[MFA Graphic Design] CALARTS? SAIC? OR CRANBROOK?

[Birdwoman]

I was fortunate enough to have been accepted to Visual Communication Design MFA program at SAIC, and 3-year Graphic Design MFA program at Calarts. I also received the interview request from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Could anyone give me any advice?  :-))))

 

[rhinosarereal]

I would say go with what your interests are. Each program is very different in terms of facilitation. I'll be at cranbrook to interview tomorrow (Friday) as well, and I was drawn to it because of its flexible definition of design. Cal arts is very experimental, and SAIC pursues a lot of traditional mediums. I'm making my decision based on where I feel at home with the philosophy and work. I hope this helps!

[Anna12]

I went to SAIC in Visual Communications for my BFA, and knew a lot of the MFA students. I have to say that the faculty and the studios there are amazing. The classes are small, and the MFA teachers are top notch. My favorite teacher was Stephen Farrell, and if you look into his work, you'll be blown away. SAIC I think is also quite conceptual, so they're not into it if you're just making pretty layouts, they really pushed us even as BFA students to do research and really have a leg to stand on when explaining your work. 

A lot of the MFA students work that I saw there was excellent in terms of type and design, with a bit of experimental experiences added to them. Honestly, if you work hard, you'll come out with an amazing portfolio. For BFA, I came out with a highly competitive portfolio and was able to find a job pretty quickly. 

I know I'm biased, but seriously I loved being there. It was the best choice I made.