During a Q&A session with parents, one father was concerned about his daughter’s interest to pursue pop music. While he had misgivings about her music career, this also raised a broader question: many students who want to study art in college simply don’t know where to begin.
Should they go in for an “art school” experience, become an art major in a “traditional” university instead?
Before I dive into a deeper discussion, let me make it clear that I’m no artist myself. I studied Political Science at Harvard and had never worked in the fine arts. However, I did once seriously consider going to music school. My parents sent me to piano lessons at the age of four, and I subsequently spent nearly 10 years at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In middle school and high school, my weekends were filled with music theory classes, piano recitals, and chamber music performances. I was more familiar with Rachmaninoff Concertos and Chopin etudes than Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber’s albums. Many of my classmates who then went on to pursue music at Julliard, Curtis, and Boston Conservatory.
When it was time for me to apply to college, I also faced the dilemma of whether I should continue the path to become a professional musician or apply to large universities. It was actually my piano teacher, then a Director at the conservatory, who advised me to apply to Harvard rather than Julliard and other music schools. He told me, “If you go to a music school, you can only be a pianist. But at Harvard, you can be anything you want.”
In my case, receiving a university allowed me to meet people from all walks of life, and explore possibilities that I never thought possible.
My younger brother, on the other hand, had realized his talent for the visual arts at a young age and was determined to make it his career. He became a Design Media Arts (DMA) major at UCLA. Although he also got into top art schools such as Parsons, he decided to attend UCLA for similar reasons. At UCLA, he could flourish in a top design program while having all of the university’s resources at his fingertips. He entered the non-profit sector after graduation, but still used the skills he learned in his degree by organizing art exhibitions as a large part of his job.
A note: Below, I’m going to loosely use the term “art school” to encompass schools dedicated to the fine arts, music, dance, and theatre.
So, what’s the difference?
Art schools are specifically dedicated to the scholarship of fine arts, and all of their programs, classes, and learning environments reflect this focus. Students won’t be expected to take nearly as many general knowledge classes as in a traditional university.
On the other hand, a traditional university likely offers art curriculum as just one of many program options. Some may have a single fine arts major, while larger universities may have an entire school dedicated to the arts with majors and concentrations in specific areas, such as ceramics, painting, theatre, animation, and more.
Art School
Many standalone art schools are some of the highest ranked, and hold some serious industry credibility. You’ll get to focus on your work, as the majority of your coursework will be in the studio. Students there know they want to be around art all the time—they signed up for the experience, and are likely to share your passion for creativity and expression. As Steven Guarnaccia, Associate Professor of Illustration at Parsons The New School for Design says, “I think the greatest benefit of going to art school is the shared experience of discovering, debating, and practicing one’s craft and ideas about art with a group of one’s peers, under the tutelage of a skilled guide, i.e., the teacher.”
Yet since everyone is a music or theater arts major, competition, even after admission, tends to run high.
The biggest drawback to attending art school? Money. Art schools typically have a smaller endowment compared to traditional universities, so their tuition is expensive (it can cost more to go to art school than Harvard!) and they don’t give much financial aid. Also, general education courses may be “watered down”, meaning that your education would be less comprehensive than in a traditional university. You won’t get the prototypical “college experience” here – no frats, no “Big Game.” And watch out for housing issues. Manhattan and Juilliard have dormitories, but Mannes’ housing is spread out over New York City, and the SF Conservatory has no dorms at all.
Traditional University
One of the greatest advantages of traditional universities is interdisciplinary training. Even a design student, for example, can work on augmented reality or modeling for anthropology or neuroscience. Given that universities are generally bigger in size, students have more diverse tastes, personalities, backgrounds, and goals—you won’t just be in classes with other artists, which can lead to inspiration in some surprising places. If you’re not 100% certain about “art as a career,” you’ll be exposed to many more disciplines and potential career interests—plus, you can always double major.
At the same time, you’ll be expected to complete coursework in fields outside the arts, such as math, English, and science, which means you’ll spend less time on your art.
Now, a few words about the different kinds of art programs in traditional universities.
1. Arts major within a university: Large universities, including UCLA and the University of Michigan, boast strong music and arts departments and all the benefits and lifestyle choices a large university offer. In most cases, these program would require an audition or portfolio in addition to the normal application process.
2. Joint programs: Some universities collaborate with art schools to allow students to cross register at both schools and graduate with two degrees. Top programs include Columbia-Julliard, Brown-RISD, and Harvard-New England Conservatory. These programs are ultra selective and will require the student to gain admissions to BOTH schools on a separate basis, before being accepted as a joint candidate.
3. Art school within university campus: The Thornton School at USC and the University of the Pacific, for example, have conservatories on campus, which give students both the intensity of the conservatory experience and that sense of “college life.” For some, it becomes a balancing act. Some students have trouble balancing their GE requirements with the considerable conservatory commitment, but it depends on the school and the individual.
Ultimately, if your child is someone who has a burning passion in the arts and knows what you want to do with it, then go ahead and follow your heart. Of course, if they manage to get some scholarship on top of that, that’ll be even better (for you as parents). Otherwise you can play it safe and advise your child to keep more practical career prospects open: choosing a traditional university with a dedicated arts department (like what my brother is doing). The best way for you to get a feel for both environments is to visit the schools for yourself, talk to faculty and students, and really think about what you want to do with your art after you graduate. As Tom Garrett, Professor at Minneapolis College of Art and Design said, “It’s about taking creative risks and maybe seeing multiple solutions they didn’t even imagine.”
After all, choosing schools is an art—you’ve got to be willing to take some risks.
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