We are gradually and with huge effort figuring out what we’re looking for in a school for Elizabeth, who wants to study art:
1. She does not want to go to An Art School; she wants to go to a school that has a good art degree but also has lots of other degrees. This is in part because she would like to stand out a little with her short dyed hair and interesting clothes/jewelry; and in part because she would like to be able to earn a living and so she will probably want to make it a combined or double major and/or add some minors; and in part because she finds art students annoying.
2. Majors we are looking for (but she is not at all sure): Illustration; Studio Art (Painting); Undeclared Art. (Are you about to suggest Graphic Design? So far she is not interested in Graphic Design. But I don’t think it would be a bad idea for the college to offer it, just in case.)
3. Apparently we are supposed to be looking for colleges that offer a BFA or BVA.
4. She wants a bigger college rather than a smaller one.
5. She’d prefer a separate campus, rather than one that is integrated with a town/city.
6. It should probably be in a state where, if she experiences an ectopic pregnancy, she won’t be left to die from it.
7. We are not expecting to get significant financial aid, and it is apparently pretty rare to get merit aid to major in art, so it needs to be a relatively affordable school. (We have gotten a fair number of suggestions from people my age who went to school quite a long time ago and don’t realize that the tuition at their formerly affordable school is now $80,000/year or whatever.)
Has this list helped us create a list of schools for her to apply to? Absolutely not. But it has let us rule out one school after another! Which I guess is helpful in its own way!
I don’t even know how to LOOK. I have tried many search terms, and what I mostly get is lists of schools that include, like, Yale and Harvard. No, yes, I have heard of Yale and Harvard, and I am aware they are Good Schools, but I am looking specifically for schools that have a good ART PROGRAM, not a Clickbuzz list of ten colleges some content-creator has heard of. I want a school that has a ceramics studio and a glass-blowing studio and a furniture-design studio, and graphic arts and illustration and studio painting, and an advisor who can say “Hey, you know what makes money if you combine it with art, other than working in a coffee shop? THIS.” I want a school that KNOWS majoring in art is a dicey thing, and is making sure they have a Genuine Quality Art Program Where the Degree Means Something.
Hi! High school Art teacher here! I’m in PA and here are some schools my students have gone to:
Kutztown University
Boston University
Arcadia University
Penn State
NYU
Alfred University
University of Delaware
I would be happy to have a conversation about it, I go through this with my students every year!
My husband’s younger cousin recently graduated from Alfred University in New York with an degree in Art/Design, and she loved it there.
Alfred is AMAZING but is a tiny school in the middle of nowhere, so perhaps not her thing.
A caveat before I start —
I know you don’t live in Massachusetts, so when I say affordable, bear in mind that it’s affordable for MA residents & I have no idea (none!) for out of state students.
However, have you considered UMass Dartmouth? Price-wise, it’s one of the more affordable schools locally (in a region that seems to have a university every 100 yards or so). They’ve got a pretty solid art program. I don’t know all the details, but they’ve definitely got an on-campus ceramic studio. There’s also an off-campus dedicated art studio location. My eldest, a physics/math major, is dating an art student, and she choose UMassD (as an out of state student) for the art program. UMassD is located on a self-contained campus and is a good sized school offering a variety of majors. We have the gamut of styles here, but Elizabeth would definitely stand out — crocs with socks is definitely a thing, so it’s hardly a hotbed of outré fashion sense.
University of Wisconsin – Madison is where a friend’s kid went in the last five years or so – I remember hearing that they learned glassblowing and had a paid internship at a co-op that made…ornaments, I think? And it was affordable enough that their summer job paid for their tuition.
Madisonian here – UW-Madison DOES have a wonderful art program. However, it is not really “affordable”’ for out of state students. It definitely used to be, but the Republican legislature has been systematically screwing the public university system (and public education system) for the past 10 years. It is also HIGHLY competitive for out of state admission.
I think UC San Diego might fit this criteria? I was not an art student there, but there were art students, and I think the arts program was pretty good. (I know the theater program and the music program are very good). But art students are also a tiny minority compared to all the engineering and bio students. The campus is in town, but up on a hill and very isolated. It isn’t cheap, especially if you are out of state, but it’s not NYU. And will definitely be the last place to fall on women’s rights.
I think my printmaking teacher went to UC Davis. So someone got an art degree there and it was not drawing/painting. He was a hippie. I seem to remember he lived in a van while in undergrad.
My brother is an artist and he went to both UC SD and UC Davis. He also went to or taught at or has been otherwise affiliated with:
Temple U.
Virginia Commonwealth
U of Illinois
Virginia Commonwealth is IN the city, not separate campus.
I work at uc Davis and like all UCs the out of state tuition is rough. But our art program is unique and good and the school seems to fit her other criteria! My niece is an art major at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and loves it. Also fits the criteria and not quite as bad on tuition….
I went to Tulane. It’s $80k. BUT at the time and likely now they were quite generous with the aid. They have, as far as I know, glass, ceramics, sculpture (welding and metal work. I can weld (terribly), printmaking, painting, photography, and drawing. I went in as undecided. Briefly was a studio art major and finally majored in the highly lucrative field of art history. With which I do not do a whole lot. There are a bazillion little things I would do differently now – make better friends with professors, work in a gallery, become fluent in another language, take more studio art classes. I love meso American and celtic art. I love museums. I love knowing how a bunch of things in museums were made. (Full disclosure I also have an MEd that I don’t use to get paid. So, translating education into employment isn’t really my thing).
