California State University - Long Beach

Date: Mar 18 2017
Major: Art & Design Department (This Major's Salary over time)
Ok so I'm gonna make this as clear and concise a review as possible so you know what you're getting into if you get into this school specifically the Art major.

This is a SoCal school located near LA…people here are super leftist and they care about things like the entertainment industry because not only is it a stone's throw away…many will end up working in that entertainment industry. Don't come here expecting people to not speak super openly about those things. The amount of people that are surprised that they've entered a super leftist/entertainment industry focused area crack me up. Second…a lot of art classes are going to expect you to know stuff already and that can suck if you haven't had the best art education in hs or community college. Sometimes the teachers are unhelpful because of this. They expect you to have a vision going forward and they want to help you hone that vision…few classes (some of the lower division ones) will actually teach you rendering and draftsmanship. This can suck if you thought you were here to get better at basics. I've spoken to a lot of people that graduated and felt they didn't get that much better in art because what they really needed was their actual skill developed not their eye for subject material/aesthetic. Again, I'm just trying to be honest. If you're already really skilled then come on over because this school is a great networking opportunity for art students. Due to this school being in SoCal near LA so many of your prof are going to be working artists whether they're an art director for a popular cartoon or travelling all over the world showcasing their oil paintings in galleries. People are super friendly even if they're not always helpful. This includes the teachers, esp if you're unlucky enough to get a prof that is very vague about what they want from you. But in general, as long as you make small talk eventually someone will bite and start regularly chatting with you. If you're shy your best bet is to get study groups together while you're taking your art history courses…you'll end up with a friend sooner or later. Like I said…pretty much the best reason to go to this school for art is networking. Unfortunately sometimes this means that if you're not very good at art some people won't go out of their way to hang out with you. They'll be nice but they won't seek you out as much and that's something to watch for if you don't have enough confidence to brush that kind of thing off…it sucks but it's the truth. If you feel you're this way be prepared to "study" for your art classes. You're basically gonna be watching a lot of art tutorials on youtube. Also, the school has maintenance problems esp in the art buildings…graffiti (some of a racist nature…area may be politically more to the left but there are still scary racists out there), tiles falling from the ceiling and poor AC. The worst part? Since it's a CalState tuition goes up all the time, budget cuts occur left and right and like usual books are expensive. There's also the fact that as an art major art supplies and computer programs (for digital art) are a ton of money. There's an animation/illustration lab if you'd rather not have to purchase those computer programs but it is very small and usually crowded and you have to wait your turn to use a computer a lot. There are lots of clubs to join though; there's something for everyone (yes even the right wing folks) and if you can juggle your classes and a club then I say go for it. If not…like I said start making friends through study groups. This is a school right near the beach so don't be shocked that some people like to party or are super into getting laid…that's the real world. You can avoid those people if you're not like that…seriously it's not as hard as you think.

Overall the best reason to go to this school to study art is NETWORKING, NETWORKING, NETWORKING. If you can, get really good at art on your own or at community college and then transfer in with a bunch of talent to get you into any BFA you apply to or at least through the regular studio art courses with a bunch of new contacts from all the attention you'll be getting. That's the best advice I can give and I know it sucks but unfortunately very few of the art prof don't just act like talent scouts..from what I've seen SPECIFICALLY when it comes to illustration/animation. Whenever you can go to ratemyprofessor to pick the best teachers you can to mesh with the way you learn. Anyway, good luck.