Cost is no issue. On the basis of academic strength, which school?
California College of the Arts（CCA),
Art Center College of Design (ACCD),
Pratt Institute
School of Visual Arts（SVA)
What’s the major? Each school has different personalities and teaching philosophy. CCA is small. Art Center is also tiny in comparison to Pratt or SVA. School in Cali is VERY different than school in NYC. SVA is in the center of midtown and classes are taught by many working professionals. The school attracts many foreign students. Pratt is a more traditional fine arts school in the center of Brooklyn. Very difficult to compare. I’ve worked with grads from SVA and Pratt.
@f2000sa I have a daughter who attends Art Center for Illustration. She chose this college over other art schools due to the rigor and style of their program, teachers, resources, and proximity/connections to movie studios (where she ultimately wants to work). She loves it.
I don’t know anything specific about their Interaction Design program, but I can tell you the school is VERY rigorous and taught by working professionals. Your “foundation” classes are built into your major, so you are not taking a generic foundation year as some colleges do. The quality of their equipment and resources is top notch. They are extremely focused on making students ready for their profession. Whenever I visit the student gallery on campus, I’ve been blown away by the quality of student work, corporate design projects, and internships. The school has two campuses in Pasadena; each focuses on specific majors. So students spend most of their time in one or the other, not both. They have big plans to completely renovate the campus, but that won’t be done for many years. Pasadena is a beautiful urban-y suburb (not sleepy suburb, not crazy-busy city) in California’s largest metropolitan area with zillions of companies and people. Everything you could need is just a short distance away. It’s also about 30 min. to the smaller Burbank airport and 1 hour to the larger LAX airport.
You’ve probably already seen these, but if not:
http://www.artcenter.edu/about/campus/master-plan.html
http://www.artcenter.edu/academics/undergraduate-degrees/interaction-design/overview.html
http://www.artcenter.edu/interaction/
Use Linkedin to reach out to Interaction Design alumni and get firsthand feedback. When considering colleges, compare both faculty and curriculum. Research where alumni work; look at their career trajectory. Think about what regions of the country are best for your career. Many times teachers have corporate connections nearby; sometimes certain jobs are focused in a region. Is one college better for that than the other. Consider where you may want to intern or start your career. Good luck!
@animal1096 Have you or your daughter heard anything about the timing of when dorms are being built at Art Center? I’ve heard that dorms in the cards. I have a ninth grader who will be taking a class there this summer, as well as a class at Otis, and in a future summer will likely do an intensive at one or the other (or perhaps LCAD), in each case focusing on some combination of illustration/drawing/painting/entertainment design. Did your daughter consider those schools as well? I’m excited to learn more about all three in the coming years. Thanks!
@snowbirdmom We don’t know when Art Center will build the dorms. I think I read somewhere that dorms will come before other buildings, but I can’t confirm that. I suggest you call Art Center.
My daughter did one summer intensive at CCA and one at Otis. She loved both. We toured LCAD as well, and liked their program for what my daughter wanted to study. Since art school programs are nuanced, it’s important to do your homework to fully understand the differences to find the one that fits your child’s goals. Summer intensives, formal tours, and a ton of internet searches help with that. After all that research, you’ll organically favor one school over another. You’re smart to get an early start.
@animal1096 Many thanks! I appreciate it.