MA / MFA in Photography, Digital Arts or Graphic Design Online?

For the last 5 years I have been teaching as an adjunct member of a community college. I really enjoy what I am doing and would like to pursue a Masters or Masters in Fine Arts degree so I can have the opportunity to teach full time.

Since I currently only have a BA in PhotoJournalism, I would have to have a MA or MFA to do this.

I would have to do this online too since I am not willing to give up my classes that I have now.

Accreditation is obviously of importance since a "Degree Mill" would just be a waist of my time.

Anyone have any experience with any online degrees in any of these fields (Photography, Digital Arts or Graphic Design) ????

Thanks All I appreciate your Help...........

~ Jeff

 

SCAD:

http://www.scad.edu/about/college/index.php

http://www.scadelearning.org/

Savannah College of Art and Design


"Hottest for Studying Art" - Kaplan/Newsweek, America's 25 Hottest Colleges

An International Leader
Around the world, our exhibitions, film festivals, design competitions, students and faculty are getting noticed - receiving awards and recognition and defining standards. The Savannah College of Art and Design has become known as an international leader in arts education.

SCAD is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution with locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Ga., and Lacoste, France, and online. There are so many great reasons to attend, we can't cover them all here. Browse our Web site, but you really should come and visit us. Here are just a few things you will find out when you do:

Savannah, Ga.
Established in 1733, Savannah is legendary with pirates, haunts, ancient oaks draped in Spanish moss, and Southern hospitality. It is also one of the South's most global and culturally diverse cities. An ideal muse to the artistic sensibility.

Atlanta Campus
The SCAD-Atlanta location has its own unique urban personality and character. Fortune magazine ranks the city as third among "Top Cities with the Most Fortune 500 Headquarters." Students there are able to take particular advantage of internship availabilities, cultural happenings and community partnership opportunities.

A Complete University Experience
SCAD is more than just an art school! We offer everything you expect from a college:

• Career services
• Community engagement opportunities
• English as a Second Language (ESL)
• A unique approach to the first-year experience
• A career-oriented general education/liberal arts program
• Service opportunities
• Inter-collegiate and intramural sports

Dual Advisers
When you enroll and/or transfer to SCAD, you will be assigned your own program adviser. When you declare a major, you are also assigned a study adviser. Our procedures make it especially easy for transfer students to continue their education, right where they left off.

Diversity
The arts and the business of art are global by nature. International students representing 100 nations make up 10 percent of our student population. A limited number of scholarships are also available to students from other countries.

Easy Credit Transfer (Cross-registration)
SCAD is a member of the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education (ARCHE). The cross-registration process facilitates enrollment in courses offered at member institutions. Students are extended the opportunity to broaden their range of study by accessing courses not offered at their home institution.

SCAD-eLearning
You enjoy all the benefits and support our on-campus students do. In fact, our online students are winning as many awards as our on-campus students. Most courses are designed and taught by college faculty, and dedicated e-advisers are what make our SCAD-eLearning programs exceptional.


SCAD-eLearning Programs of Study


Bachelor of Arts
Digital Media with a concentration in Game Development
Digital Media with a concentration in Interactive Design
Visual Communication with a concentration in Graphic Design
Visual Communication with a concentration in Sequential Art

Master of Arts
Broadcast Design and Motion Graphics
Illustration Design
Digital Photography
Interactive Design and Game Development
Graphic Design
Interior Design
Historic Preservation
Painting

Master of Fine Arts
Graphic Design

Certificate
Digital Publishing

Graduate Certificate
Digital Publishing Management
Historic Preservation
Interactive Design
Typeface Design

 

Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if online education is a good fit for me?
SCAD-eLearning welcomes students from each of the SCAD locations, and from across the country and abroad. Many SCAD-eLearning students are working professionals, while others may be seeking to transition into art, design and related fields. Some students choose SCAD-eLearning because they do not live or work near a college that offers SCAD’s unique programs of study in art and design.

