does anybody know of good grad programmes in Canadian universities?
I am interested in theory research.
Waht about design programme in York U or Alberta U?
Hey,
what kind of theory are you refering too. Design in general or ID centric?
I know that the York program is very much based on graphics and advertising and ment for people looking to get into art Direction.
I also know that OCAD is starting a master’s program in a few years and will focus heavily on theory of design and creativity.
Hope this helps, sorry I don’t have much knowledge of ALberta U.
Are you looking for BA or MA? do you already have a degree?
I am budding in on your thread…hope you don’t mind. But I am from Canada as well…and I have a manufacturing engineering degree. I am interested in working in ID, but realize I need some diverse training to get the type of job I am interested in. That being said…does anyone know of other ID Masters programs in Canada? I heard Emily Carr may introduce a new program for the fall. When is OCAD’s program starting? Any other programs anyone has heard of?
I heard Carleton University has a Design Masters programme.
(It might be in the faculty of Architecture)
I heard Carleton University has a Design Masters programme.
(It might be in the faculty of Architecture)
Carleton University in Ottawa has a 4 year ID Program. It’s part of the engineering faculty. It’s a small (only about 35 accepted each year from hundreds of entries) but very good program, I should know, I’m in it 
Please don’t take this as being rude - just some friendly advice.
You won’t really know if your program is good until you are out of it and have been working for a couple of years. Only then will you have the perspective and experience to judge it.
Just because it is hard to get into doesn’t mean it is good or that you are guaranteed a job. Just ask the 30 students that graduate from Emily Carr each year who then find themselves fighting with previous years graduates for the 2-3 new full time ID jobs that come up each year in BC. I would guess that there aren’t 35 new ID jobs created each year in Ottawa either.
That being said - I agree - Carleton is a good design school. However- it is not the best choice for someone wanting to study design theory. With its close relationship to the Engineering dept Carleton is know more for creating designers that lean a bit more towards the problem solving side of design and less towards design theory. It also doesn’t have a Masters program.
Either uni of alberta or uni of calgary has a Masters in ID…part of Environmental Design program…
Carleton will be the first to introduce a Masters of ID in Ontario, OCAD has just recently started to put one together, same with Emily Carr.
I can tell you that OCAD will not focus on traditional ID and might be a more blue-sky when it appears. Carleton will probably stick to traditional design roots.
If you want to do a Masters of ID in Canada, only do so if you dont want to leave Canada. If you can leave Canada, please do.
i graduated from carleton 3 years ago now and have been happily emplyed since before i even graduated… i am not too certain i would go do my master’s there tho… the school is good! and a lot of fun. but be prepared to not sleep for weeks at a time.
Stay away from ECIAD!!! Only one person from last year got a job… Bad school
I’m not here to promote ECIAD as the best school for everyone, but saying it’s a bad school because of job placement is kind of silly.
Not only do I disagree that only one student got a job (I know 5 current students working at local studios during studies and one on internship internationally), but in reality it is not the school’s responsibility. If you work you’re ass off, are more than simply a product renderer, and you network throughout your education there’s nothing stopping you. But it is up to you to do that. However, if you figure that on grad “industry night” some magical fairy is going to come by and grant you a job, there lies the problem.
As far as i know there are no or few masters programs for ID in Canada.
I attended two art colleges in Canada and I can assure you that the resources and quality of education is far superior in many u.s. schools and if you can afford to go - do yourself a favour.
I would definitely tell you NOT to go to OCAD - you will not get the best training and they do not give their students the care and conern they need.
In my opinion, the best school for I.D. is emily carr (in terms of art schools) - they have a coop program and the facilities are ok - i hear carlton and univ. of alberta have pretty good programs if you are looking for a more technical based program
hope that helps
Even if Emily Carr got its sh#t together and all of a sudden offered the best ID program in the world - There will still only be 1 or 2 students each year that get jobs in town right away. This is because there are a limited number of ID jobs in Vancouver and they are all hottly contested. (from graduating students, last years graduating students, students from other schools, pros wanting to move here etc…)
Bottom line - don’t blame the school - If you had bothered to do a little research you would know that Vancouver is not a hotbed of ID.
It never fails - every year there are a bunch of students graduating from ECI that seem shocked that a high paying ID job doesn’t get presented to them 2 weeks before the end of school.
To answer the Masters question. If possible I would look outside of Canada. A lot of a Masters degree is about “the experience” and the Canadian schools are all too small to offer much in that category.
university of montreal has a master degree in ID
but dont go there anyway
Yes indeed.
Sure, I’m partial to Carleton’s program, but it’s probably the best in Canada, and one of the most well-ronded in north america. I say that because in the states there are schools that focus on specific things – eg, art center does a huge amount of transportation work. Carleton gives you plenty of design theory; I’m not sure what these people are talking about when they say we lean away from that aspect (unless you mean we don’t much like “styling”, design with only artistic merit, which is partially true).
PM me if you want more information.