I live in Florida and am eligible for a Florida Scholarship that pays for 75-100% of college tuition. However, my desire to pursue a degree in industrial design is impossible because there are no schools in Florida with this program (Excluding the one in Fort Lauderdale because its unsightly expensive & unaccredited)
I like the design aspect of Industrial Design and like the idea that you can work for big companies in teams of designers. I think user interface is pretty cool also, but cannot seem to find a program in Florida.
Iâve applied to two schools for the Fall of 2011 out of state, but feel that thereâs still a way I can get into a program I want without having to go out of state (and pay out of state tuition)
So⌠can you tell me any programs or fields that I might be able to find in a Florida school that is pretty close to Industrial Design. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
please and thank you thank you thank you!
Note: Iâm going to repost this in the school discussion part as well to maximize my chance of responses
What has more value, getting a nearly free education that does not qualify you for the the job you want and the role in this world that you want, or paying for the education to get you on the right path?
I know it is hard to hear but Yo is right. If you want to go into ID you need to study ID. It is great that you can get your entire education paid for but you have to think of it as an investment onto your future. Going to school just for the heâll of it and trying to make your way later on is a waste. I would suggest do your research and do what you really WANT to do.
There could be a chance that you could do one or two years at a Florida school to save money, then transfer to the ID school of your choice, but youâd have to talk with the ID school beforehand to figure out 1) if that is possible and 2) what courses you can take that will definitely transfer. In NY I know people who have gone to community colleges for two years to save money before transferring to another school, and often the two schools will already have communicated about which courses are transferable to prevent having to repeat courses at the new school. Iâm not sure how common this is with ID, but I think one of my college classmates did this, possibly getting an associates degree in graphic design in the process, and ended up at the top of the class. Most schools do very little ID-specific work in the first year (general âfoundationâ art/design classes), and even in the 2nd year they may be the minority of classes. But definitely work this out beforehand, and be prepared to be a strong advocate for yourself to navigate the process.
Seurban offers great advice. The last thing you want to do is pay an out of state premium to take foundation courses and general education requirements so you can end up with $900 monthly student loan payments. I took the community college to university route, it got me what I needed, and my student loan payments are practically pocket change.
whatâs more valuable, getting the education for free in an area you arenât as keen on, or paying full price for one in a field you wonât be getting job in? lol
what about all the chat about how terrible design education is these days and how so few students are prepared when they graduate?
Seriously though, are there any good sculpture programs in Florida? Sculpture is concerned with form, materials, beauty, social context, meaning, much like industrial design. I would argue that Industrial Design is the offspring of Blacksmithing and Ceramics. Get a BFA and then go to GA Tech or Auburn or SCAD for a masters. Plus, as a teenager, the decisions you are making now might change as you are exposed to more options, so go to a university that has a lot to offer as long as itâs free, and take some survey classes. Donât waste your scholarship on a comm college though.
Industrial Design education does have problems, but it will prepare you more for industrial design than a sculpture degree. Even if the program is rubbish, what you want is to be surrounded by as many high caliber peers as possible. Learning with those peers for 4 - 5 years is the real education. Foindation classes are not meant to just get out of the way, they are litterally the foundation your design education is built on. Go to UC, go ACCD. Aim as high as you can.
Early industrialized mass production processes started in ceramics and metals, but the professional practice of design is more of a hybridization of art, craft, and science not just 2 crafts. You could get degrees in all 3 and recreate the evolution of the entire profession, I wouldnât have the patience.
When it come right down to it. All of the above advice could work. It really depends on you OP. How determined are you? Which is exactly what it takes to make it in any field.
I think it is important to remember that what, 1 in 3 ID grads will never gain ID employment - isnât that typical? Even if you go to ACCD there is no guarantee youâll like it or that youâll be successful. Take those foundation and general ed classes at an accredited CC, save some money, and explore some adjacent fields to make sure youâre pursuing the right thing.
there is a difference between core curriculum and foundation classes. cc classes are what the university makes you take because the mission of a university is not create tradespeople well versed in one skill,but to help you grow into a well rounded citizen. foundation classes are different in their purpose is to build an artistic and creative foundation that you will launch from into a more specialized art or design field. Most importantly they introduce you to the critique.
If you are sure for design go to a design school if you can. Not everyone can though. and free education is nothing to discount. If youâre less sure go to the largest university you can find and figure some things out while not having to worry about debt. life is what happens in between the times you change your mind.
The reason why 1 in 3 grads donât get ID employment is that they lack rigour and discipline, and also thereâs not enough outlets for their skills. Some ID degrees are only understood in the world of ID consultancies, while the other areas of economy canât understand what they are about. When youâre applying for jobs, itâs very difficult to convince a recruiter or a manager that your ID/sculpture degree has taught you enough to perform to the required standard. Most recruiters or managers donât have ID education - they may have science, engineering or economics or MBA degrees. Their degrees are still more highly regarded in the business world than sculpture or some ID degrees, unfortunately.
If all you have is a degree in sculpture and no major critically acclaimed exhibitions behind you, itâs going to be very difficult to convince someone like a recruiter that you have enough rigour in your design approach. Those people not only want to hear great ideas, but they want to see how you can implement them from start to a finished project in a short space of time. And by finished project they want to see a working model that does stuff.
If you really want to impress anybody, and I mean anybody, do an Industrial Design degree in University of Brunel in England. Itâs accredited by Institution of Engineering Designers, itâs full of engineering material, itâs rigorous but at the same time it teaches you how to create meaningful form. If youâre in US, study a degree in Cincinatti. Itâs just as good, as far as I heard. If youâre really stuck for choice, you can always do a mechanical engineering degree. In Ireland, some ID-specific jobs didnât want ID grads, they wanted mechanical engineering grads!
In the end, you have to strike a balance between what you want and what the industry wants, but always bear in mind what industry wants is still more important.
However, my desire to pursue a degree in industrial design is impossible because there are no schools in Florida with this program (Excluding the one in Fort Lauderdale because its unsightly expensive & unaccredited) 
