Need advice on picking an art school

#1

I am planning to undergo a full time program in either game arts/design or animation (still deciding which one to go for) and following are the colleges I am thinking of applying to. I want to go to an art school which gives me a solid education as well as help me out in my career. Any advice regarding this is welcome.

Schools I am planning to apply to :

For game arts/design:

  1. University of Utah (graduate program)
  2. SCAD
  3. Vanarts
  4. University of Southern California

For animation:

  1. Seneca college
  2. Bournemouth university, UK
  3. SCAD
  4. DAVE school, Florida

I didn’t mention Ringling, Calarts and some other schools because they are very expensive and very difficult to get into (from what I have read on the internet) but if someone has a different opinion please share. :slight_smile:

#2

Hey man,

USC is pretty expensive and reasonably competitive itself. All that fancy landscaping they have cost lots of money to upkeep. :rolleyes: (It’s is a beautiful campus though).

I’m not sure how the closure of DD in Florida has affected DAVE School. I know SCAD used to have tons of connections with R&H and placed tons of graduates there.

-AJ

#3

Frankly, if you want an art school that also will give you a solid education, stay away from the DAVE school.

The top animation programs in my opinion are:

Ringling, which is mostly 3D but very hard to get into. Considered to be the top 3D animation undergrad program in U.S.
CalArts, which is mostly 2D, but very hard to get into. Considered top 2D animation program in U.S.
SVA, which has a strong 2D and 3D curriculum. Fairly hard to get into,but is very portfolio oriented and not that grade oriented. It is considered to be the best animation school in NY and one of the best on the east coast. However, it is a "for profit" school and doesn't give a lot of scholarships. Also, all faculty are working professions in the field. I know a lot about SVA since I have a child who went there.
USC: Great reputation but I really didn't like the student work. Also, very hard to get into and admission tends to be very academic oriented.Tends to be very 2D in both admission and in curriculum.
Pratt:Offers both 2D and 3D, but tends to be experimental and very artsy. Similar to SVA as to admission.
FIT: new program, don't know much about admission
RIT: both 2d and 3d. Relatively new program ,but I LOVE their curriculum. Fairly hard to get into and admission does require decent grades and decent SATs too like USC. However, not as hard as USC to get into. They do, however, give a lot of scholarship money.
Bournemouth is great if you want to live and work in UK
Sheridan Institute in Canada: widely considered on par with either Ringling or CalArts.Considered to be the best animation school in Canada.

SCAD allegedly has a strong program in both 2D and 3D. However, I don’t know much about the program. Also, not being in either LA or N.Y. probably means less contacts and part time work for students who are going to school in either L.A. or N.Y. However, as noted above, there are plenty of SCAD people who work in the industry. Thus, studios know about them.

#4

Thanks a lot for the advice guys. I have one question. What about the university of utah for game design? I read in Princeton review that it has the no.1 undergrad and no.2 grad program in USA?

#5

Sorry, I don’t know much about Univ. of Utah or BYU for that matter.

#6

Hello!
I’m not so sure about Vanarts, but I’m currently finishing a year long diploma program at Think Tank Training Centre in North Vancouver, BC for animation, 3D modeling and design for film and games. If you’re looking for quality education, I’d recommend checking this school out! It’s small with 12 students per term, but Think Tank delivers big! The work put out by the students is a testimony to how much effort and resources go into making the education the best that it can be. I’ve had mentors and instructors who have worked with high end film and game studios and the knowledge they shared was invaluable. Some people don’t like the idea of going to a small school just because it doesn’t have the word “college” or “university” in the name, but if the education is geared towards what the industry is looking for and you can secure a job because of it, it’s totally worth the investment! Here’s the website if you’re interested in learning more and checking out the demo reels: http://www.tttc.ca/
Hope I could help a bit and good luck with your decisions!
-The Dragon Cause

#7

Newcastle University is best for Fine Art it is located in Australia Country.

#8

When I was looking I considered UCLA, CalArts and Gnomon School. I picked Gnomon. :wink: