Graphic Design Bachelor's Degree

Hello everyone,

For the past several weeks I have been researching a reputable online degree for graphic design or visual communications. Being in the military and being currently stationed in Germany doesn't let me attend a traditional college. I have came across varing opnions above getting this type of degree online and have weighed the pros and cons. I have been looking at a couple of diffrent schools.

Herzing College: This is one of only a handful of schools that offer this degree, but there is little to no information out there regarding this school. Any alum's or current students that could shed some light on this?


Savannah College of Art and Design: This is another school that I have heard mixed reviews on. Just wondering if there were any students that had taken a graphic design or like course there, and what their feelings were. At this point, I am leaning toward this school. Being in the military, cost isn't one of my main concerns.

The Art Institute Online: I nearly started taking classes here last month until I stumbled on a long list of horrid reviews. I decided to keep shopping.


Other: Anyone else that knows of a reputable online college to receive a bachelors in graphic design or visual communication.

Thanks.

Travis

 

Hi Travis,
Thanks for serving. I won't comment on the schools, but will give you some advice on some helpful tools of the trade. A great resource that I use in my line of work (Video production, Graphic Design, Web Design) is www.lynda.com
For $20-$25 a month you get access to tutorials on every major product in the graphics world....and more. It helps when you are in a real pinch, since you can access real world solutions in a matter of minutes. I've been using Adobe CS3 for a few months and the seamless integration between programs is awesome. Once you are a student, you can purchase the software (at a big discount) with your academic disount from a place like Academic Superstore. Adobe has certifications for all of their products, and the combination of using tutorials to become familiar with the products, would put you way ahead of the game, when you are moving forward in your college career.

Good luck with your studies and come home safe!

 

My wife went to the art institute online for 2 semesters and loved it for fine arts. The dvds of the teachers completing art projects from beginning to end were great she said. She also said the art teachers are mostly all names from the industry who actually have quite a bit of art out there.

That said, she has always talked about SCAD (savannah) and it has a fantastic reputation in the art world. The only reason she did not go there is because it is in ga and we lived in tn at the time and they only had masters programs online. So her reccommendation is SCAD, even though she was impressed with academy of art online.

Reviews can be good and bad, but just remember that both SCAD anf AIO are both regionally accredited and that online programs are not for everyone. Lots of people trying to practice art online lack discipline and may not get much from the programs as they expect you to spend hours on projects and lara thought many students online just rushed through projects, getting poor grades and not taking much away from the experience.

Look into also getting adobe certified, that can help!

 

Hi Travis.

The fact that the Art Institute Online (which seems to operate out of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh) is regionally accredited seems to be a fairly new thing. It's been ACICS for many years.

http://www.aionline.edu/accreditation/

The Academy of Art University in San Francisco offers an online BFA in Graphic Design. This school was regionally accredited fairly recently as well, after years with ACICS. The National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), which has long accredited the school's studio-based programs, has more recently accredited the online programs as well, which presumably says something positive about their effectivness.

http://online.academyart.edu/degree_certificates/bfa/bfa_graphic_design.html

I don't have any personal experience with it. But I live in the SF Bay Area and can verify that this school is real and tangible. It's reportedly the largest art school in the United States by enrollment (both a good and a bad thing), owns lots of SF real estate (which has created some controversy) and is kind of a little empire, an art-octupus. (It even bought an apartment building where I used to live and turned it into student housing.) On the bachelors level it's basically open admissions and it attracts many students who seem to be more interested in being cool art students in hot San Francisco than in working really hard. (Hanging out is an art.) Many of them don't graduate, but those that do seem to do ok. The school has long been active in new media and probably is stronger in applied-art than fine-arts. The people at the tonier and more selective SF art schools like the San Franciso Art Institute (no relation to the AIOnline) and the California College of the Arts kind of look down at AAU. These latter schools are more tied into the city's prosperous gallery scene than AAU is.

 

I made a mistake. My wife went to the academy of art online. All other statements true. Don't know if art institute online is reg. Accredited.

 

Just out of curiousity, what would be some of the benefits (other than the knowledge of the products) of an Adobe certification? I have been using Photoshop CS2 and Illustrator for some time now, and have dabbled in Flash.

 

http://www.adobe.com/support/certification/

 

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My son has been going to a local state college for a few years and wants to get a degree in graphic design. In regards to the adobe certifications, which would be the first one he should work on? I noticed quite a few certs, but don't know which one he should start. Also, is there any certs for web developement?

 

In Graphic Design field (and any art related field) what matters is your portfolio. Most employers won't even bother to ask if you have any degree or certification. They want to see your work - that's it.

Adobe certifications (for photoshop, etc...) are only worthy if you want to be an certified instructor.

Likewise, a degree in any art related field is only worthy if you're a foreigner like me and you need such degree to get a working visa.

 

Well, we are trying to find the best route for him to take. He started at California State University in Fall 2007 and took almost all of the general ed courses and the pre-graphic design courses and applied for the upper division graphic design program and was turned down. I guess they only accept 40 students each year and over 200 applied. He is now taking the remaining general ed courses and other courses to get his minor in marketing. His goal is to get a B.S. in Graphic Design with a minor in Marketing.

We are trying to find a good backup plan if he doesn't get accepted next spring, because I told him that he is going to run out of classes to take if he keeps trying to apply at the same school's graphic design dept. I recommended if he doesn't get accepted to probably get some type of general studies degree at the school since he would get close to getting his undergraduate degree, and apply to another school's MFA program. I tried to talk him into an online school, but he is adamant to going to campus for his degree. I think if he waits one more year he it will end up taking him 5 years to get his degree and should not wait another year. If he has to wait that long, he would be better off getting any type of undergraduate degree and just focus on the prey. Courses for MFA.

I would like your thoughts on this and curious what good campus schools that have a good alumni and recruitment program for graphic design?