I don’t have the thing you need to be an artist – actually a few things: creativity, the DRIVE necessary to promote yourself, and the drive to keep creating but I do make things all the time. I bake! I’m braiding a rug from tshirts, I knit, I take photos.
Anywho. If the application fee isn’t going to break you, it’s worth applying to schools that seem financially out of reach. In my 20+ year old experience. It would have cost me more to go to UMass as an in state student. Tulane was the best. Hamilton in NY was close (might have been like couple hundred to a grand cheaper, actually. I don’t remember). Also in the running were American (didn’t like it despite it being very Tulane but in DC), and GW. Middlebury was terrible.
New Orleans is awesome. The thing I did get out of Tulane was: amazing people I see rarely but when I do it’s like we were together last week, a job at Jazz Fest (roundabout by staying in NOLA and working at Margaritaville but if I hadn’t gone there, it wouldn’t have happened), MUSIC!, and Mardi Gras. It’s not for everyone. But should she end up there, I know some of the nicest people who will be there if she needs them.
Also, I realize there are reasons why Louisiana could be on the “don’t even think it” list but NOLA seems to be, at the moment as far as I know, subverting that and the friends would absolutely be good sources of information about that kind of thing.
My oldest is at Tulane now, can confirm the aid can be very generous. (And not purely need-based- she’s at Tulane for less than we’d have paid for our local state school.) Echoing TU’s awesomeness!
No specific art school recs, but definitely don’t write off more $$$ schools. Showing interest (attending local recruitment events, keep in touch with the local recruiter, etc.) can make a really big difference- schools want the students who really WANT to be there!
Roll Wave!
SUNY Purchase might be a good option to look at – a reputation as a very good arts school, but not exclusively art, relatively affordable since it’s a NY state school (and more so if she wanted to establish residency later), and in a state where reproductive rights aren’t likely to be restricted unless they are restricted across the whole country
Also SUNY New Paltz, another good arts program in the SUNY system that ticks many boxes on this list.
I have a high school friend who is an actual, working, has shows in galleries around the world and teaches art artist. She went to Sarah Lawrence College and SUNY Purchase. So that could be a very good option.
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a large state school known for its art program. It meets all the requirements on her list except it’s in the city of Richmond. And there are many art majors so she probably won’t stand out much stylistically.
There’s a great art museum, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, in Richmond, and it’s only a couple of hours by train to DC and all the museums there. So those are some benefits that might balance any negatives for her.
Good luck!
UC Davis might be a good fit and I feel like California is the only safe place to be these days re politics.
I am a doctoral student at University of Wisconsin-Madison and I constantly see advertisements on campus for our art offerings including what is apparently a vibrant glass blowing program.
The political future of North Carolina is always a bit uncertain, but there are some good possible art programs (very affordable if one is from NC, less so if not, but perhaps still feasible): UNC-Greensboro and Appalachian State have a wide range of strengths in different media. UNC-Chapel Hill also has a solid art department (and excellent programs in different disciplines) but has an extremely low admissions rate for non-NC students.
My husband is an art teacher and these are the NC schools that he also recommends to his students who say they want to major in art. He would also add UNC Wilmington.
May I suggest the University of Kansas? https://art.ku.edu/
I don’t know if it matches all of your requirements, but we just voted to protect abortion rights. I have a relative who just graduated from there with an art degree and she seemed to be able to have access to a variety of resources and opportunities.
2nding KU. I wasn’t an art major, but knew a few way back when and they were very happy with the programs in the School of Fine Arts. And we got the vote out on Aug. 2!
Came here to recommend UCSD as well!
Gah, I just lost a very long comment but the gist is the daughter of my very artsy friend (graphic designer) , who herself is also going to be an art major, is going to UC Santa Cruz. Not as cheap for a non-CA resident but I think still less than a private university? A very lovely Northern California coastal campus among the trees, pretty quirky students generally, and tons of non-art options as well at a UC campus.
Actually, my friend (mom of UC Santa Cruz art student) was some type of art major at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Less expensive than the UC system bc it’s a California State University (CSU) system (we have 2 levels of state university in CA). SLO is a lovely college town on the CA central coast, people I know who went there loved it, it’s a big, general university so many opportunities for practical degrees.
You are doing a great job!!
Just want to add to this..UC Santa Cruz is probably not the place to go if you want to be counter culture but not surrounded by counter culture. I think its reputation as a free spirit school is a little diluted now – most students are there because it’s a good school in a beautiful place and they got in, but that is still what it’s known for. CalPoly is a bit of an Ag school…also a reputation that I think is getting less and less accurate over time, but when I was picking colleges 20 years ago it was the place that appealed to people who wanted something a bit more conservative.
BANANA SLUGS! It is beautiful up there. My mom’s cousin lived on the hill (?) mountain (?) like halfway between the beach and UCSC. So pretty. Evidently he has relocated to rural New Mexico. As per the other comment, he was/is definitely a hippie. Also a boom operator for movies.
