disciplines. Of course many schools are blurring these lines now, marketed as "cross-disciplinary" or some other catch-phrase. Really, the two diverge as soon as foundational hand-eye coordination are developed since the visual language-body in each is robust and complex. That's not to say that they don't overlap, only that each requires enough unique knowledge for a full 4 years of learning. Regardless of whether you are in a specific cross-discipline program, most art schools will give you an opportunity to audit one or two non-major classes, or take them as electives.</p>

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<p>Thank you, that is hwat i have been saying all along...An artist NEEDS an education.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Regardless of whether you are in a specific cross-discipline program, most art schools will give you an opportunity to audit one or two non-major classes, or take them as electives.

[/quote]
From what I've seen, all art schools, not just most, give their students a lot of opportunity to take several non-major classes.</p>

<p>Otherwise, I agree with the main point of your post, that being well educated means exposure to liberal arts beyond art and design disciplines. That's the biggest risk to students attending art schools, that typically some 70% of their coursework is in studio courses. Unless the students take their non-studio courses seriously, or develop extracurricular interests outside of developing skills in art or design, they risk being handicapped in their future endeavors. I also strongly recommend that students gain international experience while in college, preferably spending a semester or more abroad.</p>

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<p>I love College Confidential! Some one asks a question and by the end of the thread.....Wow! There are amazing people out there..good brains too! BUT back to what art schools? My daughter is looking for an Art program with Metals and Jewelry Design as a concentration in the BFA-we are thinking a more diverse atmosphere like a Syracuse because she is also into voice and theatre and even Color Guard(!)She would like "New England, New York, or California" She is 16 1/2 years old after all! Thoughts, ideas on programs? AND if a university with Studio Art or Art major doesn't list Metals and Jewelry, does one assume they do not have the facilities and/or instructors? Thanks and, well, back to you guys!</p>

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<p>When it comes to a specific major in jewely/metals, you're going to have to check this out school by school. I did look at the list of majors offered at independent art schools, and 10 or so have this major at the BFA level, and a few more as a minor or concentration: <a href="http://www.aicad.org/majors.html#metals%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.aicad.org/majors.html#metals&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>If you look at universities with studio art majors, such as Syracuse, Boston University, or Carnegie Mellon, then my guess is few if any will have jewelry as a major but you should probably look at courses they offer rather than for a major or minor as such. And if they have metals/jewelry courses, then I would look for a university with a strong foundation year program.</p>

<p>(Another site that lists jewelry majors/concentrations is the npda site: <a href="http://www.npda.org/concentrations.html#jewelry%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.npda.org/concentrations.html#jewelry&lt;/a> ).</p>

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<p>Thank you Mackinaw for those two sites-I have added them to the pile. We are starting our search now as a rising Junior to allow plenty of time for looking and talking-Mass College of Art is part of a consortium of Fine Arts schools in that area of Boston, She was thinking she might want a larger school so her gang wasn't just artists. Syracuse, Carnegie Mellon, and California State at Long Beach, maybe BU, maybe NYU Anyway thank you again and I will go school by school as I ahve already started</p>

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<p>My daughter loves jewelry-making and could easily have majored in it (instead she majored in industrial design). Since graduating two years ago she's taken a couple of courses at a studio in NYC just for fun (and maybe eventually for profit). I'm not sure your daughter has to major in that subject in order to make a go of it later. But there are certain processes and techniques to master.</p>

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<p>//BUT back to what art schools? My daughter is looking for an Art program with Metals and Jewelry Design as a concentration in the BFA-we are thinking a more diverse atmosphere like a Syracuse because she is also into voice and theatre and even Color Guard(!)She would like "New England, New York, or California" She is 16 1/2 years old after all! Thoughts, ideas on programs? AND if a university with Studio Art or Art major doesn't list Metals and Jewelry, does one assume they do not have the facilities and/or instructors? Thanks and, well, back to you guys!//</p>

<p>Look into the Savannah College of Art and Design: Metals and Jewelry
<a href="http://www.scad.edu/academic/majors/mtjw/index.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.scad.edu/academic/majors/mtjw/index.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Media and Performing Arts
<a href="http://www.scad.edu/academic/majors/mpra/index.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.scad.edu/academic/majors/mpra/index.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>look at tyler school of art for jewelry/metals - very impressive department, part of temple and soon to be located in state of the art situation at temple in phila. Presently it's 20 minutes outside.</p>

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<p>Did you visit Tyler? My daughter applied to Tyler and received a nice scholarship and invitation to be part of the honors college. The Tyler campus is 20 minutes from downtown Philadelphia.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the good suggestions and pathways--We have made a date to go to the SCAD info seesion when they come to our area. We will be going over to look at RISD, taking a road trip to Syracuse and Arcadia, and looking at Tyler. I inderstand they are currently building a new building fo rTyler right at the main campus of Temple..one of my concerns about Temple is the area it is in and maybe is it mostly Pennsylvanians? or more importantly-commuters? My daughter really liked the examples of student work that they show.
Looking forward to what happens next!</p>

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<p>Sbarrytown, regarding your concerns at Temple/Tyler, just ask lots of questions when you visit. We still haven't decided between MICA and Tyler, but the resident population of Temple has increased dramatically over the past few years and the new art facilities will be all downtown.<br>
My daughter wants to live at the downtown campus in the honors college dorm ( very roomy, quite new, stimulating environment, easy access to Philadelphia's cultural activities) and ride the 20 min. campus shuttle bus to her Tyler studio classes in Elkins Park. The neighborhood a few blocks off campus is pretty depressing, but the same can be said of many great colleges around the country. After having gone through this (sometimes exhausting) process with my daughter over the past 2 years, I think it just matters that you do your homework, make the visits, don't box your child into a narrow path too early, and find someplace that feels like a good fit for their personality/interests.</p>

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<p>sbarrytown , I have a good friend at RISD and she loves it. I was reading earlier comments and I checked someinfo with her - she said the liberal arts classes she has taken at RISD are comparable to what she has taken at BROWN.</p>