The University of New Haven

Date: Mar 09 2011
Major: Design Arts - Industrial Design/Graphic Design/etc (This Major's Salary over time)
The Graphic Design program is an utter joke. Professors hired are unqualified and those that are leave as soon as a better job opportunity comes up (not that I blame them.) This has resulted in students getting virtually no education in anything other than basic design concepts. Critiques are a joke, the professors sugar coat the students designs that are down right terrible due to the lack of education we're receiving further perpetuating a cycle of mediocrity in our work. Only the students who realize themselves what isn't working or what they could do better in their work end up pushing forwards with creating anything worthwhile.

UNH frequently treats graphic design students as free labor demanding we make posters for their plays and guest speakers while providing us with insane deadlines, no information about the events, and piss poor resources to create these designs in.

Last year the University abolished free printing once granted to every student and after paying a lab fee to use the printer in the design building students had to fight with the administration to keep printing in our lab free. The printer is crap that the administration absolutely refuses to fix. The macs in the mac lab frequently don't work, aren't loaded with proper software, and are never available to use after classes until at least 7:00 at night so if you're a student that can't afford to shell out $500 for Adobe Creative Suite your shit out of luck if you want to work on projects outside of class.

The requirements for the major are ridiculous. Instead of being trained in how to use adobe software professors just assume students know how to use it even in the most basic levels of graphic design classes. THEY DON'T. From there we're burdened with idiotic art classes such as basic design 1 and 2 where we spend the year only learning about the color wheel and negative/positive space or cutting up books and building abstract sculptures out of foam.

I'm a senior and I'm STILL waiting for a project to challenge me in ANY WAY. Students in this major are always frustrated and angry at the state of program, lack of supplies, and just general lack of education.

Unless you're coming here for fire science, criminal justice, or forensics DON'T COME HERE.