Grad Schools?

June 28, 2005 12:09 PM

I have an undergrad degree in philosophy and a masters in education. Been doing Online courses for six years and I'm interested in going back to school. In the past few years I've been working on music, film, some psychogeography stuff, conceptual art development/pranks, making posters and on and on. Is anyone out there familiar with grad programs for folks who are all over the place with interests but lean toward the art/activist side?
posted by PHINC to education (4 comments total)

Think about it this way: what kind of project would you like to do for the next 2-8 years of your life. Can it only be done in grad school?

If so, who would you like to work with? (That seems to take a lot of research to get right.) Get in touch with them, and see what they suggest.
posted by metaculpa at 1:46 PM on June 28, 2005

Yeah, that makes good sense. I think I'm trying to figure out where to go while still being vague about what I'd like to do, which of course isn't working. But yes your advice is helpful, thanks.
posted by PHINC at 2:44 PM on June 28, 2005

Well, my school, University of Michigan, is attempting to develop a graduate program that incorporates some aspects of what I would consider a liberal arts model of education. I have a BA in Philosophy and am currently getting an MFA at UM. My interests are primarily painting and some drawing-with-computers type stuff. My EMail is in my profile, if you have questions. The UM art Web site is here.
posted by Slothrop at 4:17 PM on June 28, 2005

I have known a few people who did multidisciplinary MFAs and none of them were very happy with their programs. Of course all grad students are unhappy, but often interdepartmental degrees lack the cohesion of other degree programs so people end up feeling like they are getting too much of one thing and not enough of another. If you don't know what you want to do, I would suggest that you try enrolling as a non-degree seeking grad student and see what you end up wanting to do.

If you have a solid portfolio why not start throwing it at grants, scholarships and residency programs and see if anything sticks. Somewhere there is money for you to do what you want.

This is my guideline for graduate school in the arts and humanities: if they are paying you, yes. If you are paying them, no.
posted by mokujin at 5:18 PM on June 28, 2005