<p>anyone an art student at WashU?
compared to various other schools(including professional art schools, university art prgm, etc.), how would you describe/characterize washu's art program?</p>
<p>Do you find the atmosphere competitive at all?</p>
<p>is there a minor for art?</p>
<p>anything else i should know..?</p>
<p>My daughter is just starting her freshman year as an art major (probably fashion design) and may double major in psychology. The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts IS a professional art school comprised of about 5 huge buildings including the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, basically plunked down in the middle of this wonderful medium-sized university. I can't tell you too much just yet because she's only been there less than 2 months, but the first 2 years are core foundation art courses, just like most professional art schools. One declares one's major after that and pursues the major in the last 2 years. Yes, there is an art minor. I can't speak for the competetiveness of the atmosphere, but I have a feeling that it depends somewhat on the major. Apparently, the fashion major there is pretty "cooperative" according to one of the faculty I spoke with. My daughter went for an initial tour of the art facilities and a portfolio review in April of her junior year and then submitted her final portfolio by mail in the fall of her senior year. So far, my daughter seems to like all of her art professors this semester, but has said that she never imagined how hard the art courses would be. She works very long hours; expectations are quite high at a school of this caliber, in the classroom and in the art studio.</p>
<p>thank you for these details, ollump. hmm.. that does make me nervous that the art courses are so hard. do you think it will be much harder once she starts double majoring?</p>
<p>I forgot to mention that because she has ADD/LD it takes her much longer than her peers to do the same reading assignments, studying, etc. I'm not sure that her experience is the same for all Wash U art students. I am concerned about whether she will be able to manage a double major as well. However, a "combined study" at Wash U is actually much more streamlined than completing two separate majors with their individual degree requirements. Ultimately, I wouldn't be surprised if my D ends up deciding to major in one and minor in the other subject.</p>
<p>My d is an art major. The courses are VERY time consuming - one project for freshman design class took her 20 hours to complete !! And that was just one of the weekly assignments. Apparently this is typical, for the weekly assignments to take around 10 hours a week - 20 hours was probably extreme. And she still has other classes to worry about.</p>
<p>The art school first teaches them how to do the things the old-fashioned way - with pen & brush & paper, before they move on to computer-based design. This is supposed to be a good teaching method, but very time intensive. I do not actually know much about art education, so I'm probably not getting this totally right. </p>
<p>But she loves it - the art building is open 24 x 7 and there's always people there. The dean of first year students - Georgia - is just wonderful. And the profs all seem very good to work with.</p>
<p>NorthEastMom2, is your D currently a freshman? My D described that she just spent 30 hours on her freshman 2-D design project and wasn't very happy with her grade. When she asked the professor how she could improve it, she figured that his suggestions would take her another 10 hours of time. I'm not sure that with all her other courses and the length of time it takes her to get through everything that she will be able to make the changes to raise her grade. She loves the course though.</p>
<p>I have a few friends who have a minor in the art school (two in graphic design -- or it's technically called communications design i think --, and one did painting), and they were mainly students in Arts & Scienes or Business. They are pretty time consuming even for Minors, and the professors always expect you to put in tons of thought into your work and revise it all the time -- never going full force with your initial idea, but instead of keep editing editing editing and thinking of new ideas to approach a problem. </p>
<p>I know a couple of people who are fully majors in the Art School, and they're ALWAYS in studio. Studio for upperclassmen majors is bascially three days per week, 9am to 5pm. It kind of forces you to be in studio, which is nice, because everyone is always there and you have TONS of time to get your work done during the day and collaboarte with your other classmates in the same boat and bounce ideas off of each other. Everything is peer reviewed, too, you're always getting and giving feedback from your friends and classmates. I always thought Art was for the less intelligent people in college, but really it seems like they actually spend more hours working than anyone else here. As with everythign at Wash U, the philosophy from the professors and administrators and all the students is how to do we help each other improve and do our best work.</p>
<p>Keepitcool -
My d actually remarked that the art majors get respect at WashU, whereas, at HS, or among adults who don't know better, it's viewed as the easy way out.</p>
<p>hellostranger - My d had to cut back on her work-study hours, b/c she couldn't get all her hw done - so keep that in mind if you are on FinAid.</p>
<p>I have two daughters at Wash U - a Junior in Art, a Freshman in "Pre-School" (otherwise known as B-School.)</p>
<p>The Art student works far more hours, so far, than the Business Student. She spends so much time on assignments it is crazy. She is, by virtue of having gotten into Wash U. intelligent, so it isn't that she does not have the skill set and therefore must work longer hours. It's just that if you care about doing good work in Art, you must put the time in. She cares. She works long, long hours.</p>
<p>She was going to double-major in Business and Art, and has a ton of credits - including 6 classes through AP and a summer program, but cannot fit in all the prerequisites of a major because her MWF is taken up by full day studios. She can only fit in TTh classes, which is an issue. </p>
<p>I think it is interesting that Art and Architecture take up so much time and dedication, are achievable only by a few because the person who studies it MUST have talent (it is not entirely teachable) and yet the compensation for these skills is low. This said, fortunately there are many of us who figure the compensation will come, and that the arts are important to the world. Who knows where it will lead? </p>
<p>FYI, the majority of Art students major in Vis Comm (Visual Communications) in order to be most (theoretically) marketable - with a focus on computer-based skills. Unfortunately the computer as an art tool has little appeal to my daughter. Or, fortunately? </p>
<p>As she has said, and I think is an interesting view, "how much harder is it for a Fine Arts graduate to get a job than a French Literature major?" Isn't college the time to pursue what you want?</p>
<p>Fortunately my eldest daughter is getting a good education, and "worthy" degree along with her art training. I do believe she will have a better chance of supporting herself in the long run than the RISD or SCAD grad.</p>
<p>wow thanks for all your detailed replies. that was very helpful. sounds like it's pretty instense, but really good education.
do you think most art programs at other universities(with a pretty decent art) will be just as intense and time consuming?
What about for art programs at liberal arts schools? i suppose it won't be AS intense and serious...?</p>
<p>I think my post sounded scarier than it should have...</p>
<p>I am sure there must be art students who put less heart and soul into their projects, it's just that's not my daughter's personality.</p>
<p>I know for certain that she is having a wonderful college experience, and never wants to leave Wash U! So... lots of work, but a lot of pride in what she is doing and learning.</p>
<p>Do I think it is as time-intensive elsewhere? My guess is that the "better" the school, the more effort is put into any discipline. Therefore, a "lessor" school will likely require less effort and time.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info you all have shared about the art program at Wash U. It's been very helpful!</p>
<p>My high school senior is very interested in pursuing art at Wash U. Does anyone have any information on Wash U's internship opportunities or career services for art majors, especially vis comm majors?</p>
<p>She's also looking at Carnegie Mellon and RISD, and seems to think that CMU attracts quite a few recruiters for their School of Art and School of Design majors. I was wondering how Wash U might compare.</p>
<p>I'll just add that the art school is pretty amazing here- I'm engineering, but it's still really accessible and I'll probably end up with an art minor.</p>
<p>(Minors don't require the core).</p>
<p>I know this thread hasn’t been active lately, but a few questions and comments:</p>
<p>Re admissions: if a candidate has a very strong portfolio, do you think she might be accepted w lower than avg stats for Wash U? Seems a bit much that someone getting a BFA in fine arts or fashion design would have to have such high test scores. Argh!</p>
<p>Re the workload: My observation from visiting arts schools is that the students in BFA programs, including fashion design, work EXTREMELY hard!</p>