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Anyone know the best art schools or really good ones?

By Marcie (Marcie) on Sunday, December 07, 2003 - 01:19 am: Edit

Rhode Island School of Design is supposed to be great.

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Sunday, December 07, 2003 - 01:20 pm: Edit

RISD is probably the best but here are some others that are excellent as well: Art Center College of Design (CA), California Institute of the Arts, North Carolina School of the ARts, Parsons school of Design (NY), Prattt institute (NY), Cooper Union (NY), Ringling School of ARt and Design (FL), Art Institute of Chicago, Marland Institute of Art, School of Visual Arts (NY).

Of course, there are also many liberal arts colleges and universities that have excellent art programs. So, I suppose your first step should be to decide if you want a school that is entirely focused on art or if you want a school with a variety of programs in different fields in addition to art. You will have a very different academic experience at a pure art school than you will majoring at art at a comprehensive school.

By Jay12602 (Jay12602) on Sunday, December 07, 2003 - 01:24 pm: Edit

Does anyone know anything about the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan?

By User123 (User123) on Sunday, December 07, 2003 - 04:36 pm: Edit

Well, I don't think I want to go to a school purely for art. A liberal arts college with a great art program would probably be better for me. Do you know of any schools with excellent art programs in liberal arts colleges?

By User123 (User123) on Sunday, December 07, 2003 - 04:36 pm: Edit

Well, I don't think I want to go to a school purely for art. A liberal arts college with a great art program would probably be better for me. Do you know of any schools with excellent art programs in liberal arts colleges?

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Sunday, December 07, 2003 - 06:09 pm: Edit

First a few questions: what size school are you looking for? What are your stats (GPA and SATs)?
Do you have any geographic preferences? Do you have any preference for an urban, suburban or rural location? Will you need financial aid? If you can answer some of these questions I can give you a rough list of colleges with good art departments that might fit your needs.

In the meantime, here are some schools that have excellent art programs for you to look at:
Boston U, Furman U, U of Michigan-Ann Arbor, NYU,
Syracuse U, Smith College, Scripps College, Skidmore, Bard, Connecticut College, Kenyon, Lawrence, Middlebury.

There are many others, of courrse, but looking through a guide book at these schools will help you start to narrow down what you are looking for.

By User123 (User123) on Monday, December 08, 2003 - 07:52 pm: Edit

First of all, thanks for helping me, Carolyn.

My stats are 3.9 u/w gpa with the toughest courseload possible, ranked 10/130. I should be getting back my psat scores within the next few days, and I just registered for the january sat. (I really have no clue how I'll fair on these! Let's hope they're not too horrible!!)
hmmmm... activities if these help any... academic teams, class treasurer, yearbook staff, part-time job, hospital volunteer in the summer, reserve golf team, clubs, etc.
Passions: I love art, and I love writing!

I'm looking for a small to medium-sized school, nothing too big!
A school in the midwest would be good, but I'm really open to anything, as long as it's not way out west.
And yes, I'll definitely need financial aid. But, I'm not going to let the high cost deter me from applying or attending a college that would be good for me.

Also, I've been thinking; I also love creative writing. Are there any great schools with excellent programs in both that I could possibly double major in? Or I could minor in creative writing, I guess??

THanks a bunch!!!!!

By User123 (User123) on Monday, December 08, 2003 - 07:57 pm: Edit

Also I forgot to add that I'm a junior this year.
ANother thing, I'm not just looking for a good creative writing program, but a good English program as a possibility.

Anyway, thank you!

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Tuesday, December 09, 2003 - 11:50 am: Edit

User, very nice background. And, you're smart to start looking at possibilities now.

Kenyon in Ohio might be a good fit for you - they have a great studio art program as well as top-notch english and creative writing programs.
Some other possibilities in the midwest: Lawrence in Wisconsin, Macalester in Minnesota, Grinnell in Iowa, Earlham in Indiana,
Knox in Illinois, Denison in Ohio, and possibly Oberlin (however, I am not totally sure about their art programs). Washington University in St. Louis has a nice studio art program as well, although it is a larger school. As a safety, look at Butler in Indiana - you might get a good merit/financial aid package from them if it is a fit for you in other ways.

