University of the Arts

Date: Mar 05 2010
Major: Unknown (This Major's Salary over time)
UArts is a university, a school. But like any other UNIVERSITY you could go to… it?s about what you get out of the experience not what the experience forces upon you.

I think anyone who is a student here should seek out all they can from all the faculty, staff, and resources they can at UArts. Being in the art field, you have to understand that 1/2 of the job is about networking. UArts is a perfect place to be to begin a network. (Think about it. It is in the middle of the arts and culture district in Philadelphia). Anyways, UArts is a launching pad where students can gather all the resources and knowledge they need to be successful in the real world. Find a way to learn ALL you can from every person that you meet because, honestly, in the world of professional art, no one is going to give you the answers.

I read some of the bad reviews on here and I think that a lot of those students are expecting college to be… well… like high school. Or like some skewed version of "college" from a tv show or movie or something, where all the teachers are perfect and the dorms never have problems and nothing ever goes wrong. This is absolutely unrealistic. Some of the buildings are like 100 years old. And Uarts is a private institution, which means we get little to no funding from the federal government to maintain things such as buildings and professional staff salaries. A lot of this money mainly comes from tuition, fees, and donations. The students are paying for the teachers and to keep the buildings in working condition. So if a student has an issue with something like building conditions… go and talk to a department head that can help. There are means as far as how to handle such things. We are grown-ups now. If you have a problem with a laundry machine… go and get someone to fix it (FYI: We have new machines now that run on digital laundry cards). Don't complain about it and not do anything about it. That's what RA's and GRC's and ResLife and Student Services and The Deans are for. As a student, we have rights. Know your rights and what the steps are to getting issues fixed.

I am by no means trying to dismiss the facility or personnel issues. I am just suggesting that we stand up for ourselves. There is power in numbers. If there is a problem, why not band together and go to the proper channels to get the issue resolved. It?s better than whining about it for the next four years…

Many may not realize this, but most all of our professors (and office staff members for that matter) are working professionals in the arts and culture field. How can someone say that this school is a waste of time and no one taught them when this school is so abundant in the only resource that really matters: people. No one in the art field cares if the liberal arts department at your undergraduate program was better than an ivy league, or whether you aced all of your sculpture crits. It?s about the people. Art and culture is about bringing PEOPLE together not about getting the perfect grade. (Though good grades do help get you in the good graces of your professors/ Artistic peer/ possible future coworker/ future boss… think about it)

Lets not limit this to our professors. The girl sitting next to you in your Text and Context class may be an important connection you will need in the future to get a job, or an interview, or just to put a good word in for you. That boy who lives down the hall on your floor in the dorm may be a future Broadway director, and since you are an aspiring actor, you may end up auditioning for him in NY. Be nice to people. Everyone you meet here, you will probably see again. Make connections with people who are NOT in your major or "College". Meaning: The Arts is a highly collaborative thing and unlike undergraduate school, the real art world doesn't segregate ?College of Performing Arts? from ?College of Media and Communications? or Design/Tech Major from Writing for Film and TV major. For example: A professional dance company will almost always have a stage manager. Since there are lights and sound in dance concerts… there'd be a sound and lighting designer. Oh yeah… don't for get a crew… you need someone on costumes, someone backstage on headset telling the stage manager when the dancers are ready. Maybe there are projections in the concert. The visual artist made the prints and then a computer/projections designer has to put them in the program and set up the projector on stage. Another example: A film will need a writer. And a producer, and someone to make all the lights turn on, and someone to run the camera. How about actors? Wouldn't the film be nice with a few actors? And what about that duet in scene 3? Now we need some actors with musical talent. Your peers are the future artists of the world.

So, honestly… as a 3rd year here at UArts (and a student who transferred in from another college out of state), my advice is to come to UArts if, and ONLY IF, you are ready and willing to work your butt off making connections with the people here. If you are a self-starter and a self-doer who is prepared to search for and suck out all the knowledge and resources (and recommendations/ good words) out of your fellow artist, then my advice is to come to UArts. You will only be as successful as you allow yourself to be.