Stipends, Assistanships, Etc.

[mbadger]

So, just wondering what you guys think....

Obviously any amount of stipend is great, but how much constitutes a good deal? What I mean is, do you think you could live off of your stipend, or do you plan on taking out loans for living expenses, or do you think it would even be possible to handle taking on a small amount of hours at a job on top of grad school and an assitanship? I'm not sure how intense grad school is, but I'm assuming it's pretty intense and sort of takes up a lot of your time that would otherwise be available for a second job option. lol. I'm just trying to plan out what I need to do for next fall. Any feedback would be great!

[littlenova]

Most of my friends worked over the summers and did not work during the school year.

My fellowship and teaching assistantships cover about 60% of my tuition. I am going to try to work a part-time job so, I don't have to take on any loans---but, am prepared to take out around 10-15k in loans if I have to for the whole program. My program is across 3 summers only though, so I have more time during the year. If I were full time, I would look at getting work on or near campus... and very little. I would devote most of my time to making work and showing.

Where will you be living? If the cost of living is low, you might be in good shape.

[mbadger]

@littlenova Thanks for the feedback! Good advice.

And I'm either going to be in Houston or Tallahasse, so really I can live as cheaply as I want to.

[littlenova]

Tally is cheap! But, you got into Houston? What a great place to do your MFA in Photo! Fotofest!

Good luck. I think you are set.

[mbadger]

Sooo this may be opening a can of worms, because I really got a good impression from the FSU people and they are offering me a pretty great deal...but what exactly left a bad taste in your mouth for Florida State? I'm having a tough time deciding and my profs gave me the heads up about U of H being in a transition period where a lot of the really great people aren't there anymore and it's a lot of new blood. hmmm...

[mbadger]

But exactly, FOTOFEST!!!!

Edited April 10, 2010 by mbadger

[littlenova]

Um...FSU isn't bad. It was just notoriously mediocre for a while.

I have heard it's gotten better. The funding there is excellent. They usually pay your full ride. My sculpture teacher in college was an FSU alum and was amazing. (Wendy Wischer) I wouldn't say it's bad, I just think the work coming out of there is not cutting it yet. The grads are not really showing at all in Miami and when I toured the campus and met Lilian Garcia (I think was her name...) about 2 years ago, they were starting to give larger studios to the grads and trying to emphasize a more conceptual vein of study. But, I really care about who I show with and what work is coming out of an institution. These are things that my UG professors used to drill into our heads. Who cares if your CV is short...as long as it's meaningful...etc.

It's a great place to go if you want to teach, because the academic facilities are wonderful. They have a bang up Art History department. I don't know anything about UHouston, but Fotofest is ginormous. And I wonder if students have opportunities to hear guest lectures,intern, etc.? Have you seen the work there? I would ask to see alumni work at both places. What did you think of your prospective faculty in both programs?

It's a tough decision. When I was accepted to MICA, I turned down working with some other amazing faculty at rivaling programs, because I honestly felt the alumni work was better and the opportunities to show in NYC and DC were a huge selling point.

Edited April 11, 2010 by littlenova

[mbadger]

Thanks for the info, it's really helpful! I wasn't able to visit both schools unfortunately. But I talked to some students at both schools, made a pros and cons list, and talked to some of my undergrad profs. At the end of the day, houston offered me more money, and the art scene in houston is obviously a lot bigger than in tallahassee. And they get a lot of visiting artists, opportunities to intern at the houston center for photography, and have student fotofest opportunities like shadowing international reviewers for a day to see how people approach galleries and critics etc. So I've decided on them...but making a decision on what is best for you for the next three years is hard! But now I'm excited.

Good luck to you at MICA!

[littlenova]

Aw! That's swell. I am sooo happy for you. What an amazing opportunity. I would love to check out that Houston scene some day. It's really carving a niche for Photography---and you get to be apart of it!

Congrats. It sounds like you made the right choice...