Outside of the midwest, take a look at Skidmore in NY (very expensive), Muhlenberg in Penssylvania and Goucher in Maryland (excellent financial aid). Also, Connecticut College. Vassar may also be of interest to you. If you are open to the possibility of an all-female school, take a look at Smith or Wellesley. Just to throw out a totally different idea, the University of Rochester has some interesting studio art programs and is a medium-sized school.

If there's any way you could plan a trip to see some of these schools over this coming spring vacation, I'd highly recommend it --- it will give you a chance to refine what you are looking for.

One thing to note, however: My daughter is also interested in studio art and in looking at potential colleges we've both noticed that some schools (even ones that say they have good studio art programs) have very limited studio facilities or limited class offerings. It's hard to tell this from college brochures because it seems like many schools just love to show a picture of someone at an easel in their catalog making it seem like the campus is very art-focused. Be sure you ask to take a tour of the studio art facilities, and talk with teachers and students about the program when you visit. Ask how quickly art classes fill up as well because I've noticed that on some campuses it's nearly impossible to get into art classes. And, if there is any possibility that you might end up majoring in something besides art but know you would still want to take art classes, ask if there are any restrictions on which classes non-majors can take. We've found that some schools really place a limit on which of their art classes are open to the entire student body. Hope this helps ---

By Brownalum (Brownalum) on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 12:51 am: Edit

Yale and RISD are the top two, by far.

Yale has more #1 spots in USNews' art school specialty rankings than every other school combined.

By Sac (Sac) on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 04:22 pm: Edit

This time I'm gather info for my daughter, who graduated UCLA in art and is looking for an MFA program in graphic art or illustration. She's looking for something fairly practical, since her art training at UCLA was heavy on the theory.
Anyone know good programs either in the US or abraod? (She speaks Italian). Thanks.

By User123 (User123) on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 05:34 pm: Edit

Thanks so much, Carolyn. You really have been helpful. I've got another question for you if you don't mind. Is it even practical to major in art? I really really really love art, but how realistic is it to find a job after graduation? I don't want to be a starving artist or anything. It seems like everyone going into med school and law school will have a secure job. But will art lend itself to that?
thanks again for being so much help. I really appreciate it.

By Vadad (Vadad) on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 05:54 pm: Edit

You should take a look at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, too. Because of its location, it doesn't receive the press a lot of the other top art programs do, but if the U.S. News rankings are meaningful, it is ranked No. 1 in Sculpture (ahead of Yale and RISD), No. 4 in Graphic Design and No. 10 in Painting and Drawing. Price is right--$23,804 total non-resident, ridiculously cheap for residents. D1 transferred there from Southern Cal and found it to be a much more rigorous program. They have some scholarships that are very good for in-state residents, but I'm not sure about non-residents.

As for the job market, I believe the top schools are able to place their best students in graduate "fine art" positions and employment in a variety of "trade art" disciplines, advertising being the most prominent. Most major companies have art direction departments. The entertainment industry hires tons of artists. Museums hire artists and art historians. Many artists teach art (but then you are probably getting into the starving artist mode ;). You should consult the career counseling offices at colleges you are interested in attending. Just call them on the phone. Ask them questions about internship and job placements, and you'll get a good feel both about employment in the arts and about whether their school is likely to get you into a job or condemn you to "starving artist" status.

Carnegie-Mellon in Pittsburgh, if it hasn't already been mentioned, has a wonderful art school. D1 was accepted there and was offered a pretty generous aid package.

Both, of course, offer a lot more than art.

By Emeraldkity4 (Emeraldkity4) on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 06:10 pm: Edit

My daughter originally was looking at graphic design schools her favorite was Emily Carr in Vancouver BC.
We also have friends attending Kansas City Art Institute Skidmore and RISD.
Of course only Skidmore is an LAC.
Carolyn, do you know much about the college of wooster?
My daughters roommate at camp was attending there and very happy with it, ( think she was an english major)


My daughter took a year off after high school before attending college and during that time she changed her focus from an art school to a school where she could do art. She also had a strong interest in the sciences and was trying to be pragmatic in that it was easier to do art on the side and have science for your main focus, than to do science on the side and have art for your day job.

