Skylyn
How long can you really be in college for art?
I've been told it can only be 2 to 3 years by someone who went to college for something else.
#art
2 answers
Eric Vincent
Eric’s Answer
Hi Skylyn,
,
Erinn is absolutely correct in your choices, and as Erinn states, it's up to you.
Keep in mind you can finish an associates degree in studio arts or graphic design and re-apply to finalize another associates degree depending on the courses you took for the first one. For example I did a degree in graphic design and then re-registered for my associates to finalize my studio arts degree... for the cost of only 2 more semesters, and so on with a bachelors.
It just depends on what you want to do, how marketable you want to be and how many skills you want to improve.
Aside from the fact that you'll never stop learning... your whole life you'll be learning. You'll graduate, get your Masters, be an expert and then... you'll want to know more, know something else because that's what we do, we never stop learning. So, go for broke, get it all, you can do it and don't let anyone tell you that you can't, especially in art. There are so many fields in the art world that you'll always put your talent and skills to use.
Best of luck.
Andy Wang
Andy’s Answer
It's great to see that you're already planning for college. While it is true that there are some art programs that you can complete in 2-3 years there are also other programs that may take 4-5 years.
Generally, 2-3 year programs are for community college, trade, or vocational schools. These schools are designed to gear up a student for a specific job or job field.
4-5 year degrees generally come from more traditional colleges and universities. While these institutions also prepare you for the workforce, they are also designed to give you a broader experience and more diverse coursework.
Oftentimes, depending on the schools, you may choose to go from a 2-3 year program and transfer to a 4-5 year degree. Requirements will vary and you would need to look into specific requirements based on what degree you previously earned and the school and degree you want to earn later.
One is not necessarily better than the other. Generally 2-3 year degree programs will be more inexpensive while 4-5 year programs will, of course, be more expensive. You should consider what your goals are and what you can afford.
For example, if you know what you want to do and you want to get to it as quickly as possible then the 2-3 year degree may get you there faster. But if you want to dabble in other things and learn about other opportunities a 4-5 year program will give you a bit more flexibility to try out other classes in other disciplines that you might not have known about or considered before. And you would get exposure to more and different subjects and people than you would if you stuck to a narrower focus.
I hope that this information is able to help you. I would recommend speaking with guidance counselors and people in the industry in which you are interested to see what has worked for them.
Andy recommends the following next steps: