finding the best photography colleges -- Virtually Advising Q+A

The Q: Which are the best colleges for studying photography?

The A: The answer depends a bit on just what you're looking for out of a college education in photography, and heavily on what your other interests are. I'm generalizing here, but there are two main paths you can take next:

1) If there are other subjects you'd like to study in depth (English, psychology, physics, foreign languages, anything not art-related), you may be best off at a good liberal arts college or state university with a photography major, where you can study your main interest at the same time you're taking photography classes.

2) If you're sure that photography (or the visual arts in general) is the only area you want or need to focus on, then an art/photography professional college or institute might be a good fit.

Admittedly, there's an awful lot of grey area here. For instance, you could go to a liberal arts college with a photography major and get your degree, and -then- go to a professional school to get more specific training and experience. Or you could spend a year or two at a community college (or a state school) and then transfer to a professional school if you'd like. Or you could go to a professional school first and get your bachelor's degree later on (many professional schools don't offer four-year degrees). You should talk with your guidance counselor for help working out which of these options -- or some other option I've neglected to mention -- might be best for you.

Lastly, because I'm not knowledgeable enough on the merits or strengths of various schools that offer an education in photography, I think it's better for me to recommend other sources of info. I call them the usual suspects -- actually, I don't normally call them that, but it sounds cool, so I think I'll call them that from now on.

Talk to your guidance counselor; to photography/art teachers at your high school; to professionals who work in the fields you're interested in (you can get leads by seeking out companies and photographers' associations on the Web, reading through photography magazines or even checking out wanted ads; many professionals would be more than willing to chat about how you can get yourself into the industry, and may be able to personally recommend some schools to check out). And use the online search tools provided by sites like The College Board or The Princeton Review to find colleges that not only have photography majors, but that match your interests in other ways as well to help you narrow your options down to something more manageable.

Finally, another decent way to track down universities with good photography programs is to find those that also offer graduate programs in photography. (Peterson's and The Princeton Review both offer very good online search tools for graduate schools; U.S. News's annual grad-school ranking magazine, which you can browse through at most large bookstores, also lists the top photography grad programs by reputation.) This is not to say that colleges offering majors in photography but no master's programs in it aren't worth going to. But the presence of a graduate program often indicates a wider offering of courses, a larger (and perhaps more reputable) faculty, and a greater range of related activities and other opportunities for study.

Hope that helps. Best of luck!

—Myles Helfand, General Advisor