Graphic Design Scholarship

January 12, 2005 1:06 AM

I would like to help a very talented friend to get a scholarship to study graphic design (postgrad) in Europe or the US.
She lives in an Arab country, which in my naive opinion could work for her advantage (with all the bridge-building that should be going on right now). From Google I got dozens of graphic design schools to which apparently she would have to apply, get accepted and then apply for a scholarship. Does anybody have some personal/anecdotal knowledge that could help her? Schools with better chance of offering her a full scholarship or some relevant EU program maybe. Thanks

She's speaks english fluently, by the way

posted by golo to education (7 comments total)

What level is she looking to study at? Does she already have a degree and is looking for postgrad positions?
posted by biffa at 2:53 AM on January 12, 2005

She has a BA in graphic design, looking for a Masters
posted by golo at 3:42 AM on January 12, 2005

I'm not sure if this applies to potential design students (I'm more familiar with the sciences), but it might be something to think about. Under the Patriot Act, certain foreigners (read: Arabs) are finding it very hard to study in the US. There are more obstacles to their obtaining student visas, it is harder for them to travel once they are here, and they are under much greater surveillance. So you/she may want to make sure that she would be able to get a student visa for the appropriate amount of time and so forth before committing to an American university. If not, then the EU may be the way to go. In fact, considering the current political climate in the US for Arabs, the EU might be the right move no matter what. This sucks, I know, but its something to consider.
posted by googly at 6:20 AM on January 12, 2005

Is she looking for a scholarship because she cannot pay ANY of the tuition, etc.? I don't know of too many art schools at the grad level with full scholarship - in fact, mostly art grad school is rather expensive.

That being said - Ohio State University has all tuition waived on acceptance in the grad program. University of Michigan (where I attend and am getting an MFA) waives a considerable amount of tuition upon acceptance (currently you pay about $4500 a year) and does offer a fellowship for minority students that, I believe, covers most or all of the rest. We are close to Detroit and its considerable Arab-American diaspora, also, which may be helpful. Cranbrook Academy in Bloomfield Hills (outer Detroit) is considered one of the best graphic design schools in the world, but is expensive to my knowledge. They have many foreign students, however.

If you want to check out Michigan, the Web site is here. We are still working on getting more information about the graduate program up on the site.

If you EMail me (on profile page) I can EMail you with a contact or two here at the school who could answer more questions...
posted by Slothrop at 6:26 AM on January 12, 2005

Erasmus Mundus might be one potential source of funds for EU study, non-EU students are eligible. I suspect your friend (or you) is going to have to trawl the web looking for relevant higher educational institutions and then see whether they have funds available, but then you would likely have to do this to find an appropriate institution anyway. Having knowledge of possible additional sources of funding will only add to the potential for your friend having a chance of getting taken on. I'd suggest the best way is to identify the institutions she likes then get in touch with admissions departments for information and particular academics for info and to get them on her side. The fact that she is from an Arab country may help in some circumstances where institutions are trying to hit targets for inclusion.
Bear in mind that she will have to be pretty good and have an excellent academic record to have any chance of funding in the arts.
posted by biffa at 6:55 AM on January 12, 2005

Thank you. I'll pass her the information, hopefully this will encourage her to keep looking.
I wouldn't mind studyng design myself, but it's not me. I'm actually in Israel (and not that talented).
posted by golo at 7:22 AM on January 12, 2005

Some of the better design schools in the country (or the most well-known and funded) have good sized endowments that allow them to fund large chunks of talented students' tuition and fees. Take a look at Cranbrook, Cal Arts, CCAC, Parsons and Cooper Union.
posted by luriete at 8:58 AM on January 12, 2005