i’m looking to transfer to a design college from k-state, i’ve looked at MIAD before and got really positive feedback on my portfolio, so i guess they’ve been stuck in my brain i also really dig the student work. i’m starting fresh and going into ID does anyone have any midwest college advice?
forget MIAD go to UW-Stout! 
Ok I am a little biased, as I will graduate from there in the coming December. But I truly feel that the program there is on the up and up, and it gives a very unique midwestern experience. Being a small school and program, you get to know professors very well, as well as your fellow classmates. There is a lot more camaraderie than most other schools I have experienced, but yet still a very healthy level of competitiveness. There has also been a very good connection between our student IDSA chapter and the MN-chapter in current years, which has let to some great networking.
In the short, that is my Midwestern opinion… but as you can tell it is a “bit” biased…
good luck in the school search, if you are interested in UW-Stout, I would be more than willing to give you more insight…
thanks KT, i’ll look into it. where are you from originally?
Have you looked into any of the Ohio schools? UC, CIA, or CCAD? or CCS up in Detroit?
rawbin, I am originally from the N. Mpls/St.Paul suburbs
Yo mentioned some other great Midwest schools also, which all have great things to offer. Make sure you check them out before of making a decision.
However, I think so often students get hung up in going to the schools with a big name, when many of the smaller schools have just as much to offer. I got caught up in that game when I was all set and ready to transfer to CCS my sophomore year, and then at the very last moment (literally a few weeks before the start of the semester) I decided to stay. And to this day I believe it was one of the best decisions I could have made.
I am not saying that the big Power-House design schools are bad in any right, they produce many great designers. However, I feel that smaller schools are capable of producing a more unique experience, which for certain designers is what they need.
Agreed, there are as many right paths as there are designers. There is no one guaranteed way to get anywhere. The important thing is to check out your options and make an educated decision based on the best thing to do for yourself 360 degrees. That might be staying where you are, that might be going to school in Coventry England, or Umea, Sweden, or an option in between.
Only you will know the right answer, and really you’ll never know. I was about to transfer to Art Center my sophomore year, changed my mind and decided to do an exchange semester at CIA… was sit the right thing to do? I have no clue. I am where I am and I wouldn’t change it though, and that is what counts I guess.
KT and YO
good stuff, i love the input, YO-i have checked out the ohio schools and i’m going to be attending national portfolio day at KCAI to get some feedback on my work, and learn more about their programs. i’d love to stay put and finish my degree…my hang up, however, is that i really hate the town that my school is in. the design program is cool, but in manhattan ks i’m finding it hard to stay creative and (as big headed as it may sound) i’m not finding any competition in my studios, you know, the kind of really talented students that really keep you inspired and driven.
within the last week i’ve been sketching out a bunch of shoes i’d love to post em and get feedback. this site is bangin, everyone’s awesome.
thanks for the advice guys.
MIAD is my Alma Mater (graduated in ID in 2000) and I have to say that based on what Ive heard from various sources, the ID program there isn’t nearly as good as it once was. I think it was showing signs of it even the last semester or two I was there.
If I could go back and do it again, I would have gone to KU since I grew up in KS and I could have gotten in-state tuition. I know that coming from K-State, you may be quite ready to get out of Kansas, but I have heard a lot of good things about the KU ID program.
Overall though, I am a firm beleiver that the overall quality of your education will be what you make of it. I know plenty of folks who went to little no-name places and are absolutely fantastic designers and I also know plenty who went to really “prestigous” schools and are themselves pretty lackluster in their skills.
sky, i’d like to get out of kansas but it would be nice to stay here for school. i looked heavily in KU’s program but sadly i have a shitty GPA and won’t be able to transfer into it. i don’t know how that happened? where at in KC are you from?
you’ll learn more from talented peers than from instructors, great students pushing each other is what really make schools…
I did all of my growing up in Kansas City, KS. My high school was heavily recruited by reps from MIAD, Art Center, Cooper Union, RISD, and quite a few others. Unfortunately, I didn’t even know KU had an ID program until I was already a senior at MIAD.
I’m from Kansas and I go to MIAD. I went to KU for ID and it was terrible. The teachers were no help, didn’t teach you any software, modelmaking skills, and sketching. Pretty much they should pay you to go there. There are also no connections through KU. I left after my sophmore year and looked around at schools like CIA, MIAD, Art Center, CCS, but MIAD gave me the most money and as long as I was somewhere else I feel fine. Your never going to know the right choice, you just need to make sure you make a good one. I would look into MIAD, Cincinnati because of Co-op.
I’m a '95 MIAD grad.
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The program was tops in the midwest then based on my experience with IDSA Student Merit Award presentations at annual Midwest District conferences. I haven’t been to any lately, so I can’t speak to that now.
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It prepped me for a very successful career as a designer. I was placed immediately after graduation at a respected consultancy and have enjoyed success since. The program gave be a broad set of skills that allowed me to switch from ID to Interaction Design and later User Experience Design and Design Management. I am now Design Director at a leading medical device manufacturer.
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It’s an Art and Design college with minimal liberal-arts distractions, so you’ll get a more intensive education vs. a state school if that’s what you’re ready for. I was always profoundly inspired by the talent all around me from all disciplines. 4 years is not a lot of time to become a professional Industrial Designer! 5 years later I began exploring masters degree programs, but you know what? I realized that my undergrad at MIAD plus direct experience had already given me everything that grad school offered.
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I understand John Caruso has replaced the legendary Tom David who recently retired.
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MIAD has a strong midwestern work ethic. Expect to be at school 12 hours a day and loving it. By senior year you’ll be figuring out how to outsmart security and pull all-nighters there.
Yeah, I agree. If you do pick MIAD, I am looking for a roomate haha. I grew up in Lawrence, KS and had to leave all of my friends to pursue my goals in life, and getting out of Kansas is great. But no matter what school you pick you have to work hard in class and outside of class. To backup my views on KU this is work of a fifth year senior that I knew last year. And this is the basic work that they produce.