Thankyou so much melovescookies and IDevil…
Sorry i couldnt reply to your msgs earlier as was researching extensively about the programs at the univs where i got an admit from for thegraduate course…
ASU,Tempe
NCSU,Raleigh
RIT,NY and
IIT,Chicago.
Sm time back I was not sure about which programme i should be joining as there were no uniform parameters to arrive at a decision.
But now after a week long research I have come to a conclusion, which may not be an ideal one but, i can say its something that i have arrived at after taking into account the various factors of cost, course content, its relevance to me, financial assistance,my interests, future prospects.
I would like to mention here some of the findings so that it will be of help to others like me who cannot afford a trip to the colleges due to geographical and economical constraints to see the facilities or for whom the entire process of application to universities and institutes is so taxing esp if ur a working professional, it so happens that once u get admits to some of them u just dont have the enthusiasm/or enough/reliable information to decide…Now this information is what i have gathered through forums…websites,articles…correspondence…so theres much you ppl can add to if there r some deficiencies…
ASU:
THIS is one of the few state universities offering graduate course in industrial design which is just not an extension of the studio experience that one has in a under grad ID course + its accreditted
Being a state university it works out to be affordable(but very competitive) and the chances of getting a funding or a industry sponsorship for a project is much easier.
Here I would like to mention that the programme is evolving… in sense its moving towards the area which is in between educational and business module (which is very good). As i feel that getting into a totally business module at an exorbitant price is not a very good thing to do.
Here there is much industry involvement in research projects…Paul Rothstein whos one of the Profs at the school of design, Prof Prasad Boradkar , Prof Donald herring are involved in industry sponsored research projects and Rothstein, whos an IIT, ID graduate is experimenting with integrated development, cross functional teams and strategic planning…theres definitely a lot of innovative ideas in action at asu with the formation of designspace …aigaasu chapter…and personally i feel that one could take up courses if one has to work upon computer appln skills…or knowledge regarding materials n processes…these r somethings that keep changing…and u hv to keep your self updated as no education in the world can spoon feed u wid that kinda knowledge…please fill in if some things are wrongly worded or r wrongly interpreted…this information is right to d best of my knowlegde…
RIT
From what i have gathered the course content is good, accredited with stress on computer application , materials basically its project oriented and to some extent its an extension of studio work experience like one has in under grad course.
Probably one of the ideal courses to get a hang of things for those who do not have an undergraduate degree in ID or for those who r from a stream closely related to design,…
From the website/ forums/(melovescoolies)…emails…what i felt ws it stressses a lot on developing skills…rather than a program which articulates ur thought process…cant really express it…but it felt like i could gain the knowledge by taking up courses in solid works or alias at ne stage of my career…but this course somehow falls short when it comes to what a graduate course needs to be…(well pls tell me ne ideas wht it ought to b?)
Its a fact , which melovescookies can throw light on that the course is very practical and kinda prepares u for the profession …but my question is …dosent the undergraduate course do it well tooooo…considering the computer software skills…and other methods which help u render your concepts better …is just a part of industrial design not the crux …just a look at coroflot and there are these infinite number of people who r into rendering …probably not into design …but just software guys…where do we stand then…the race to perfect the art of rendering seems just toooooo long…and if you take up RIT its like paying through your nose…wid the annual $5k schol awarded to most of them!!!
Again i wud mention that if you guys have ne suggestiong please add on…!!
IIT,Chicago
Now this program is very highly ranked amongst the industry ppl( the source for this statement being the various forums, articles(a selected ones…usually not the ones linked to idsa but yes one of its alumnus has won the ideo recently!!) …also u come across professionals and they say that the course is good…!!(pls note when i mentioned Paul Rothstein for ASU i didnt fail to mention he ws from IIT,Chicago)
But ppl i simply fail to understand that if the course is soo good…why isnt it accredited??Someone at IDSA listening…?? r very good courses not accredited??is accredition only for average and above average courses!!!
If the institute is doing its job and training graduate students for managerial posts related to design then what is stopping it from being acre…i have seen its website…impressive…seen kinda companies that recruit its graduates…very impressive…(as a matter of fact its unmatched)…like the website says the graduates are paid at par wid ne mba’s…!!..somehow theres some lack of transparency…no funding for sucha school which has corporates running for its graduates!!..and if its there then why dosent it trickle down to the gradute students…???The fees too high…!!! …if someone can throw light on it please do…many of us simply fail to understand the situation.
The course is damn good …(again website…info…and word of mouth) …so i too say tht its good…(spreadingthe word) but tell me something…for someone whos don this kinda course with probably a few yrs of experience say around 3 to 5yrs before the course (guess thats when we normally think of choosing to do a graduate course …for futher direction…n all…) what r the chances of someone in this scenario being hired by a big corporate firm at a managerial post…?? i hv my apprehensions …bt it…please give your inputs…???
NCSU…
Its again a state university.(hence economical…not cheap but average!!) The last i visited the IDSA website its still bearing the asterix (*) which says its in the process of being accredited.!!!
Course content wise…please forgive me but have to say that yes it could be compared to rIT…but really not in position to say the quality (please fill in bt it…)…the industrial design dept dosent have financial assistance…Raleigh, as mentioned on the website seemslike a hub for research and a commercial centre…but general opinion is that its a village…help…?? whts the truth…??heh hehe…
Some how the difficulties faced by me was right from the correspondence wid these ppl…somehow could never relate to the university…all that i can feel for the univ…or how i relate to it is the red bands it has on its letter head with a neat 'NC, State University mentioned’on it…and the same bands being used in the webpages (the ID webpage hs green) and the brochure… The course content sounds good on paper( though its an extension of under grad studio experience…but donno how does it justify itself to be a graduate course( now this is what i feel a graduate couse should justify…!!)…so the basic deterrent for me to not investigate further into it ws the non availability of funding and the communication gap.
Friends …and all of you whom I got in touch with or who helped me form opinions bt the various inst/univs…i’m very thankful for your time and efforts that you all put in this forum…I wont let go of this opportunity on behalf of the entire international community which benifits to a large extent from such forms and ppl like you who share inforamtion so frankly…its been a good experience…
The one thing that i felt so sorry bt , was that when we post a message…it gets so many 'views’like 100’s but somehow very few ‘replies’…which somehow hv never crossed double figures…or for that matter now a dayz seldom r in double figures!!..If we could do someting bt the ID community…it could be done right here…(pls am not preaching…its heartfelt…and hd to say it once)
At this exact moment as i’m typing this line …there r so many apprehensions bt the course that i hv finally decided to join(guess u know by now) …but still i’m feeling satisfied and theres a sense of assurity that what i felt throughout the entire process has become a part of this forum forever…for everyone to react to…and i’m not alone who’s part of the decision…I have an audience here…its for everyone to to ponder over whether i made a right choice or a wrong one and if i did pls dont let others do it… for me the only reason wud hv been d lack of information …which could be definitely improved upon for prospective graduate students…
i wish each one of us a very best for our future endevours…cheers…hv fun!!