Ah art college! Hearts. Now I don’t know much about colleges in the USA but would like say animation and film-making/video are worth consideration as more career friendly /commercial choices in the field. Those students are (I would say this tho) nice, practical and hardworking. Some of my best friends etc etc. I wish Elizabeth all the luck in the world. I can’t believe she’s going to college! She was a baby five minutes ago!
I don’t have suggestions for you, but did want to commiserate as the parent of a senior who is also way more able to cross schools off the list as opposed to adding on possibilities. It is ROUGH.
This is so nosy and I will very much get it if you don’t answer but I am struggling to understand how the finance side of this works – say you find a school that costs $20,000/year (which I gather would make it, relatively speaking, “affordable”) – do you and Paul just have to pay that cost out of pocket? I feel like I’m missing something, how does anyone have the money to pay for that?!!
We can contribute some, but the rest we are paying with scholarships, grants, and loans.
Hi, Kate, I’m a parent of one college graduate & one in college now, so I can offer how we managed things:
1. We started putting some money into a 529 account for each daughter when they were in elementary school. I think at first we could only afford $50/month per kid but it was better than nothing, and we ended up with a decent amount.
2. Kid #1 spent the first two college years living at home and going to community college which costs (I am not exaggerating) less than 1/5 the cost of a state university here.
3. Kid #2 did not take that route but she knocked out as many basics as possible through AP and dual-credit courses, and is taking classes at the community college during summer & winter breaks.
4. Both girls qualified for a zero-interest loan from a foundation serving Texas students (the Abe & Annie Seibel Foundation) and that has paid a chunk of each semester’s costs. They will each be responsible for paying back those loans, but I don’t feel guilty about that since it’s zero interest.
5. We make too much to qualify for financial aid but they can get a small student loan each semester, and we take that out; we have a written agreement that my husband and I will be responsible for paying those loans.
6. The rest comes out of our pocket, so I budget a certain amount each month and put it in a separate checking account to pay college-related expenses.
College is expensive, even if they go to a state school. It is so important to talk to your kids early and often about what you can afford and what schools might be out of reach financially, how they can help offset the cost through dual credits and community college and work study and scholarships, and be very clear on who will pay whatever ends up being borrowed.
You either take out loans or start saving when your kid is a baby!
Sorry, that was meant as a reply to a previous comment. University of Michigan has a good art school, but I’m not sure about the affordability factor.
Oh, man, it’s really unfathomable to me how anyone does it, and this is one of many reasons I think college education should be funded the same way K-12 is.
People handle it a ton of different ways. Kids can earn a surprising amount of money themselves: when I went to college, it was understood that we would work part-time during the school year and full-time during the summer, and 70% of that money went into a college account. Some people get help from relatives: my grandparents contributed some. Some people do it by going to a college they don’t really want to go to (like a community college or state school) but where they can go for cheap/free and/or live at home. A lot of people I know started putting money in 529 accounts as soon as they were expecting a baby: they figured even if sometimes they could only put in $5, that was better than nothing—and it does add up, especially if sometimes you can, for example, chuck in most of an unexpectedly high tax refund; some parents I know also asked for contributions to the 529 as kid birthday/holiday gifts when the kids were small. Paul and I bought a house around the time we were just starting to have kids, and we figured contributions to the mortgage would go further and save us more money than contributions to a 529, so on my dad’s advice we figured out how much extra it would be to pay off the mortgage in 15 years instead of 30 (the difference was about $200/month), and we made that our goal; many months we couldn’t do that, but I sent what we could, even if all I was doing was rounding up the check to the nearest $5 or $10, and other months we COULD do it, or would chuck in, say, most of an unexpectedly high tax refund; once the mortgage was paid off, that did indeed free up pretty close to $20,000/year. Another advantage we had was that I was a stay-at-home mom, so we did all our major financial/budget stuff (like what kind of house/car we could afford) as a one-income family; when I started working, even just part-time, that was all extra and could go directly toward college savings. I also have acquaintances who had been working all along, but who took on an extra side-job and put all of that income toward college savings. And then, of course, I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t take on debt. A lot of the situations I’m familiar involve the kids taking on the debt, but then the parents doing what they can to help pay it off over the years: basically taking the cost of college and spreading it over way more years.
Just to be clear, I don’t think there are ANY 4-year universities in the USA that cost $20k per year if you’re talking tuition + dorm. Like…NONE. You absolutely can go to a community college for $20k or even quite a bit less (housing not included)- one of our local community colleges offered a year of free tuition to 2022 HS graduates in our county. But if you are talking an actual 4-year college/university…nope.
Certainly scholarships & aid packages can get tuition down into that range for some students/families but the non-discounted tuition/fees/housing is on average almost twice that.
My GenX husband (we are both solid GenX but apparently I have been paying more attention) was shocked when he realized how much tuition costs these days at the state school near us that he graduated from.
I hate to jinx it, but NC has held onto its low tuition for in-state residents, and while housing costs have driven yearly total costs up to around $24K for in state residents, a few of the campuses still have estimated costs of less than $20K a year including room and board. App State: https://www.appstate.edu/costs/ and UNC-Greensboro are among the least expensive.
I am old enough to remember when tuition was accessible at most public universities. That has all changed in the last 15 years. Before 2008, many states funded their universities 65% through taxes and 35% through tuition. Now the ratios everywhere are almost reversed.
@Jody – you’re right, AppState squeaks by at $19,532/year! NC State is where my husband went and it’s about $26k/year. UNC is similar, $25k.
I teach at the Southern California sister Cal State to SLO mentioned above (Cal Poly Pomona), and I also recommend checking out the Cal States in lieu of the Universities if California. Tuition for students, both in and out of state, is a fraction of the cost. We regularly top the same lists for graduates that the UCs do, especially ones that relate to socio economic advancement. We are a Polytechnic, learn by doing school, with a great makers space, all the studios, etc. Not sure about glass blowing. But plenty of opportunity to double major or take courses in additional practical subjects. Our art department is small but I know working artists who have graduated from there and do great in the local LA art scene. My ex husband graduated from the most prestigious art school in CA (one of the best in country) and Elizabeth really is going about this in a very smart way. Let me know if you have any specific questions and I’d be happy to answer them.
I have a friend who works in the art department at San Jose State. I am not sure that it is the kind of program that one would pay out of state tuition for, but if Elizabeth were already living in California I would tell her that it sounds pretty cool (which makes me wonder what other hidden gems are out there…although the Cal State University system is kind of unique. But I think SUNY may be similar).
This same friend made us all watch this movie…which won’t help Elizabeth pick a college, but might be something fun to do in between trying to pick a college.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0364955/&ved=2ahUKEwj39tno0Pv5AhXQL0QIHTHHCykQFnoECDYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1PZ4wH2598QhebVqDyPl52
I don’t know much about the college pipeline, but I wanted to chime in to say that I work for a video game studio, and we hire TONS of artists, and they are all well paid. I have no clue if she’s interested in games, but a lot of studios are actively looking for female artists in particular.
Beat of luck to her! Can’t wait to hear how it goes!
I once dated a video game artist and I was amazed at how comfortable his lifestyle was! And he lived within his means!
Another art career option is Surface Design/Surface Pattern Design where you design the art for companies that goes on all the products we use and love. That can be as an in house designer or as an independent artist who sells and licenses their work. I know a lot of artists that got art degrees bemoan that in their schooling they were never taught how to make a living from their art. So a side major/minor that can be helpful for many artists is business if she at all is wanting to be an entrepreneur/her own boss.
My husband was an art studio major at UC Santa Barbara and never planned to do anything in the field. He’s always worked in IT. As you described the criteria for what Elizabeth is looking for it matched up exactly with UCSB, but as others have said it is probably too costly since you’re out of state. But also cost is relative, and I don’t know your situation. I think it’s encouraging that so many people have replied, meaning there are lots of places that fit with what your daughter is seeking. Perhaps reorder the list by matter of priority. Art is a very common major, so maybe sorting first by location and price, and then by what the art department offers, will help produce a more useful set of results. I absolutely loved how specific Elizabeth was about wanting the school to feel separate. She wants a true college town experience. I used to be an academic advisor at the undergraduate level, and would be happy to offer another ear if you have questions about liberal arts degrees and their application in the real world.
First, don’t discount a college immediately because of the price. Lorelei is going to a college where the cost before aid is $60K/year, but she received a merit scholarship and music scholarship. If she works part-time (and makes about 12K/year, which she did working part-time as a barista in high school), and we don’t lose our jobs, she’ll have almost no loans to repay after her bachelor’s degree. I wouldn’t have even encouraged her to apply, but my husband was like, “Let’s just see!” and now she’s at a great, well regarded school and in a solid financial position that I would have never predicted.
Ella is 100% an art school kid (hopefully not one of the annoying ones!) and applied to the main art schools in the U.S: CalArts (where Pixar pulls from), SCAD, RISD, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Otis, etc. She got into several and we visited, but they just weren’t for her. She ended up getting sophomore acceptance to the U of Mich (her portfolio was great, her grades were okay), so she’s going to a local art school and if she maintains a 3.2 GPA, she can finish her degree at UofM. It is WAY cheaper to do a year locally and only pay 3 years of Expensive College. UofM has a great reputation and Ella was aware that dollar for dollar, art schools do NOT return the investment, so she’s like Elizabeth in that she wants to get a degree from a college with a good art program, not necessarily from an Art School.
Anyway, I don’t know if that’s super helpful info except to say my kids took a route to college that was not at all what I would have expected and I think that’s really neat. Maybe it helps to hear how other people figure it out?
I used to read your blog a loooong time ago and loved the update. Now just need an update on C. :)
I’ve know a couple of people who studied art at the University of Iowa (my alma mater) and have gone on to have successful careers. One double majored in art and journalism and worked for a national magazine for many years (though print publication is not really where it’s at anymore it was at the time). Another graduated more recently with just a BFA and works as a product designer in NY. Any major state school with a decent art program would work, as then she’d have access to classes in business, computer science, etc that could add to her art education. Abortion access in Iowa is safe for now but that may change. Illinois is a short drive away.
I know you said she’s not interested in purely art schools but I know a couple people whose kids attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and it sounds like an amazing school. One benefit of an art school is the networking opportunities might be better at an art school than a traditional liberal arts school. Something to think about anyway.
Best of luck to her!
