Grad School Info Roundup!

[labricoleuse]

We've already begun fielding phone calls and emails from prospective applicants to our graduate program for Fall 2012, and it reminds me that it's time for a roundup of informational posts on the matter!

If you are considering graduate school in your future, now is a good time to begin contacting the program directors at the various schools to which you might be considering applying. Get on the radar early, find out what you need to know while there's plenty of time to prepare--you'll have a much better shot at getting in than as a last-minute under-the-wire applicant, believe me!

I have, over the past five-plus years i've been writing this blog, made a number of posts on topics related specifically to the pursuit of graduate study in professional costume careers. Look over this link list and see whether any of them address questions you might have. And, if you have questions not addressed by any of the prior posts, please ask in the comments! I'll do my best to answer whatever you want to know!

• Preparing to Apply to an MFA Program
  
• MFA Programs: Design vs. Production
  
• List of Schools Offering a Costume Production MFA
  
• Assembling a Portfolio
  
• Graduate Statements of Purpose
  
• Advice on Letters of Recommendation
  
• Costume Design Portfolio Resources
  
• Getting into the MFA Program You Want
  
• What Our Interview Schedule is Like
  
• Application Timeline and Assistantship Information
  
• Should I Go to U/RTA?

Comments

[txreisende.livejournal.com]

Is a BA or BFA an absolute requirement for all MFA programs? Will a suitably impressive portfolio suffice in lieu of a bachelor's degree under any circumtances?

[labricoleuse.livejournal.com]

I don't know of any that will accept candidates without a bachelor's degree (we don't), but it doesn't mean there aren't some, like maybe the more nontraditional arts/crafts schools that and folk schools perhaps?

[txreisende.livejournal.com]

Sadly, those wouldn't suit my needs. I don't have the funds or time for finishing my bachelor's degree *and* graduate school.... What I need at this stage of my career are 1. specialized courses teaching the finer points of dyeing, surface design, and specialty crafting and 2. the networking and relationships that come with an accredited, established program. It's a nasty little catch-22, and makes me want to go back in time and beat my dumb 20-something self for not finishing my BS when it was realistically feasible.

[labricoleuse.livejournal.com]

Is it feasible to finish the bachelors at somewhere that would provide you with that? I'm thinking about schools that have a great reputation in the field that also have undergraduate programs with crossover options for the undergrads to take classes with the grad students (so you could shoot for doing all the construction coursework with the grads), like NC School of the Arts and Boston University?

Even at our school, where there is not a specific concentration for undergrads in costume production, those with the gumption and dedication to seek it out can get some great experience and coursework by working in our shop and taking some of the grad classes for UG credit. I always have at least one undergrad or continuing ed student in my crafts classes, and the graduate intro to draping and beginning pattern drafting courses often have as many undergrads as grads in them.