Nicole Roberts MFA Thesis Visual Component Artwork - Savannah ...

visualizing curricular concepts
Unless students have prior recommendation from a guidance counselor or
attend the local design school close to their residence, many students turn to outside
sources for answers. The streamlined us News and World Report is known for
publishing an annual “Best Design Schools” ranking, as is Business Week’s “Top
Design Schools” list, or industry resources such as aiga’s link to nasad accredited
institutions. These sources seem to cater more so to popularity and status and fail to
discern a comparative outlook on how the ‘top schools’ align with expectations of
twenty-first century professionals. In an effort to bridge this gap, Changing Graphic
Design Pedagogy serves as a visual research manual that marries expectations from
top design professionals with corresponding information about the top design schools
per industry standards. Initially, leading professionals were asked from which design
schools their most successful new employees graduated. Many of their responses
align with the ‘top schools’ ranking, but they also drew attention to a variety of
astute programs students may never consider should they only rely upon the allure
of undergraduate catalogs, kitschy web sites, or ‘top school’ publicity. Each school’s
curriculum deemed noteworthy by the surveyed professionals was closely evaluated
and compared. Several factors were considered with a goal of distinguishing what
each had in common to qualify them as a ‘top design school’ per leading practitioner
standards. The region, accreditation, admission policy, term structure, ratio of
liberal arts credits, review requirements, professional practice policies, and senior
project mandates were all evaluated.
Students should have a plan
when they begin as to what
kind of portfolio they will
need when they graduate,
otherwise how can they
decide on a curriculum?
Cary Staples, Professor
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Yale University School of Art
web site with course listing
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