Mark a survey and Inform Staff

Peer Review:

Statistical Analyzer:

Its just depressing. I'm a senior illustrator here at CIA with a gpa of about 3.8. I do well in class and so do most people, but god, the major is a mess. It's headed by someone who doesn't know who any of us are, let alone whos in the major. I've been referred to by the wrong name several times and have been confused with other students despite being in classes with him for four years. And I'm not the only one experiencing this.

While theres some genuinely great professors in this major, professors that care and want to see us succeed, its overshadowed by the head of the departments carelessness and the general apathy of the other professors who aren't nearly as happy to be teaching. I was accepted to thirteen other private art schools, sva, ringling and risd among them, and I just wish I could go back and reconsider. I hear that art schools are universally problematic, all of them over priced and low in quality, but it dosent stop me from wondering if any of them might have been better.

The curriculum is just outdated. Students have been doing the same exact projects, the same syllabus for years. For more modern jobs like concept art or visual development, it offers very little help. They tend to focus less on the entertainment business and more on editorials and business cards (an industry dying faster than any endangered species). Critiques are lacking and vague, and the skill levels between students is night and day. Its clear who was accepted because they have skill and therefor have great scholarships and who was accepted because theyre paying full price. Its a cash grab for cia, and they dont do much to hide that fact. They state that the student/professor ratio is about 10:1. That's a flat out lie. That's the average ratio for the entire school,including majors like SEM and biomedical art which are around 5:1. For illustration and other larger majors it's more like 16 or 17 to one, and they only plan on expanding and accepting more illustrators.

If you plan on viewing this as an opportunity for networking, I wouldn't bother. The only illustrators you'll ever meet are from American Greetings, a nearly dead company that isn't interested in really hiring because they just can't afford it.

I'm happy I managed to get so many scholarships to attend this school, because if I was paying full price like some of the other illustration students, I'd be way more than just disappointed. However there is hope! There's rumors that the head of Illustration may be stepping down next year. This may mark a change in the curriculum, it might fix the general attitude and moral of the major. While I will be graduated at that point and my time here will have mostly been wasted, I do still hope to see a change and I hope to see improvement just for the sake of the underclassmen.

If you're considering CIA Id recommend its smaller majors. I hear theyre much better. If you're considering Illustration or another large major, I'd suggest anywhere else.