It is a very competitive field, and often artists even the very gifted ones need a day job to pay the bills, but there is a way to do it when you are focused and dedicated.
I know lots of musicians and artist that also teach and they find that a nice fit as teaching can be flexible and it can be very rewarding to inspire other artists.


Writing is also an area that takes a lot of dedication and creative thinking about making a living. It is doable though.

I think you are smart to consider a LAC rather than an arts school, even if you go to art school after, you will still have your college degree as a foundation .

I also agree with Kenyon they are very well known for their writing programs

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 08:29 pm: Edit

Wow - this is so strange that this conversation is happening right now. My daughter told me this afternoon that she had a talk with her art teacher about what you could do with an art major.
Like you user, I think she feel really pulled towards art but is worried about where it will lead. Of course, as Sac's daughter is finding out, there are always graphic design related fields in publishing, advertising, corporate communications, etc. But, many studio art undergraduate programs aren't geared toward graphic arts. Other possibilities the teacher mentioned: teaching (obviously), art therapy (combinig art and psychology), museum work, new media communications (WWW design), animation, medical illustration. Animation is something my daughter has thought about before but we are not really sure what type of job opportunities are out there.

Emerald- Forgive me, but what is your daughter majoring in now if not art? And, yes, I have looked the College of Wooster quite a bit. It has some interesting programs and was one of the first to require students to complete a two year research/thesis in order to graduate. It sounds like a terrific school -- one I hope my daughter will look at eventually (although it is looking more and more like she wants to just stay somewhere on the west coast). Emerald - what do you know about Lewis & Clark?

By Emeraldkity4 (Emeraldkity4) on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 10:22 pm: Edit

Sorry - long answer but I wanted to give background on why she changed focus.
During senior year she wanted to go to a graphic design school, she has a good eye and has always taken a studio class all through school. A local community college was well known for their commercial art program, and when she submitted her portfolio, she was deferred. Although this was known to be a very competitive program, I think it was a surprise to her when she didn't get in, even though some students take two or three times redoing their portfolios.
Anyway- that is what prompted her to take a year off I think. Combined with being a socially young 18, I think it was a wise choice. She also had always been a strong writer, which led her to consider Reed after she realized that Evergreen made it difficult to take a studio art class if that wasn't your semesters focus. Reed requires a lot of writing in all subjects, but that is what gives them such a strong showing in grad schools I guess.
Besides great art teachers she also had great science teacher especially her biology teacher. She had connections with Fred Hutchinson( cancer reseach labs ) and gentech companies. She had them work on Marie Clarie King mitrochondialia DNA project with the disappeared of Argentina, and they learned how to use micropipettors in their biology projects.
Science also requires creative thinking and when she decided to major in biology Reed was a strong choice.
She did take art history and a music performance class freshman year and she still drew quite a bit, but now her main artistic output is knitting . It helps her focus in seminar ( in high school she used to draw on her pants), and somehow she knit during study periods too.
I really don't know anything about Lewis and Clark, other than they have some strong programs, the campus is reportedly beautiful, and that they think Reed is overrated
Of course the first thing I remembered about L&C was their most notorious graduate, but it could have been worse it could have been Ted Bundy

By Sac (Sac) on Saturday, December 13, 2003 - 12:47 am: Edit

Emerald,
If your daughter is interested in combining art and science, there is a one year graduate program at UC Santa Cruz in scientific illustration that takes artistically talented students who majored in science in college. It really looks wonderful online and the students get internships, then jobs, in a variety of areas from newspaper, magazine, or book illustration to museum display work to working for scientific journals.

