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I'm doing the online MFA program, which is great. I also know many many grad students feel the same. Sometimes we are asked to talk about it in the discussion forum, and so many have great reviews (at least the ones I have encountered). Like everything, it is not perfect, but it is a great school. I would recommend this school, especially their online program, which is what I have experienced. I have learned alot, compared to my undergraduate BA in fine arts from another school. Jul 08 2008 Fine Arts - Painting/Sculpture/Photography/etc

There are so many negative reviews about this school and i'm not really sure why. I am currently taking my graduate courses online and i have learn so much in just a short period of time. You really have to manage your time well here because there is a lot of work given to the student. All in all i am really learning a lot and i can't wait to take more courses in the fall! Jun 29 2008 Design Arts - Industrial Design/Graphic Design/etc

I've attended the academy for years and have spent time in a few departments. I have to say, it's true what other's say about students being a number and more importantly, a dollar sign. Like most educations, it's what you make of it. I worked hard, but most of my greatest learning has been done outside of the Academy. I got the feeling in the Fine Art department that the instructors really didn't expect much from the students. I've overheard teachers making inappropriate comments about students private life, which is completely uncalled for. After completing most of my BFA, I felt hopeless because of the amount of debt I had and struggled through to finish. It was a horrible experience, though I graduated with honors. After finishing I fought to get my work together and my skill level up (outside of AAU). Just recently I got word (from an instructor) that my personal life was a topic of discussion in a FA meeting at the academy. I guess things haven't changed much. I feel sad for a lot of the faculty there. I hope they can try to be better people. I try not to mention that I went to AAU and will never endorse the Academy in my professional life. I have affiliations with other learning institutions that I can proudly claim. For those of you that are still in your degree there, work hard and focus on standards that are in your field - not your class, grades don't matter. Good luck. May 20 2008 Fine Arts - Painting/Sculpture/Photography/etc

this place is a joke, the instructors are literally stupid, don't know how to comminicate, play 'favorites', and are a huge disappointment. Do they read what they assign? Apr 13 2008 Fine Arts - Painting/Sculpture/Photography/etc

If you are asian, you should go here If you are male, you should go here If you are able to put up, shut up, and pay high $'s you should go here If you are female, don't go here, you would be better off at St. Mary's in Oakland. If you want to advance your vision, don't go here Mar 20 2008 Art & Design Department

therearebetteroptions,suchasMillsinOakland.AAUismuchredtapeandnotenoughstudentimportance. Jan 13 2008 Fine Arts - Painting/Sculpture/Photography/etc

This newly accredited University should be more appropriately called "Academy of Asian Art University" because anyone else other then of Asian heritage is ignored. It is a great place for Asians to be catered to and babied. And, yes it is true, it's all about the money. Dec 12 2007 Fine Arts - Painting/Sculpture/Photography/etc

Just started at aau in Sept 07 and I love it. I was so confused reading some negative comments about the school. I have to say I am glad I am going here. I have learned so much it's unbelievable. I am in the MFA program and I am surprised how much you learn. I'm an online student and it is extremely hard. You have to put in alot (let me stress, ALOT) of time into it, but it's worth it. It also is not as expensive as other schools. If you want to learn the arts then this is the place to go to learn. Oct 18 2007 Fine Arts - Painting/Sculpture/Photography/etc

I have been attending the AAU graduate school - online - and have been surprised how much I have learned and how much I enjoy discussions with other students from all over the country. The grading is tough, many talented people get C's, and when you get an A you really earned it. I think it is great to study long distance because we are not at all caught up in campus politics or issues that would distract from the focus of our studies. In addition, I probably chat more with my classmates online than I would in person. I think people are more likely to critique online, and you have a chance to think through your points carefully. So far it has been a positive experience and I am looking forward to my next semester. Feb 25 2007 Fine Arts - Painting/Sculpture/Photography/etc

I had a great experience here doing a Masters in Fine Art Sculpture (MFA). The facilities are as good or better than any other art school in the country. Aditionally, the emphasis is placed on learning new skills more than pure talk which is what I was looking for in a school. The conceptual side of the work is left mostly to the students which can be good or bad depending on what you need. If you're smart and motivated this school puts you in a position where the tools and the know-how are available. I was accepted to several grad programs with better reputations. However, the S.F. location and the facilities at the Academy when compaired to everywhere else sold me. Some students get a poor education here but the blame is theirs. I have no regrets and I would do it again. My work improved, I mastered new materials, and was supported in making well crafted conceptual driven work. The faculty taught me great new skills and techniques and I was encouraged to seek extracurricular advisors for the intellectual side of things. This school teaches you the craft extremely well and it will serve you as long as you don't need your school to teach you how to think. Oct 29 2006 Art & Design Department

The Academy's program is new and offers an independent individual the free reign to explore and determine their own interests. The faculty is interesting and very helpful and the class sizes make for some in depth explorations. The department is interested in providing and continues to provide new resourses for the department. Because it is a new program and because it is a program with few entrants there can be scheduling conflicts and some confusion with the administrtion. This program is for people who don't want to be breastfed information from their esteemed highers, this is about rolling up your own damn sleeves and making the best you can out of yourself and your future. Feb 26 2006 Architecture

