I’m a candidate of industrial/product design student. I want to study i mean But i have some questions first.
I wanna study in United States and i dont think i can make it in one of the top notch schools. What do you think about the difference between top schools and the other alternative schools?
I made a little research on the internet and i saw that for example SCAD has BFA in Industrial Design and as far as i see their program takes 2 years to finish. Is that true? How long it takes usually in other colleges?
If it’s possible, i want to know which school takes how many years to finish and what is the consequences of studying 2 years or studying 4-5 years.
And finally i wanna know which school makes how many hours classes per day. If you can write something like “I’m studying at the… college and our normal classes are starting in this time at the morning and it’s ending at … pm. But you have to take lab classes or you dont have to take but …” it would be appreciated Because i could have to study and work at the same time, and i wanna know if it’s possible or not
I’m clueless about 2-year programs like SCAD’s, but I’d be interested in hearing about them too. At RISD, the classes are sometimes uneven timewise, but most of the ID advanced studios go from 10am-5pm (lunch included of course!), and the shorter classes (like ID electives and shop classes) are a little shorter – 11am-4pm or 1pm-6pm. The liberal arts electives pretty much fit in wherever you have time, and might be at 8am (painful) or from 7pm-10pm.
Working part-time would definitely be tough just because shop hours are limited, and just because the workload can be uneven depending on how you manage time. Some other people here might have better ideas on how to manage working while at school, and which schools might be more work-friendly. But definitely working a reasonable number of hours is possible, and the work-study system is nice because school employers should be completely fine with accommodating your schedule (like working two hour shifts).
I wouldn’t worry too much about top-notch vs. alternative schools. If you like what you are doing and put the time and effort in, you will do well anywhere. That being said, definitely do all the research you can, and know that any school has limitations.
Thank you for your answer. Can you tell me what is a shop time, shop classes and ID electives? I have no idea with them.
And i want to hear any other oppinions too, like “i’m studying at the “x” school and our program is for “x” years and we’re taking our classes in that times per day” Off course if it’s possible
You’re welcome, hope you will get other points of view too. The shop classes at RISD are the ones that focus on a material (the class might be Wood I, Wood II, etc.) and make use of shop space and equipment. For example, if you are taking a metals machining course, you can really only do the homework in that shop when it’s open. I’m not sure what other schools’ shop hours are (or how their shop classes are organized, some schools might have something like a “model-making” class instead of a material class), but the schedule is there so that you can’t be doing something dumb with power tools at 4am when you’re tired.
ID electives are the 3-credit courses that are still in the Industrial Design major. Whereas the 6-credit advanced studio (also in the ID major) meets twice a week, an elective only meets once a week most of the time. Again, I am sorry that I don’t know enough about other schools to know how they schedule their classes, but hope this helps out.
And i wanna hear other opinions and informations too, can anyone please tell me where you are studying and how long it takes in your school to graduate from Bachelor degree in ID and how many hours you’re spending in your schools in a day?
CMU has a 4 year program, and to be honest, I would’ve liked it to be longer. Design isn’t something you can fully grasp in 2 years, even at a student level. 2 years is barely enough for you to understand the profession, much less get paid by a client to do it for them.
Time spent in school depends on your commitment and how much you want to succeed. The time you spend working is (pretty much) proportional to how much you improve. I essentially lived in studio for a good part of my undergrad, and I am glad I did. If I was at home, I’d be goofing off and playing games, but when I’m at studio, I’m in a creative space and can work on things. That said, I do have friends who are very efficient and talented at the same time. I struggled making decisions and moving forward (worrying I’ll pick the wrong concept or something like that), but others are more decisive and can finish quicker.
I agree 100%. As much as my understanding of design matured during the first two years of school (Cincinnati), matured just as much, if not more, each subsequent year. A program may be able to immerse you in skills for two years, but thinking like a true creative designer takes much more time and experience.
But i have some questions first.