I’m visiting Wash U next week and I’m really optimistic about it because I really like the university in general-the academics, the facilities, and the social atmosphere seem great. I just don’t know much about Sam Fox and their website doesn’t tell much.
I know that the reputation of the school of architecture is great, but what about that of the school of art? I haven’t heard much about it and it doesn’t seem to be ranked very high. I am looking to major in communications design and hopefully minor in marketing and/or comp sci (so definitely interested in interdisciplinary studies-the main reason I’m choosing a uni over an art school). I am also most likely going to work in NYC after I graduate so I really value internship/job opportunities, but I hear that the career center at Wash U is kind of limited? 60k a year is a lot and I want to make sure I can pay off these loans… If anyone has any knowledge or experiences I would love to hear it!
Hey there, I was thinking about wustl and decided to just google the school and stumbled upon your post. I graduated from Sam fox in 2013 with a focused in communication design. I think their design program is amazing and you’d definitely be able to come out of it with a kick-ass portfolio. Plus, they were slowly introducing UX courses when I was there.
I chose wustl because of the interdisciplinary studies as well. A traditional art school wouldn’t offer that and some in big colleges (like Michigan’s) was very strict about double majoring outside your school. The one caveat is your junior and senior year is pretty much set for you so you’ll need to plan ahead if you want to get the minor. Most of my classmates had minors or double majors so it’s very doable.
Also from last I’ve seen, all the design focused people are doing great and are in their field. Only one designer I know of is doing more marketing than designing. But she seemed more interested in business. I’m currently a senior product designer at a small startup.
As long as you think you might enjoy it, I highly suggest a minor in compsci. Product designers, UI, and UX designers in tech would benefit with a knowledge in programming. I don’t do any development at my job though. Another great minor if you want to get into product design is psychology.
Product design is a pretty lucrative job. I took a pay cut when I decided to join an early startup since I got really great stock options. But the job I had previous I was earning 100k per year plus all the common tech perks- 401k matching, entirely covered healthcare, free lunch & dinner, snacks, massages on campus, and unlimited PTO. Junior ui/ux designers out in silicon valley probably earn between 60-80k some higher. Out in NYC it might be less but should be more than 40k.
On the other hand, if you into a more traditional design job (graphic design, web design, print design) you might earn between 30-50k as a junior designer and wouldn’t bump up much higher than 100k.
Washu is giving you some financial aid though right? I graduated with about 30k in debt and already paid it off. But I wouldn’t go much more than that.
@designin hi! I’m actually the op of this post but had to make a new account bc I couldn’t log into my old one-anyway, thank you so much for replying! It was really awesome seeing your perspective. I actually would be paying about 60k per year since I only got 8k in aid (but I guess that also means my parents could afford more). However I think it would be worth it. I was wondering-if you majored in communications design how did you end up working in the product design field? Does the curriculum cover that as well? I’m actually quite interested in product/industrial design, more so than graphics I think. You also mentioned psychology which is a subject that I love as well. But now I would have three desired minors (marketing, comp sci, psychology) and I hope there would be enough time for all of them.
another thing- my first choice originally was Carnegie Mellon’s design program and I was waitlisted there. They gave me an option of a priority waitlist but that means that if they accept you it’s pretty much binding (or you lose $800 deposit). After hearing so many great things about wustl I’m not even sure if I still see Carnegie Mellon as my no.1. Have you heard anything about the reputation of the school? I just feel like the interdisciplinary aspects and social environment of wash u are better.
Product design as in UI/UX, not industrial design. “What is Product Design?” by eric eriksson on medium is a good read to get some basic information.
Curriculum helped as a jumping off point. We had interaction design and interaction design workshops. I also paired this with design internships at startups. You should definitely talk with the communication design professors and ask what the current curriculum is. jennifer.meyer@wustl.edu is another good person to contact. She’s the career advisor and you can ask her a little more about the career paths other sam fox grads took.
You probably wouldn’t be able to minor in three plus get a BFA. The art/architecture school is pretty time intensive. We use to joke that we lived in studio. It might not be a good idea to get a minor in all three either because it might look like you’re less committed on your resume when you’re job searching. However, if you’re really interested to learn, you can always attempt it the first 2 years and then decide if you want to continue. Double majoring or adding a couple minors was definitely something my classmates were able to achieve.
Funny enough, Carnegie Mellon was my second choice. I applied to washu early decision so I rescinded my application (although who knows if I would have gotten in). If you want to go into tech, Carnegie Mellon definitely has more of a reputation (and a great engineering school) so that’s something to think about. Also Carnegie Mellon has HCI course which is basically UX. This probably would prepare you better for a UX job. Even if you wanted to go more into the visual design side of things HCI would be an amazing course to add. Washu has interaction courses however we don’t have a HCI degree. I chose Washington University because I liked the atmosphere more and because I had no idea I would end up in tech.
60k a year is a lot too. You limit yourself to specific design paths that will pay more than others. UX designer is one of the higher paying design fields and Carnegie Mellon seemingly (I just quickly googled) does better.