UB Art Dept. - It is what you make of it
Written: Jan 08 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cost, Top notch Fine Arts Center, Internship Opportunities, Honors Program
Cons: Advisement leaves much to be desired
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| ziprz's Full Review: SUNY at Buffalo |
I'm a 1997 graduate of the UB Art Department where I earned a BFA in Communication Design. I can't say enough superlative things about this program.
UB's philosophy on Communication Design is to develop the student's problem solving skills. This is done through rigorous study in both the Liberal Arts and Fine Arts. The Liberal Arts training absolutely rounds out the individual and exposes the student to the huge variety of programs and experiences available at UB. From the Fine Art fundamental courses like Figure Drawing and Basic Sculpture all the way through the 400 level design courses, students are taught to ask the right questions and the answers will follow. The faculty members in the Communication Design Program challenge you to be a thinker and questioner. In the end this means that you will be a more qualified job candidate. While many schools pump out polished portfolios and second rate PhotoShop jockeys, UB graduates a person who can hop right into any company and contribute real value.
The Art Department's facilities are outstanding. They completed a brand new, huge Fine Arts Center the year I started at UB in 1993. The Fine Arts Center brings together all of the Fine Art disciplines as well as the Dance and Media Study Departments. The atmosphere is inspiring. In the course of a week you can't help but run into Dancers, and Painters, and Videographers, and Sculptors, and many others...everyone of them is studying a creative art. As a designer you have the resources available to do everything from fine photography to film work. The best part is that they encourage you to explore them all.
By far the best advantage of the UB Communication Design program is the Semester in New York Program. Most Seniors in the CD program go to New York City for their final semester to participate in a credit bearing internship at one of many top NY design firms. I spent my last semester interning at the design studio of Milton Glaser, one of the World's most famous graphic designers. This experience really sets UB far above any other school out there. UB's designers are well respected for their skills by many NY firms. The experience above all else teaches you about life, before you have to really go out there on your own. It doesn't hurt to have that experience on your resume either.
UB is a huge school ~25,000 undergrads. I would say the Art Department on the whole had maybe 1,000 students. Don't rely on advisors to help you all that much, it is too big a school, too big a department for that. You must be self motivated, and have a clear sense of where you are going while at UB. If you are though, the opportunities are endless.
I was an honors student which gave me many benefits. First, I received an Honors Scholarship which helped defray the fairly reasonable in-state tuition cost. I also was able to select my classes before any of the general student population. This is a big advantage when classes fill up for many on the first day of registration. The Honors Program also provided its own advisement, and a community of other honors students to relate experiences with.
The UB Art Department is a quality department with brilliant faculty, and absolutely first rate facilities. The UB campus is slowly becoming a creative mecca in Western New York. I highly recommend this school to anyone who is up to the challenge of making that creative community even better.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
ziprz
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Member: Kris Rzepkowski
Location: Naperville, IL
Reviews written: 21
Trusted by: 8 members
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