User123, jobs in art are hard to come by. Advertising and animation take people who train in design or graphics more than in art. Museum jobs tend to take people who trained in art history. Teaching requires credentials and many school districts cut back on art teachers in tough times, as now. There is art therapy but that does not really involve your doing art. On the other hand, there are many jobs that involve creativity. My daughter the art major works for a ceramic tile importer. It didn't start off as much of a job, mostly data entry, but now she's doing everything from working in the showroom helping people pick out tile combinations, to translating the correspondence with the Italian manufacturers, to producing the labels and making decisions about inventory. She's learning a lot about the import business, something she never knew was interesting before, and will soon be going to Italy for a combination of pleasure and business. Meanwhile, after thinking she would be a painter, she started taking some evening classes in computer art and now has a much better idea of what she might like to get more training in. In other words, you cannot anticipate what job you might get with an art degree. It's not all planning. There is serendipity involved.

By Emeraldkity4 (Emeraldkity4) on Saturday, December 13, 2003 - 01:38 am: Edit

Sac, she did think about that and she might someday but right now she is very into the lab and is looking into astrobiology or biochem for grad school.

For jobs I was also going to suggest computer graphics. Her grade school art teacher left teaching and founded a design firm which is doing pretty well.
http://www.smashingideas.com/
Also in private schools you don't need a teaching certificate and you aren't as subject to the whims of the district.
However my younger daughters school is public and the parent group raises money to fund artist in residence that the district doesn't cover. But it is long hours, her art teacher is a artist in her own right with international exhibition( she just returned from Rome) so she has to have her own studio time as well as teach, grade projects, attend meetings etc.

I think it would be very difficult to make a living as only a studio artist ( and frustrating) it takes a long time to build a clientele and to get galleries to show your work. Not to be discouraging, but you need a day job so to speak.
Depends where you live too, the urban areas where people are more likely to have the money to buy your pieces, are more expensive to live.
Even a friend whose family is tied to art in the Northwest and who is very successful, isn't exactly rolling in it, and he does big pieces that become part of local public access buildings. Of course it isn't about the money, but material does get pretty expensive and when you are learning your style you go through a lot.
I don't want to be discouraging, but while I don't agree with these students who just want to know the field that will make them the most money, money can get you options ( just as education does). I don't think there is any shame to decide that you want to do art on a smaller scale and get a more practical line of work.
Sac I think your daughters job would be great. she must be learning so much about the various glazes and color combinations, It sounds very creative, and getting paid for for going to Italy! wow!.

By Vadad (Vadad) on Saturday, December 13, 2003 - 09:59 am: Edit

Carolyn:
A lot of studio artists tend to wind up in graduate school and then teaching to get them by. But many whose passion is the "fine arts" find their skills accomodate a huge variety of "day jobs". D1 was also interested in animation (hence, the initial foray to Southern California, for the obvious reasons). During this period of her ever-changing career explorations, she got in touch with a group called Women in Animation based in L.A. They have a web site somewhere, I know. Their members were very willing to answer questions about job prospects (at the time, very good) and educational alternatives. Nice folks. They have an East Coast "cell" I think in Philly. Animation or "kinetic imagery" as I think the academes call it is a big deal even outside the usual employers that first come to mind (Disney, Pixar, etc.). Rochester Institute of Technology has a very highly regarded computer imagery and animation program (funded lavishly by local company Eastman Kodak). My impression is that their grads do not go hungry anymore than other college grads. But the "trade art" field is very broad--think fashion design, interior design, medical and scientific illustration--and can support a lot of day jobs. Oh, also look at the Pixar and Disney websites. I think both have info on "what we look for in prospective animators" and lists of school where they recruit. Interestingly, Disney emphasized that they looked for traditionally trained painters an illustrators and sculptors, apparently on the theory that they want folks who have developed their creative talents, who they can then train in whatever medium (film, computers, etc.) they are using. I wouldn't despair of the stereotype of the "starving artist" until you take an in-depth look at the possibilities.

By Ksolo (Ksolo) on Saturday, December 13, 2003 - 08:14 pm: Edit

Sac:

You have to seek out the opinions of those who are already either current undergrad art majors, those who are in graphic arts and/or illustration profession, or those who are pursuing this in graduate school. A lot of the statements here, just aren't sufficient.

