Hi everyone,
My daughter is a senior in high school and she wants to study graphic design in college. She went to the summer program at Academy of Art University in SF this summer and loved it. The program seems to be excellent and profession driven which is good. But I am concerned about her having a more diverse college experience and the tuition is quite high. Do any of you know of highly rated graphic design majors at colleges in California or Oregon?
Your help is greatly appreciated!!
N
At the high end of the scale, tuition wise as well as reputation wise is Art Center in Pasadena, CA, followed by Cal Arts in Valencia, CA. On the more economical end is Cal State Long Beach, which has a very good art department.
Thanks for the input. I don't think I can swing the higher end tuition. I would kind of like to find a program in the state/UC system. I was told the program at Cal Poly in San Luis is good. We have ties to UC Davis, but I have heard that they are known more for their fine arts program then their graphic design program. It's so darn hard to pick!!
One other thing to consider when selecting a school is what aspect of graphic design is your child interested in. Some schools are better than others depending on what area within graphic design one wants to work in -- new/rich media, motion graphics, print, identity, publication design, typography and type design, etc. For example if one is interested in new/rich media, you would look for a school that concentrated in that area, as SF State was known for, at least not long ago, or a school that had a good computer science department that could offer support and coursework that would broaden and enhance the design and art classes in the major.
Best of luck.
I know that UC San Luis always enters the Book Builders West book making competition and usually places pretty high: www.bookbuilders.org/bbwnews...hip.html However, Seattle Central Community College has taken top honors for the last 2 years. The Kafka cover is my sweetheart's entry. :D
I have to say, visiting the academy a few times, I was impressed. In my opinion, big reputation schools don't mean as much in the applied arts as the fine arts. The graphic design industry is so hectic that they just want people who can do the job now. It's the portfolio that counts. The academy is sometimes seen as a trade school, a more low-brow education, to be uppity, but those kids seem to hit the sidewalk ready to work. Also, San Francisco is such a design town, it's a good place to hobnob with pontential employers and clients. And, isn't the academy a two-year program? That's a quick education, but I bet she gets a job.
Otherwise, I also vote for Pasedena or CalArts in Valencia, both tough to get into, a bit heavy on theory and each 30K and up. I don't know about UC San Luis, but suspect it and others often overlooked, are great. If you can, look at online student portfolios to shop and compare. It would be ideal to have someone with a trained eye to look with you and your daughter to help discern what is good and what is not.
