What is the difference between a Bachelor of industrial design (i.e. Syracuse University), a Bachelor of Fine Arts in ID, and a Bachelor of Science in ID (i.e. University of Cincinnati)???
ultimately none, only the portfolio you end up with counts.
different systems have different names, sometimes there are more required classes outside of core curriculums - compare the two.
Good question.
First off, in the professional world, employers do not have a preference as to which degree you have. They just want to know if you can design…
So the differences: the different degree types are offered by different types of academic institutions. They give you an idea of what types of other classes you will be taking.
A BFA is offered by art schools. With a BFA you will be taking more art history courses, more painting and drawing, and art, architecture, and design philosophy courses. You will get less, math, science, and english. Studio courses will tend to also have much longer hours which is great.
A BS is frequently offered by a University (though I think Art Center offers a BS as well?). You will get more math, science, and english. I know schools like UC also have a strong foundation art year, but I’m not sure how it compares to the foundation year at RISD, Pratt, CCS, or Cleveland. At a University you will have the opportunity to be exposed to engineering, physics, marketing, accounting… all good things to know as a professional.
BID is a pretty new degree (last 10 years) very few places offer it, It usually entails an extra year of school. I know at RISD, it you stayed 4 years you got a BFA, if you stayed 5, you got a BFA, and a BID. A great way to get another year of tuition out of a student, while giving them a year of “independent study” and an extra degree… I’m not sure what the Syracuse program entails or if RISD has developed the year any further.
So the question is, which is the right fit for you? There are a couple of options you could take.
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go toward your weakness: decide on a program that helps you work on your weaker areas to make you more well rounded. It will be more frustrating, but might be good.
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go toward your interests: figure out if you are interested more in a fine arts, or a university foundation to your career.
I chose to go fine art because it was both my interest and my weakness. I wanted to go deep into art history and design foundation. It was difficult at the time because I came from a very nuts and bolts family, but I draw on those foundation courses the most in my days now. I feel that having a better understanding of the history of art, design, and architecture is very helpful to me.
… but that is what worked for me. What works for you will be unique to your situation.