For graphic art and illustration graduate programs, there are only a few programs available. And on top of this, there are even fewer that are actually good. From my research, on the west coast, the best programs I've seen were at Academy of the ARts College of San Fran (they have a bunch of great MFA art programs, from illustration to 2d animation, etc), USC (only on the undergrad level), and Cal Institute of the Arts (which is a really good school for 2D animation especially).

Not sure if she wants to venture out to the east either, although there are some programs that could suit her. But I'd recommend the Academy of the Arts College in San Fran. One of my classmates from undergrad (we were both studio art majors), is getting his MFA in 2D Animation there.

By Sac (Sac) on Saturday, December 13, 2003 - 08:49 pm: Edit

Thanks. We do know several students at the Academy of Arts College. It is not accredited, however, and is very expensive. It therefore basically takes anyone who can pay. We do know some talented students there who are very happy with their classes and with the local contacts they've made. We've heard of others who feel ripped off. It's a pretty controversial place -- much discussion about it to be found on Craigslist.

My daughter's not especially interested in animation. I did find one program that looked interesting in graphic arts and illustration at the School for Visual Arts in NYC. Anyone know anything about that?

Another job people have not mentioned yet is storyboarding. A friend of my daughter's who graduated with her in art is working at Lucasfilms -- at the moment merely filing but with an eye to working her way into storyboarding, which is sketching out the ideas for a film frame by frame.

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Sunday, December 14, 2003 - 02:52 pm: Edit

VaDad - thanks for the information. I'll see if I can find that web site. I have looked at RIT's programs and they look very interesting but my daughter is more and more saying she wants to stay on the west coast.

Sac - I have a friend who attended SCA but in interior design. She loved the school although it was very expensive to live in NYC (they have only limited student housing). Have you looked at Pratt Institute? Another NYC school good for graphic design.

By Sac (Sac) on Sunday, December 14, 2003 - 03:31 pm: Edit

Thanks, Carolyn. I don't know whether she'll look as far as NYC but it sounds as if that's where the opportunities are.

By Rtf_Mac (Rtf_Mac) on Wednesday, December 17, 2003 - 03:34 pm: Edit

S.C.A.D.
The Savannah College of Art & Design is extremely prestigious... the only art school with athletics (NAIA) and considered the Harvard of art schools

By Bobmcc (Bobmcc) on Friday, December 19, 2003 - 11:43 pm: Edit

Folks - please keep adding to this thread; my nephew's at the Va Governors School for the Arts (whatever its "official" name is in Petersburg). He has his heart set on VCU..but my brother would like to see him at least consider a liberal arts college that's a bit more high end in OTHER areas (esp. creative writing/literature) too.. VCU IS very good, best in Va, for graphic arts, i'm told. But fine arts is an area i'm ignorant about and for reasons, unknown to me, my brother avoids net research. So i'm very curious about other folks' knowledge/opinions. Pat tests well, very good grades in HS so far
thanks
bob

By Batman (Batman) on Saturday, December 20, 2003 - 01:53 am: Edit

Wow, that's funny . I was just scrolling down this thread to recommend VCU when I saw your post. VCU is great for the Arts, but I do not think it's very strong in other areas. Since you are in VA it may be of some interest to you that my firm recently hired a great Graphic Arts major from JMU to work in our Marketing Dept. I know nothing about their program but it may be worth looking into. The person we hired out of that program is fantastic.

By Vadad (Vadad) on Saturday, December 20, 2003 - 04:47 pm: Edit

Bob:
I sent you a return e-mail but it bounced back. I think the only thing about the VCU program that I thought was a negative is that it does not allow a whole of lot of room for non-arts stuff. Of course, VCU has distribution requirements like everybody else, but if you elect graphic design or sculpture, it's not easy to take upper level drawing or painting courses. VCU is also strong in life sciences, and has a brand new engineering school that shares faculty with VPI.
When D1 was orginally looking at schools, she was also looking at a schools that could give her a broader liberal arts ed. NYU was high on her list, but she didn't get in. She did, however, get into Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, which has a number of strong departments but truly excels in art and computer science. In fact it is an unusual place--about half artsy drama humanities types and the other half walking around with PDA's hooked up to their state of the art wireless network. But it is a very fine school.
I think Batman is right about JMU. I'm not personally familiar with their program, but I've heard good things about it. The kids I know who've gone to JMU love it.
I'm not familiar with that many LAC art programs. I've toured Davidson's art facility, though, and for a small school it is a beautiful facility. You can get a pretty good look at the facility on their web site tour. A great school, but I really don't know much about their visual arts staff.

