Open House
I'm full of carbs and coffee. Raisin bread and madeleines to be precise.
I slept til 11:30 again. I blame it on the book.
I am oh so excited that tomorrow is the first official live and in person ApeGrape meeting. Artsy fun times are in my future.
Last night I went into Baltimore for a few reasons. Well, mainly one, but I did some other stuff too. Susan couldn't meet up earlier in the afternoon as planned, but I went in early anyway and sat for a while at a coffee shop in Fed. Hill.
Later I met up with jesnie to go to the UB open house. I was the only person in my break away session about the MFA in Integrated Design. I had a good talk with the professor, so it was worth my while. We talked a lot about design in general, and it was interesting to hear his point of view. He thinks that designers are the most influential people in the world, and he also loves what he does. He thinks it's one of the best jobs you can have because you are in the business of making beautiful things and surrounding yourself with beautiful things, and coming up with new ideas all the time. That kind of enthusiasm can't help but rub off, and I left his office feeling light and happy and inspired.
The program seems like it would be pretty fun, plus I'm sure it would improve my technical capabilities since they focus on web and video in addition to print design (hence the name, Integrated Design). The first thing he told me was that I'd missed the deadline for Fall of 2009. The second thing he told me was that I was lucky. Apparently the MFA program as it stands now is a 48 credit program, and starting in 2010 it'll be a full 60 credit program. This is very important if you want to teach at a college level. While not all schools will ignore you if you come from a program with less than 60 credits, apparently enough schools do that UB felt it was important to change the MFA to a 60 credit program.
He said that the other change is that instead of only having 1 elective course out of the 48 credits, 30 out of the 60 credits will be elective which gives students the flexibility to focus on the area that most interests them. This is good in that I won't have to take a bunch of print classes since I'm already good print designer.
I'm not sure I'm going to choose to go to UB. I have til next Feb. 1 to apply for the fall of 2010, but I'm glad that I know about it now. I want to keep my eye out for other programs that might interest me. There are definitely a few key points that are draws for going to UB--all the classes are at night, so most of the adjunct professors are actually working in the real world and bring that much more insight and experience to the classroom, plus the structure of the courses seem to make sense, and I like the flexibility of so many elective credits.
I think the one thing that makes me hesitate the most is the student factor. I was able to see some of the portfolios of the students who were accepted for 2009, and I really don't think I'll have a problem getting in, plus I don't think it'll be a problem to distinguish myself as one of the better students. I also saw a few thesis projects from some students who are finishing up. They were somewhat involved, but I wasn't all that impressed. I think this program is still in it's development which is probably why they aren't as selective as they might be. They do seem very focused on building the program into something that is useful for students, and they have a very clear idea of how to get there which is encouraging.
I slept til 11:30 again. I blame it on the book.
I am oh so excited that tomorrow is the first official live and in person ApeGrape meeting. Artsy fun times are in my future.
Last night I went into Baltimore for a few reasons. Well, mainly one, but I did some other stuff too. Susan couldn't meet up earlier in the afternoon as planned, but I went in early anyway and sat for a while at a coffee shop in Fed. Hill.
Later I met up with jesnie to go to the UB open house. I was the only person in my break away session about the MFA in Integrated Design. I had a good talk with the professor, so it was worth my while. We talked a lot about design in general, and it was interesting to hear his point of view. He thinks that designers are the most influential people in the world, and he also loves what he does. He thinks it's one of the best jobs you can have because you are in the business of making beautiful things and surrounding yourself with beautiful things, and coming up with new ideas all the time. That kind of enthusiasm can't help but rub off, and I left his office feeling light and happy and inspired.
The program seems like it would be pretty fun, plus I'm sure it would improve my technical capabilities since they focus on web and video in addition to print design (hence the name, Integrated Design). The first thing he told me was that I'd missed the deadline for Fall of 2009. The second thing he told me was that I was lucky. Apparently the MFA program as it stands now is a 48 credit program, and starting in 2010 it'll be a full 60 credit program. This is very important if you want to teach at a college level. While not all schools will ignore you if you come from a program with less than 60 credits, apparently enough schools do that UB felt it was important to change the MFA to a 60 credit program.
He said that the other change is that instead of only having 1 elective course out of the 48 credits, 30 out of the 60 credits will be elective which gives students the flexibility to focus on the area that most interests them. This is good in that I won't have to take a bunch of print classes since I'm already good print designer.
I'm not sure I'm going to choose to go to UB. I have til next Feb. 1 to apply for the fall of 2010, but I'm glad that I know about it now. I want to keep my eye out for other programs that might interest me. There are definitely a few key points that are draws for going to UB--all the classes are at night, so most of the adjunct professors are actually working in the real world and bring that much more insight and experience to the classroom, plus the structure of the courses seem to make sense, and I like the flexibility of so many elective credits.
I think the one thing that makes me hesitate the most is the student factor. I was able to see some of the portfolios of the students who were accepted for 2009, and I really don't think I'll have a problem getting in, plus I don't think it'll be a problem to distinguish myself as one of the better students. I also saw a few thesis projects from some students who are finishing up. They were somewhat involved, but I wasn't all that impressed. I think this program is still in it's development which is probably why they aren't as selective as they might be. They do seem very focused on building the program into something that is useful for students, and they have a very clear idea of how to get there which is encouraging.