Ok, I realize this isn’t affordable but they do usually hand out a good chunk of aid, RIT. (Full disclosure, I work there.) it has basically everything Elizabeth is looking for. One of my sons got a BFA in New Media Design and got a job in his field right after graduation making good money. Also, if she plays an instrument, they give out scholarships to keep playing at school. Might be with checking out. I’d be happy to give you any other info you want and also I can have the application fee waived if she decides to apply.
(Rochester Institute of Technology)
This is where my oldest is and he did get a surprisingly good financial aid and scholarship package.
I work there and my youngest is in his last year. If you ever need anything, let me know.
May I recommend University of Maryland at College Park? It’s a huge university with a terrific art department, and my husband is actually teaching in an Art/computer science hybrid department called Immersive Media.
It’s got it’s own campus, but it’s also right by the Metro so you can go into DC in less than 20 minutes. She can hop on Amtrak to get to you, or she can fly out of BWI.
I was just scanning through the comments to see if anyone had mentioned University of Maryland at College Park yet. I did a doctorate in theatre there about a decade ago and although what I did was only tangentially related to the art department, from what I saw it seemed great!
It has its own campus with a main drag and as an undergrad student you’d pretty much never need to leave campus if you didn’t want to, but I always liked having easy access to DC when I wanted to feel those city vibes for a little while.
And it’s important to note that her reproductive rights would most certainly not be in jeopardy in Maryland, which is very solidly blue (even though they have a Republican governor at the moment).
Very true. There is a clinic on one of the main roads, walking distance from my house.
If your daughter thinks she might be interested in Immersive Media, I can put you all in touch with my husband to talk about the department and how they are mixing art and computer science. You can email me at liz@millerhousehold.com.
I don’t have any art schools that aren’t really art schools suggestions that are from this century. The art kids in my class all went to Mass Art a thousand years ago. One of them became a UU minister. My auntie went to RIT and got a Masters in Fine Arts in Photography even longer ago than that. She became a CAD engineer.
That said, I have two tangentially related to art school things:
1) Have you ever watched Six Feet Under? I didn’t watch it during its run but binged it years later on HBO. My favorite Fisher is Claire (long standing heart-eyes girl-crush on Lauren Ambrose because of this role) and she struggles with being arty/weird in HS but then not arty/weird enough to fit in with her Very Arty Art School Friends in college. Caveats: lots of death, lots of sex, lots of pitch black dark humor, not sure how well it’s aged BUT I still get misty thinking about the final episode and Claire’s ending in particular.
2) Strong Bad Email: Portrait – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhK-vftrXLA
Side note: is this cartoon older than Elizabeth?! I honestly have no clue but that’s terrifying.
I DID watch Six Feet Under!!! It was Too Much for me at times (I am not great with gore; and there was one traumatic story ((with someone’s little brother)) that I am still not over), but I lovvvvvvved it.
<33333333333
I've rewatched it a couple of times and find that it hits differently depending on my own experiences at the time. I originally identified really hard with Claire; years later on rewatch her mom Ruth had me ugly crying with recognition. All the actors are so good.
While I did not find high school counselors to be at all useful for my kids, they might actually be for your specific circumstance. And the head of my high school art department knew regional colleges well enough to know how to customize portfolios so they’d like them. Which may affect scholarship opportunities.
I am in NY which has both affordable state schools and a wide variety of them. If you are in a state like this, research state schools extensively, since they are more likely to be affordable.
Staying within your region (driving distance) cuts costs considerably. Staying local so she can live at home, even more so, but I am guessing you are all hoping for an on-campus experience.
The internet provides college information in a really chaotic way. Elizabeth might find it useful to sit down with a book like “Princeton Review’s Best 300 Colleges” or whatever it is, in the current edition, and just paging through it. My parents got me this book back in the day, and it featured a lot of honest opinions from current students, both positive and negative. I remember finding it a really valuable resource when I was figuring out where to apply.
Reading her criteria, my mind immediately went to “a public university in California” so it’s interesting to see that a lot of other commenters thought the same way!
Other specific ideas:
– Brown and RISD have a dual-degree program. Could be worth a shot!
– Cooper Union: This does not check all of her boxes (it’s small, in NYC, and doesn’t have a wide range of all sorts of academic programs), BUT it is a top art school with good financial aid. (Every student gets at least 50% off tuition, and I think they are trying to eliminate tuition altogether again – historically it was free to attend.)
– St. Olaf in Minnesota. I know someone who went there for reasons similar to Elizabeth’s (wanted strong studio art, but with the option to study other things as well for practical reasons). It seemed like a hidden gem (small and not super well known beyond the midwest). Maybe worth a look?
You know, I suggested UC Santa Cruz and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo bc of the art connection of my friend, but honestly, any public university in CA could probably tick those boxes (except the location does vary). I’m sure UCLA has an amazing art dept, also Cal Poly Pomona probably too, etc. Elizabeth could look through all the CA public universities (8 UC campuses, 20+ CSU campuses) and find a few that appeal.
The one thing I remember about St. Olaf’s from the college promotional material is that it has an inner-tube water polo team, which I thought was awesome (but which did not make me apply to a school I’d never previously heard of). But it made me happy that there *were* quirky, interesting things out there, maybe at nearly all universities…
I don’t know what state you’re I , but I would recommend the University of Illinois. It seems to fit all of the criteria except perhaps tuition (obviously much cheaper if you were a resident of the state). I work in a creative department and our creative director speaks very highly of her design education there.