By Sidis (Sidis) on Saturday, December 20, 2003 - 04:55 pm: Edit

How good is Williams for arts???

By Sac (Sac) on Saturday, December 20, 2003 - 05:28 pm: Edit

What is JMU?

By Batman (Batman) on Saturday, December 20, 2003 - 06:50 pm: Edit

James Madison University

By Bobmcc (Bobmcc) on Sunday, December 21, 2003 - 01:04 am: Edit

The most "RELIABLE" address to reach me, ought to be my work email...
mcconna1 at niehs.nih.gov if it bounced, then the server's going on one of it's sporadic fits.. actually took classes at VCU for a semester while whiling away time between serious school and found much to like about both the school and the Fan. I think my brother's concerns are basically two: 1. That Pat has decided upon VCU based on no information about other options; 2. He'd like Pat to attend a smaller college/LAC. He hated his four yrs at UVa, esp. the first two w/ very large "low level" lecture classes, often taught (when not TAd) by grad students. He was doing math and psych as an odd sort of pre-med curriculum. Worked out fine, but he wasn't a happy camper at UVa and feels, w/ some justification, that size matters greatly to some kids. When we describe Adam's fresh. year at Mac, w/ his biggest class being 30 kids; his smallest 5, that was to sort to teacher/student ratio that appeals.. I'll mention JMU (at least when we were going to Va schools, it was pretty small...who knows now!)
thanks,
bob
We're pretty familiar w/ Davidson - both through TIP summer programs and then from post acceptance visits. It IS very good academically, excellent teachers - but it isa school that is still trying hard to distance itself from it's not too distant past rep. as THE school to go to if you wanted pre med or pre law. And, of all the schools our son considered, it was the ONLY one where > 50% of the student body came from private schools.

The facilities and the campus ARE lovely; up there w/ UofRichmond for the "most gorgeous" small southern campus award..

By Ksolo (Ksolo) on Sunday, December 21, 2003 - 10:13 am: Edit

School of Visual Arts (SVA) is pretty decent. I would say though that Pratt is arguably better though.

In regards to Academy of the Arts College, San Fran, are you sure it's not accredited? I wonder why they rejected one person I know who applied to their 3D animation program (because she lacked solid drawing skills)? Odd. Well, I guess I cant recommend that school any longer if their are mixed feelings floating around about it.

Cal Institute of the Arts would be really good to go to for illustration, but I'm not sure about graphic design.

Pratt would be good too, along with SCAD (SCAD might be even better). But SCAD (Savannah College) is located in Georgia. Not sure if she would want to venture out down South on in the east. Pratt is in NYC.

I'll see if I can ask some graphics people I know out West if they know of something out there.

By Lizschup (Lizschup) on Sunday, December 21, 2003 - 10:05 pm: Edit

Sac,
If your daughter is interested in advertising or graphic design there is a place called Miami Ad School in San Francisco as well as several locations around the country and internationally. There is also a place called Portfolio Center in Atlanta. My husband, an advertising art director has seen quite a few new art directors come from Portfolio Center recently. The classes are taught by people in various design professions. As you may know, you do not need a graduate degree to get a job in these fields- you need a great portfolio of work.

Art Center School of Design, which Carolyn mentioned used to be considered the premiere design school in the country. I don't know what it's status is now. I would imagine it is still highly regarded.

By Vadad (Vadad) on Sunday, December 21, 2003 - 10:41 pm: Edit

The Corcoran in DC and The Maryland Institute in Baltimore also haven't been mentioned.

