Grad Schools for MFA Photography

[kirsten_s]

<p>So I have done endless research on Grad Schools. I really want an MFA in Photography because I feel my technical skills and knowledge of the photography business needs improvement and further exploration, and I would one day like to teach at the college level. I am looking into UCLA, California Institute of the Arts, California State University Northridge, San Jose State University, RIT, Pratt, Rhode Island School of Design, MICA, Virginia Commonwealth University, Ohio University, Bard College, and Parsons. I was looking into Savannah College of Art and Design and Academy of Art University as well, but I have heard lots of mixed feeling about these two. I know my list seems endless and if anyone has any advice on ANY of these I would greatly appreciate it!!</p>

[b_christopher]

<p>I think you should get good education in any one of the schools you list in your post. Any information you get on the net--including personal experience information in response to this post is, simply put, second-hand information. I think it will be more meaningful for you to pick the schools you find that may help you achieve your goals and speak to their representatives and professors. Visit the schools if possible, and see first-hand, the school environment, the local area, cost of living, etc. Other than the education and school experience, winter in So-Cal is very different from upstate NY. Experience at large state school can be very different from a small private school. You need to narrow down your choices and talk directly to the people you will be dealing with. Good luck!</p>

[Hector Javkin]

<p>I cannot emphasize this too strongly: Arrange to visit the schools once you get down to your final three or four choices. Talk to the faculty, and to the students away from the faculty.The faculty will give you an idealized view, but hopefully you can sift through it. Don't be afraid to ask whether they have been affected by the current economic situation. Ask students if they have friends who attended the school but left without finishing. If you can, get in touche with those students. Go to the library of each school you are considering. Find out what they can do to obtain materials from other libraries when necessary. Check out the equipment available for students, and whether the student store has steep discounts for students and faculty on, say Photoshop. It's not only to get a good price, it is to know whether the university is supportive or not. Ask students, particularly women students, how comfortable they feel walking on campus at night. Consider whether you want to live a couple of hours away from New York, or surrounded by city in New York, San Jose or Los Angeles.</p>

<p>This is much too important a decision to be made at a distance. I know traveling to some of these schools will be costly, and I am very much aware of the financial difficulties that graduate students often face. (In a field having nothing to do with photography, I taught at one of the schools you are considering, and had a post-doctoral fellowship at another, but this was some time back, the post-doc was in the stone age, and I didn't know the photography faculty.) If you think I can help with more than I can say here, feel free to email me through photo.net. Good luck. Graduate school can be a wonderful experience.</p>

[wclark5179]

<p>Why not go out, figure out from the ups & downs of business, what works to become successful. Successful, whatever that means to you!</p>

<p>Then write a book and go and teach others how to do the same.</p>

[john_a5]

<p>I think it is important to go to a school that is well connected. If I was going to recommend somewhere for the arts and the person had all the money to pay tuition, I would suggest Yale. If you look around, many of the "names" that keep popping up are affiliated with Yale.</p>

<p>If I were making such a decision, I think I might call some museum curators. I would not be afraid to call MOMA and the Met and ask to talk to the head curator of photography--what do you have to lose. Get some names of their recommended schools. Once you talk to several of them, you will have a good idea of who is connected and that is the business of photography(art photography anyway!).</p>

[wclark5179]

<p>The reasons for my post is from my own experiences.<br /> My mentor, coach and friend was a gentleman named Monte Zucker. He did not receive a college education but was a pretty good photographer. Some have said he was a salesman with a camera! His mentor was a genteman named Joe Zeltsman. Take a look at Clay Blackmore site and see what you think. Clay worked for Monte.<br /> You see, I suggest finding a person who photographs the world as you see it and is willing to adopt you as a friend, mentor and coach. <br /> There is so much more to operating a successful business than what you may receive in a formal education environment. <br /> I recommend you join the PPA and WPPI, attending the shows/conventions they put on so as you meet people in the industry. If you look hard, ask questions, maybe you will find someone who is willing to help you. And help you along the way as you venture out trying to bring your dreams to fruition.<br /> A fancy school, unless someone is picking up the tab, can be a door opener to some businesses but has little to do to being successful with your own. And the tab for attending is pretty steep.<br /> Just my thoughts.<br /> Good luck.</p>

[john_a5]

<p>William, maybe you are actually bringing up a good point. MFA's are not about honing your basic skills or learning about the business of photography. They are about honing you conceptual skills and learning (hopefully) and connecting with those in the art world. It is not a masters in the business of photography but of Fine Arts--there is a huge difference.</p>

[Hector Javkin]

<p>Kirsten said that someday she would like to teach at the college level, and an MFA is typically necessary for that. Experience, and good mentors outside of academia, can provide all the education a photographer needs, but many colleges and universities will not hire faculty without the "appropriate" academic degree for a particular discipline, or else will demand extraordinary non-academic qualifications.</p>

[mark_ritz]

<p>That's a pretty good list, but what about:<br>

Art Center College of Design in Pasadena<br>

School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston<br>

MassArt<br>

Just throwing some more names out there in areas you seem to be OK with (socal and new england)</p>