U of I is a great school and the neighboring towns of Champaign-Urbana basically get all the good stores and restaurants because they are a college town. Illinois State University is another great option. It has a strong education program so if she decides to go into art education, this would be a great school to choose.
If Elizabeth wants to major/minor in something in addition to art, she might be better served by going to a school where she can get a BA with majors in Art and Something Else. If she pursues a BFA, she would need to do a double degree- BFA and BA or BS in Something Else. I think. This is a good question for an office lady in the art department at a school that offers both BA in Art and BFA options. I’m extrapolating from my own experience (I got a BMus vs a BA in music), but being at a school that offers both at least keeps her options open. And screw the states that are restricting women’s bodily autonomy. Love, a reluctant Texan.
Someone I know is having a great experience as an MFA student at Syracuse – it sounds like they have impressive studios and facilities. It may not meet the affordability guideline, but as others have said financial aid can surprise you!
Portland State University might be worth looking at. It’s the opposite of #5, but ticks the other boxes and it’s a well-rounded school. I have a few friends who went there for art and they liked it, and 10-20 years ago they had to take a class on how artists need day jobs. PSU also offers dual enrollment with PCC which can help with schedule conflicts if she’s looking to take a more academic class load. Plus it’s next to the art museum (unlimited access with a cheap student membership) and all the big theaters if she’s still into that!
Because I love a challenge (and am procrastinating my own Big Life Decisions), I spent some time on https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search and this is what I came up with:
Cal Poly San Louis Obispo, University of Delaware, U Mass Amherst, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, SUNY Buffalo, University of Oregon, Rowan University, Towson University, Colorado State, Illinois State, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Cal State Fullerton, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Rhode Island, Cal State Chico, Montclair State, University of Kansas, Kansas State, Washington State, CSU Stanislaus, Central Washington University, CSU San Bernardino, CSU East Bay, Minnesota State Mankato, Southern Illinois Edwardsville, Fort Hays State
But I would echo folks above in cautioning against being wedded to a BFA if she’s also interested in other things. I think this is a lot like going into a baby name decision with lots of stringent criteria: she’ll probably need to think about which criteria to prioritize when coming to a final decision.
I’m a West Chester University grad and while my major was far away from arts it may check off a lot of her boxes. It’s in a mid sized college town, 35 minutes from Philadelphia, the campus is separate from the town. The profs I had were all EXCELLENT. Really, really good value IMO. (It’s a PA state school so as a PA resident tuition was something like 6k a year 10 years ago.)
I don’t have very much experience in this. But I did have one friend that majored in Art in college. She got a regular Art degree at a state school. And then went to another state school for a couple of years to get her teaching certificate. I know you didn’t mention Elizabeth being interested in teaching, but it might be worth it to look at schools where she could add the teaching portion to it if she decides that is a way she wants to go.
I know nothing about UC colleges, but my mother started a fine arts degree at Concordia in Montreal and it still seems to have a big fine arts program: https://www.concordia.ca/finearts.html
Tuition for US students seems to be $23,004 – $27,123 for the fine arts program, but that’s in $CAD, so in $USD that would be roughly $17,500 – $20,660 per year. I’m not sure how that compares to US universities.
I think the campus may be integrated into Montreal, not separate from the city. Montreal is a pretty cool city though.
I don’t know how Elizabeth feels about coming to Canada but I think she would pay much less at almost ANY school and would get a world class education, she’d get ‘international’ experience, and the politics/reproductive health thing shouldn’t be too much an issue. Concordia (as Shawna mentions above) appears on most lists of good art programs in Canada. She could learn French in Montreal and it is a hip and happening kind of city!
Hm. Just realized I typed “UC” but I meant “US”. Might have been an auto-correct, might have been my clumsy fingers…
I highly recommend large state schools with multiple campuses (there are many but think SUNY, CUNY, UC, UMich, UMass, etc). Many systems like this have a variety of campuses to choose from and each one will have a different vibe or focus so if Elizabeth starts at one and decides to completely switch gears she can transfer within a system which is much easier than transferring between schools.
Having said that, the most anxiety relieving thing my high school counselor told me when I was trying to make the exact same decision was that I could always transfer and it would be totally fine. It’s much easier than people imagine (I think you had a taste of this with your older two during the pandemic) and the first year of college is such an eye opener in so many ways. I wish there wasn’t this sense of “we have to do it RIGHT the FIRST time, no take backsies!!!” about college searching, even though I know it is ideal to find the right one on the first try and it is certainly worth the effort to try to find the best fit.
Best of luck to you both!
The transfer point is so important–I tell students often that although college seems like the biggest, most life-altering decision you can make, it’s not permanent! You can change schools! Knowing that helps take a little pressure off.
I believe someone already mentioned UNC-Greensboro and Appalachian State, so I’m here to second it. UNC-Greensboro isn’t necessarily isolated from town, but is on the edge of Greensboro. App State is up in the mountains and is definitely in town – but Boone is a cool community. And, if I am remembering correctly, most of the books are covered with tuition (which can be a huge help) at App. I’m not sure of the tuition for out of state students but I hear that both are pretty affordable.
I am gently encouraging my now-sophomore towards App State (we live outside Raleigh)!
His grades are good so far, but not his weighted GPA/class rank because he dislikes difficult classes and is taking a lot of PE credits. He hates test taking and isn’t the greatest at it, so I anticipate relatively average SAT/ACT scores. He plays football & loves the mountains. We don’t know yet if he’s good enough to get recruited to a college team, but I think regardless he’d love the atmosphere of App State (and snow doesn’t scare him – he was born in MN & we lived there until he was 9). It just seems like a great fit for him. Hopefully someone who is not me can convince him of that!
I know two young people who majored in art (at an art school, so it doesn’t meet your requirements) but one designs textbooks and the other works in advertising. Just as an example of jobs one can get with an art degree.
So we just toured Pace with Caitlyn, because she wants “a poly-sci degree but not feel like she *has* to go in to pre-law. Anyway…I had big concerns about the city campus but it is surprisingly private. We really liked it. As for aid….yeah, I’m right there with you. I know I don’t have to tell you…but with one already away at school…yeeeesh.
Remember when they were tiny babies wearing their TCP “never crabby” shirts?
I DO EXTREMELY REMEMBER
I was going to suggest SUNY Buffalo, Virginia Commonwealth, Syracuse, and Marywood
Quoting from above “I think this is a lot like going into a baby name decision with lots of stringent criteria”
Loved this comment!
I will also chime in with the University of California system, particularly Davis. Wayne Thiebaud was a professor there, and they have a brand new art museum (brand new, like in the last five years?) on campus. I think Davis is semi-well known for its art program, plus is always ranked very highly for public schools nationwide generally and for various majors. It’s a wonderful college town next door to a medium city and just a quick train or car ride away from the beautiful and artsy Bay Area.
The first place that came to mind for me was Iowa State. Which is clearly sacrilege—we’re a University of Iowa family and they’re rivals! But Iowa State runs a Women In Science and Engineering program for middle school girls across the state to explore all the amazing STEM-y things college has to offer, and one is glassblowing. (Program linked in my name.) So, it has art and values art and women, is what I’m saying.
University of Iowa is more artsy and liberal arts-y than Iowa State, and I loved visiting it to SHREDS, but it’s in town and the town is a smidgen quirkier. It’s a lovely place, bursting with bookstores and interesting people to talk to.
I grew up in Ames and loved the ISU campus and overall vibe. It felt artsy to me!
I’m an Iowa State grad and the friend I mentioned that majored in art and is now an art teacher (in a previous comment) went to Iowa State. :)
I’d push all day for Iowa State, but I will say that this state is run by idiots who haven’t done anything to abortion yet, but I fear it is coming.
I’m not from the US so I’m sure I cannot add more advice than hasn’t already been said by the US residents in these comments, but I just want to say that it’s exciting to see how many suggestions are being shared and I wish Swistle best of luck going through them and hopefully finding a winner :)
If her school offers the SCOIR website, it’s actually an extremely useful tool for searching for colleges using many different criteria and it generates suggestions as well based on the schools you have already liked. I believe you can only access the full features if your high school has signed up for it.
Looks like reddit might have some useful conversations, too:
https://www.reddit.com/r/unt/comments/sy4wu8/changing_to_studio_art/
Has she considered biomedical illustration? It’s pretty cool, lots of ways you can go with it, and there is probably some money in it.
My friend’s daughter is a wonerful artist (I have a series of 4 paintings from her). While she would love to make a living as an artist, she also wants health insurance and PTO while she makes art, so she is going to Arcadia in PA, to become an art therapist. I saw a dew people mention Alfred, my cousin (’14 grad) enjoyed it, he did electrical engineering, and now a different counsin’s child just started there not eve, two weeks ago. he’s going for biomedical engineering.
I mostly know the West Coast but here would be my recommendations that fit the requirements: Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo is an adorable town), CSULB, Cal State Fullerton, KU, and Columbia College in Chicago. It sounds like a BA degree program would be more suited for her than a BFA. I’m a professional artist with a BFA and a MFA. I would have had more flexibility in terms of employment if I had taken more Illustration classes but as someone mentioned up thread, there are a lot of specific requirements for a BFA and it doesn’t leave a ton of room for electives.
I’m on the other side of the world in Australia, so won’t be any help. However I’m interested because my own 17YO daughter is choosing her preferred university course for next year, and her likely choice is a “Bachelor of Creative Industries”, within which they choose a major and minor out of options including:
Animation and Visual Effects
Comicbook Creation
Communication and Media
Contemporary Art Studies
Creative Writing and Literature
Digital Media
Festivals
Film and Television
Games Design and Production
Performing Arts
Screen Studies
Social Media
Design Studies
Event Management
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Journalism
Marketing
Sports Management
Tourism Management etc etc
It would be fascinating to look at Australian uni options vs US college options and see how they compare
just here to say “not a Clickbuzz list of ten colleges some content-creator has heard of” made me LOL :-)
I work at Colorado Mesa University, a medium-sized university with a beautiful campus. We’re near the Utah border so the landscape is very red rock spires and canyons desert, but we also have a ski resort that’s 45 minutes away. I don’t have the art background to judge if our Art and Design department is ‘good’ but we offer the BFA degree with several different majors, there is a whole building for the department, it has a ceramics studio, painting and drawing studios, graphic design and film studios, plus our own foundry for doing bronze and other metal sculpture stuff. The university has an art department downtown. The student body is such that someone who looks like an ‘art major’ (or theatre or dance major) stands out a bit. I have found the art department faculty to be among the most interesting and creative on campus. We have merit aid available for all majors and for out-of-staters.