Bob: I'm not going to be much help with artsy LACs. D1 wanted a large school; it's the reason she rejected Pratt and some other pure art schools. CMU is about the smallest place she looked.

I sympathize with the sentiment, though. I'm a UVA grad school alum. (Really a shame that its fine arts programs are so poor; at least they're investing in some good new facilities which, hopefully, will attract good faculty). I like it there, and D2 (science kid) is applying there, but I think she'd be happier at a smaller school like Wake or W&M or Davidson. She's also applying those places, so we'll see what her mood is in the Spring.

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Monday, December 22, 2003 - 08:21 pm: Edit

VaDad - I wouldn't have even thought of CMU for art - I always picture the humanities side there as strictly theater. Can you tell me a bit more about CMU's art programs? How does D1 like Pittsburgh? Does she mind the dicotomy between the computer people and the humanities/art people?

By Angelica (Angelica) on Saturday, December 27, 2003 - 06:07 am: Edit

Hello guys

I am from Nepal and am interested in studying fine arts in liberal art colleges.Can any one suggest me good colleges with good financial aid for Internationals.

By Vadad (Vadad) on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 08:39 am: Edit

Carolyn-
D1 wound up not going to CMU; at the time, LA just seemed more exotic to her than Pittsburgh. Go figure. ;) Anyway, LA didn't work out, and she's at VCU in Richmond now.
I'm trying to remember the research we did in CMU's visual arts program, and this was 3 or 4 years ago. As I recall, and maybe some CMU folks should really be weighing in here, the school (like a lot of schools) was once two colleges, one male, one female. (I remember a decidedly afeminist quotation about homemaking engraved on one building). Of course, that's all lost in the dim reaches of history, but the arts buildings are part of the old women's campus (though I don't recall that much of a feeling of separateness). The building that houses the visual arts programs is an older building with a good number of sizeable studios on the top floor. I remember the art department having a very favorable student/faculty ratio. The computer imaging facility, as you might expect, looked extremely impressive. As for the campus "schizophrenia", it looked pretty evident to me, but the folks there insist that it works. They will "negotiate" fin. aid. Pittsburgh is a very nice city, very accessible, very pretty on the river(s). Not at all the dingy steel town anymore, at least in my opinion.

By Jamimom (Jamimom) on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 04:41 pm: Edit

Carolyn, I lived in the Oakland area of Pittsburgh for many years and am very familiar with CMU--took several courses there myself. It is an unusual school in that you have the computer/engineering tecchies mixed with the artsy types. The art/design department is definitely one to look into if interested in this field. CMU is extremely pragmatic in all of its programs and its graduates in all disciplines tend to be very employable because you just can't seem to escape the heavy computer influence there and like it or not, that is what ends up helping some of these kids find jobs when they get out as English, art ,etc majors. My biggest objections to CMU is the grad student situation and the lack of a "university" experience as far as social life goes. There are those who might disagree with me on this but, Penn State, this school ain't , and anyone thinking that joining a frat there means lots of party time is kidding himself. Lots of serious students and serious studying at that school. Also the dorm situation is extremely split up with many kids in very different sorts of housing--lots of apartments and houses in the campus housing choices as well as traditional dorms. One great thing about CMU is that it is in a really active part of Pittsburgh, lots of culture, restaraunts, shops, transportation, etc and CMU takes full advantage of the city--museum priviliges, free bus, cross registration with other Pittsburgh schools, etc.

By User123 (User123) on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 10:35 pm: Edit

I've got a quick question. Does anyone know anything about Notre Dame's Art department?

By User123 (User123) on Sunday, January 04, 2004 - 12:17 am: Edit

anyone? please

By Taxguy (Taxguy) on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - 03:17 pm: Edit

Be careful about SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design). They are NOT NASAD (National Association of Schools of Art and Design) approved and, according to a web site by a former professor, they have been censured by the American Association of University Professors. I don't know about the Censure,but I did check the NASAD web site to see if SCAD was approved. They aren't!

This may only be a problem if you want to apply for graduate school.