I graduated from here with a 3D Animation degree in June 2005. I am still job hunting, had small contract gigs here and there but am looking for something more stable. At the time of joining this school, not many other schools had access to the expensive 3D animation equipment that I needed. What brought me here is that they had Game Design advertised as a major choice. I wanted to learn every aspect about creating video games and chose to specialize in the art side since I was not cut out to be a programmer/engineer. So about the school. I was surprized to find how few of my classes where focused on games. It seemed as if I was lumped in with the Visual Effects Students who mostly wanted to work for Pixar and ILM. Still I managed to do what I thought that I needed to do to get a good portfolio together. Often times I felt that, to the schools administration, I was just another opening cash register. I did however manage make the best out of the situation and worked at my craft. I stayed home many a weekend and forsake going out to allow my art skill to grow. I was blessed with having instructors who genuinely did care that students get better, and where honest about the whether the quality of their work was good enough to be considered professional. As other people described, I was one of those kids who was well off and had the full loving support of my parents paying for everything. While I don't feel guilty at all for taking advantage of it, It did wise me up to the reality that if you have to work many hours to go here, you won't get as much out of school because instead of mastering your art you will be at your part time job. I spent all my possible energy into my artwork and still feel that I am mediocre. If you are planning on comming here, make sure you can afford it. A 3 Unit class cost's about $1700 in tuition fees, and if you are a full time student you will be taking 4 of those in a semester. Add in $0-500 lab fee per class depending on if it is a computer or film or expensive equiptment. I wouldn't reccomend going into debt to come here. Don't believe that the job placement assistance people will find you jobs or have any contacts for you. You have about 100 other students competing for the jobs they have listed, so you better be damn good if you hope to land it.(Still, try you must) I was fortunate to have knowledgable teachers most of the time, but every educational instutute has it's share of hacks. Here is what I would do knowing what I know. Go to community college and take some Photoshop, Illustrator, Drawing and all the art classes relating to what you want to major in you can take before going there. Be sure you are dead set in your major before you attend the Academy, because changing majors is a co$tly decision. I would then take one class per semester for the specialty software classes not available at other schools. Now the advisors will try to get you taking 4 classes and have you go through all the prerequisites. Resist at all costs! Make something up that you cannot afford 4 classes. To bypass taking prerequisites, get to know some of the faculty while you are taking that one class and learn who is teaching what classes and who is the best for what you want to learn. Talk to the instructors teaching those classes and they will permit you to add thier class if you have the neccesary knowledge to be in that class, (you may have to show some artwork from community college). You may be able to bypass the salesmen *ahem* I mean advisors to get in those classes. Go to all the workshops in your major. They are like free classes. Take advantage. That way you would have access to the equipment and the computer lab at AAU. So you can work on a body of artwork to get you a job. The equipment and highly specialized classes (something like combustion or shake) are the best things about that school. While you are taking that one class at the Academy, go to a more affordable school for your degree. Nov 30 2005 Art & Design Department

I came from a well known fortune 500 to get my Masters in Advertising. The quality of the instructors is a joke. Some are not even working in the field they are teaching in and almost all are Academy graduates as they cannot get work anywhere else. For the cost of tuition the school should be at least above average. AAU takes advantage of International students (no TOFEL requirements) and gets other students because it is located in San Francisco. In short, you will NOT get your money's worth and will graduate with LOTS of debt and NO skills. If you want an art school go to the California College of Art (was CCAC) or to the SF Art Institute (it is NOT the chain - it is the other one) Sep 29 2005 Art & Design Department

I came to the AAU with a wealth of photography experience and a degree in computer information science. I do not plan to finish the masters program at the AAU. For me I would have been better served to have taken the money and invested in some additional equipment and started shooting short films around my hometown. Which is what I plan to do soon, as I am returning to my hometown in a matter of weeks. I had to weigh out what I was learning, what I was paying for this knowledge, and being away from my family. In the near future I plan on taking some summer courses at NYU. The equipment at the AAU for the most part was good or so it seemed to me (I had some of my own equipment I brought with me). I have not been to any other schools to make a valid comparison. As far the instructors are concerned a few are great, one should be fired (our class wrote and signed a letter concerning the teaching methods of one instructor), and the rest are okay. My advice to you is to think about what you want to do with your life. If you really, really,really want to get into motion pictures go to UCLA. If your grades aren't that good take some core classes (undergrads) at your local college first to show that you make them. If you want something bad enough you'll figure it out. Check out the other schools throughly. Most of all get a video camera and start shooting. Watch films and try to figure out how things were shot then you go out and try to shoot something simular with your friends. Jun 22 2005 Other

This is a for profit school only concerned about making money to further the president's real estate empire. The instructors suck and fail to teach you the skills necessary to succeed. They tend to focus on abstract crap and the courses lack practical application. In fact, may of the instructors don't even really know how to use the programs they are supposed to be teaching you. I had instructors admit I knew more than they did. That is pretty sad. The alumni job office also is totally unhelpful. They have no connections like they advertise, unless you call minimum wage or internships jobs connections. RUN FAR FROM THIS SCHOOL. IT IS A TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY. GO TO A STATE SCHOOL AND SAVE YOUR MONEY. At AAC, they pay the teachers about $30/hr for class time but don't pay for preparation time. You pay over $1500 per class. Does this add up correctly? The pay differential demonstrates how the quality of education is lacking, but the president of the school chooses to profit from her unsuspecting students. Good designers make more than $30/hr easy, take it from experience. If you are in school, transfer please. You can find more affordable and practical education at San Francisco State. When applying for jobs, AAC does not make you look good, it only makes you look like a rich fool, buying your education. I hope my critique was helpful. I have no ill will toward the school, I just want to be honest. Aug 08 2004 Art & Design Department

 

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