<p>I've been reading through these forums for about a year. My son is a senior and has always been focused on art. His list of colleges to apply to includes all of the schools commonly mentioned here, save one. I haven't seen anyone comment on Tyler School of Art at Temple. We toured the existing campus last week and visited the main campus where Temple is investing millions in a new faciltiy and new dorms, including studio space for freshmen (unheard of!). We were quite impressed.</p>
<p>I'd be interested in what others think of Tyler and how it compares to RISD, MICA, Carnegie Mellon? Thanks!</p>
<p>I looked at them for grad school, so take what I say with that grain of salt because there will always be some amount of difference between grad and undergrad.</p>
<p>When I talked with them the impression that I got was that there were fewer interdisciplinary opportunities there than at MICA (which I also considered). They seemed to have a narrow view of each sub-specialty and had a hard time connecting with someone who was interested in multiple fields. They seemed like they really drilled a great amount of technical proficiency into their students, and at times even seemed to have a greater interest in that than in concepts. I know that's come accross as sounding negative, but I don't necessarily mean it to be.... I guess I came away feeling like if you knew what you wanted to do and had a very great inner store of creativity, this would be an excellent place to bring your skills up to a high level to match that creativity. But if you were someone who wanted to explore a bit more, or are the sort that occasionally struggles for ideas, then it may not be the best place.</p>
<p>We liked Tyler when we saw it and like the head of the school,whom we met. What we didn't like was the area in which Tyler was located.My daughter also didn't want a "stand-alone" art school since she wanted to interface with non-art majors too. </p>
<p>Interesting, Tyler will be moving onto Temple's campus,which should eliminate most of the negative things about the school. In addition, since Tyler is part of the Pennsylvania state university system, it should be less expensive than most of the other art schools that are not state affiliated.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback. I tend to think the program will thrive and become more interdisciplinary in its new location. Another plus is that the student body seemed very friendly and happy.</p>
<p>My D went to a creative and performing arts HS. One of the top visual arts students there chose Tyler. She is very happy with the program and found the found the foundation program very challenging. Tyler is a good option, particularly if you are a PA resident.</p>
<p>For whatever reason D was not interested in applying to Tyler or RISD. She was accepted at CMU and MICA, and is currently a sophomore at MICA.</p>