Ugh. I meant, the university has an art gallery downtown. The art department is on the main university campus.
Suggesting University of Oregon. It seems to check all the boxes. With an excellent art museum on campus!
1. Not an “Art School” but rather has a College of Design within a student body of 25,000+, with a business school, journalism school, Arts & Sciences, Architecture, Music, Education . . . well rounded.
2. Offers BAs in Art and BFAs in Ceramics, Fibers, Jewelry and Metalsmithing, Painting and Drawing, Photography, Printmaking, or Sculpture.
3. BFA: check. But also BA and BS in Art.
4. 25,000ish students, mostly undergrad.
5. Campus is contained and not spread out into the city, although it is in a classic college town, Eugene, OR.
6. Right to choose is well-enshrined in Oregon.
7. it is a public state school, but offers abundant merit scholarships for which the bar isn’t exceedingly high.
Has she taken the ACT or SAT? My son’s college provided tiered levels of merit-based scholarships to in-state students based simply off of a combination of ACT score and high school GPA, regardless of student major. For him, this covers nearly all of his tuition each semester (my employee discount covers the rest; unfair advantage, I know:). When he was applying I noticed that our state schools all generally do this and some colleges in neighboring states must have a reciprocity deal with ours because it applied to schools in states to both the east and west of us. These may not be the type of places she has in mind but I imagine any state’s flagship university is likely to have a decent art program so it’s worth checking!
Every time I look up schools that have a B.F.A. or a B.V.A. they all seem to be Art Schools! Also, why am I Googling when you’ve surely Googled all there is to Google?
Well, William & Mary does not offer those–it offers a BA in fine arts–but I know people who went there and LOVED IT. Williamsburg is really pretty. It’s a bigger school, and hard to get into for out-of-state students.
https://www.wm.edu/about/index.php
UVA also does not offer a BFA or BVA, but it checks a number of other boxes! Also they have a “Distinguished Majors” program for art majors:
https://art.as.virginia.edu/distinguished-majors-aunspaugh-fifth-year-fellowships
Native Virginian here, and I also came to suggest UVA. It’s large enough to offer a wide variety of programs, should she change her mind, and also an excellent business school. I felt, as an undergrad that there were enough different kinds of student groups that nearly anyone could find their place.
If she’d like a smaller college town, Williamsburg is also a great place to live with great academics. It’s a bit of a smaller campus compared to UVA, but not too small.
In comparison, Virginia Commonwealth has a nationally top-ranked art program but the campus IS urban and spread out (my sister went there and had a love-hate relationship with the school).
I’m going to recommend against Virginia right now, given that the right to choose is not currently safe there. The only thing keeping them from going full anti-choice is the state senate, where the Dems have a slight majority, and that can change in 2023.
The University of Michigan is worth a visit. Ann Arbor is an awesome small town. Abortion rights are on the ballot this November so hoping that turns okay. If not, Ann Arbor is a liberal haven in Michigan so I would expect this would not be a problem if she attended that school. They will find a way.
I graduated in 2009 with majors in psychology and political science. The art school got a huge donation since then and it has everything you could imagine.
As for cost… looks like it’s just under 80K for out of state students (including cost of living). I was an instate student and my mom told me To not even look out of state haha. I do think they have a pretty good financial aid office. I once asked them for more money and they gave it to me… don’t know if that’s really a thing but when I went to law school students definitely bargained with schools for better scholarships.
Also in MI is Western Michigan—smaller, cheaper and less selective but still a good school with an art department and a nice campus.
You may already know this, but I think you would be surprised at the kind of aid you can get at Ivy League schools. They will take into account that you are paying for not 1 but 4(!) children in college at the same time. And will provide financial aid for households that make up to around 500k if I recall correctly. Most of them provide estimate calculators. It may end up being more affordable than state schools.
Yale and Penn both have fantastic art programs. I don’t think Penn offers a BFA though – Yale definitely does. Penn does offer a very cool major called DMD which is basically a Pixar pipeline if you think that’d be something Elizabeth would enjoy.
I also want to throw out a wildcard – MIT. Elizabeth will probably either love it or hate it but STEM and art intersect in a lot of ways & Elizabeth might find a home there.
Good luck!!!
Rutgers is the NJ state school and I don’t know what the out of state tuition is like these days, but I can’t imagine it’s anywhere near places like Yale. It has an excellent arts school, Mason Gross, but also really great liberal arts programs. I live in NJ and went to Rutgers partly because I was so unsure what I wanted to study and liked the comfort of a bigger school, because no matter what I changed my mind TO, it would probably be an option. It also has the benefit of being close to NYC while not being in the city itself, which is appealing to a lot of people! (I work at RU now although not at the art school, and still love being there!!!)
I think it might be worth doing a tour through Central or Southern California — either the Claremont colleges, UCSD, UCLA, maybe CSU Long Beach/CSU LA OR go to Central California and look at CSU San Francisco, CSU Sonoma, UC Berkeley and UC Davis.