Are SCAD-eLearning courses available only online?
All courses offered through SCAD-eLearning are also offered in SCAD classrooms. SCAD-eLearning students receive the same level of instruction and follow the same curriculum they would if they took courses in a traditional classroom setting at the college.

SCAD-eLearning provides many resources to eLearning students to help guide them toward success. Through the SCAD-eLearning virtual campus, SCAD-eLearning staff seek to ensure distance-learning students are included and connected with their peers, faculty and the entire SCAD community.

What are the online classes like?
If you have ever used the Internet or attached a file to e-mail, then most of the actual class environment will be familiar. New SCAD-eLearning students are introduced to the online learning environment during an online orientation course that offers information about college resources and opportunities, how to navigate the online courses and MySCAD, as well as how-to videos on ordering textbooks and performing other tasks.

Do online classes meet at specific times?
All courses are 10 weeks long and follow the college’s academic calendar, but there are no specific meeting times for online classes. However, students are expected to complete coursework according to a schedule that stipulates due dates, and there are asynchronous online sessions for students and professors to meet, assess and critique work or expand upon discussion board postings. For a closer look, try the course tour.

When Do Classes Start?

• Fall 2008 — Sept. 15
• Winter 2009 — Jan. 5
• Spring 2009 — March 23
• Summer 2009 — June 22

View the academic calendar.

 

National University offers a Master of Fine Arts in Digital Cinema. If the MFA course schedule is anything like the MFS, then courses are 4 weeks in duration and start monthly.

 

Accreditation


Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

The Savannah College of Art and Design is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097; telephone number 404.679.4501) to award bachelor’s and master’s degrees.


National Architectural Accrediting Board

The five-year, professional master of architecture degree offered by SCAD is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board.

In the United States, most state registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting Board, which is the sole agency authorized to accredit U.S. professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes three types of degrees: the bachelor of architecture, the master of architecture and the doctor of architecture. A program may be granted a six-year, three-year or two-year term of accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards. The SCAD professional M.Arch. degree program holds the maximum term of accreditation from the NAAB.

Master’s degree programs may consist of a pre-professional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree, that, when earned sequentially, constitute an accredited professional education. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.


Georgia Professional Standards Commission

The master of arts in teaching offered by SCAD has been recommended for developmental program approval by the Evaluation Review Panel of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission with final approval pending.

The Georgia Professional Standards Commission was created by the Georgia General Assembly as of July 1, 1991, to assume full responsibility for the certification, preparation, and conduct of certified, licensed, or permitted personnel employed in the public schools of the State of Georgia. The Commission is also responsible for the development and administration of teacher certification testing.

 

SCAD sounds like a great opportunity. Here's another option that you might be interested in.

Academy of Art University in San Francisco offers online MFA programs in your subject areas.

The university website:

http://www.academyart.edu/

The online programs website:

http://online.academyart.edu/

The online MFA in computer arts and new media:

http://online.academyart.edu/degree_certificates/mfa/mfa_computer_arts.html

The online MFA in graphic design:

http://online.academyart.edu/degree_certificates/mfa/mfa_graphic_design.html

The online MFA in photography

http://online.academyart.edu/degree_certificates/mfa/mfa_photography.html

If you are interested in this, snoop around their webpages. There are more online majors in things like animation and fine arts.

The online programs are accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). AAU is also professionally accredited in architecture and interior design, but those programs are on-campus.

http://www.academyart.edu/majors/accreditation.html

The results of a Google image search for "academy of art university" are here.

 

Thanks for all the Suggestions...

I checked out both of those suggestions and they look promising.... Has anyone done any of their programs?

~ Jeff

 

Any Updates?

Just checking back to see if anyone else has maybe done one of these programs or new suggestions?

Always Appreciated...

~ Jeff

 

I have heard a lot of positive things about the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. A friend of mine who is a professional photographer now attended the university and he really liked the classes. You can gain some important knowledge that is relevant for a job as photographer or designer. If you have the chance to check the Academy out, don't hesitate!