I’m not sure if this is correct place to post this question, but D is interested in pursuing some type of design degree. She loves the feel (beauty) of small liberal arts schools she visited. The issue she’s finding is they don’t seem to offer courses in design per se, but more studio arts or fine arts. She has not spent her life taking art classes, so the idea of applying to art schools (RISD, PRATT, VCUARTS, etc) seems a bit of a reach portfolio-wise.
Any suggestions for schools with a small liberal arts college feel that offer design majors–ideally not too large. Here are a few schools recommended by her school counselor:
BostonUniv.
Emerson
Connecticut College
Chapman University
NYU (too big/urban)
UCLA (too big for my D)
USC
Scripps,
American University
George Washington University
Univ. Of Oregon
Washington Univ. St. Louis (reach for sure)
We live on West Coast so aren’t well versed in schools on the East Coast. Thanks for your input!
Oh! She has a 3.83 GPA–they don’t weight GPA’s at her school–it’s a rigorous private school, if that helps. Also, no SAT scores yet to post.
Check out Macalester College in St. Paul, MN which has a joint program in architecture with WUSTL (in case your daughter decides she likes arch.). St. Olaf (also in MN) offers a major in “new media” within the school of art but it looks more like animation or video. Worth checking out, however, because they are NASAD-accredited so will have a foundation program that is consistent with other art/design schools. Finally, MCAD in Minneapolis has a wonderful small-college feel to it - because it IS small! - but is a dedicated art/design school with several design majors. Has a good reputation for graphic design.
Some things to consider: 1) depending on the curriculum, a lot of “art” majors will learn design concepts as well. You can major in art and still pursue a career as a designer. 2) most Liberal Arts colleges won’t offer the BFA but rather the BA. That means a lower ratio of studio to overall course requirements. The advantage of pursuing a BFA is that you spend a LOT of time in the studio (about 2/3, as a matter of fact) and studio time is important to learning design. 3) even if you pursue a degree in “design” you should still take a lot of drawing, painting and sculpting. Traditional media - and “fine arts” - are important to being a good designer. The difference between the two is that the fine artist will continue to work from his/her own perspective, while a designer will work from the perspective of the client. But both rely on decent eduction in BOTH art and design to get to either point. So don’t rule out art/design schools, even if the portfolio is weak. After all, if your daughter had a perfect portfolio, why would she need the art and design training in the first place?
JBStillflying-Thank you for your thoughtful response to my question. I’ll have D look at the schools you suggested right away. At the risk of sounding like a complete idiot, how would my daughter know if a college’s art program was any good?
We toured one liberal arts college, which she loved, but when going thru the art department, the work on the walls was pretty…uh dare I say it…bad (picture macaroni collage and you’re pretty close). The tour guide acted like we were strolling the halls of the Louvre, too, which made it all the more confusing.
@Mimi2018 if you and your daughter don’t like what’s on the walls, you probably don’t want to study art there.
The biggest indicator of quality is how many of those kids get jobs in their creative field upon graduation. That’s a question you can ask during any tour. You can also ask them what sort of professional opportunities do the graduates have, and ask for specific examples. Keep in mind that with an LAC or university, the art department may well not have dedicated placement resources for their students. In that case, a trip to the college placement office is a good idea (or ask the admissions people to direct you to someone who can speak to these questions).
Yes, definitely pay attention to what you see on the walls. Whatever the students’ skill sets - the school/teachers’ biases will be shown in the work produced. So if it’s heavy on the “conceptual” side of things that might have been the macaroni.
A few others on the East Coast that are smaller art colleges or smaller liberal arts with art departments are Skidmore, Bard, and Sage Colleges (NY); Lyme Academy of Fine Arts (CT), New Hampshire Institute of Art, and Maine College of Art.
Some in Philly area are Moore (all girls), University of the Arts, and Tyler at Temple. Loads of small LACs have art departments and many don’t ask for portfolios so that’s an option too.
