The University of the Arts Reviews

"I loved attending UArts. It was one of the most important times in my life and college changes everything for me as an artist. The only negative comment I have is that I wish I had more access to scholarships, or that school was somehow not so expensive. I got so much out of it on a personal level but just have never been able to come out of my burden of student loan debt. To any young people out there: please graduate college with as little debt as possible because you cannot enter the world already behind the eight ball. It is not fair."

"This program is for students who wish to really really learn the skills of printmaking and book arts with a hands on service. You do not get a whole lot of independent time and you can not get out of classes too easy and you are allowed only 2 electives. Aside from that it is great. They bring at lot of great instructors and guest artist. Downside it's pretty micro managed and very fast paced. Still I think any hardworking student can handle it if they have the drive. Advice, look at the courses required, look at faculty, and look at the student work thats showcased."

"To pursue a career in museology is to serve as a liaison between a collection and the audience it seeks to serve. In my experience, the Museum Studies program at The University of the Arts brought to light the many possibilities in which this liasonship can take shape. As a tri-fold program consisting of Museum Exhibition Planning & Design (MEPD), Museum Communications (MComm) and Museum Education (MEd), this department centers itself on the foundation of successful relationships between museum professionals. Teamwork is an ever-changing and ever-challenging pursuit within the field. Each separate program in this department has a focus that is necessary for all three programs to function in unison. MEPD serves as the blueprint for the team, MComm charges up the audience through marketing campaigns, and Museum Education develops internal programming for the collections. All three have their expertise and can crossover in certain areas from time to time. Personally, my career took shape in the Museum Education program. In this field, knowing and understanding one's audience is key. As collections age over time, public interpretation shifts and can vary from one community to another. How does one account for these many possibilities? Museum Education teaches students the best practices that have been developed to answer these questions in the past, and challenges students to improve upon these methods in their thesis development for the degree's capstone project. The program is rigorous, but the class sizes are small and are geared towards personal development. There is much to be done for the future of the collection management. New voices and perspectives are welcomed and highly regarded by those in the field. The University of the Arts is a strong foundation to build upon for a lifelong career."

"The University of the Arts is a great institution depending on the major the student goes for. For the performing arts, it's incredible and it has brought out wonderful performers, some alumni have even danced with Beyonce and worked with other famous performers. However, for the visual arts, it is not as strong as it could be. UArts has some very inspiring faculty, but on the undergrad level sometimes there is not enough attention paid to its students. In the Illustration department I was constantly pushed to have " a style" but at the same time every time I tried to explore and find it, they told me I was all over the place and discouraged me from doing it. We also had to take a typography class that was a total joke and did not teach anyone anything about typography. On the other hand, the printmaking department (I minored in this) was the complete opposite, they encouraged experimentation and learning new techniques, giving me the ability to think outside the box and push myself. Some majors are better than others, but I'm sure that is true for every institution."

"The only problem I have encountered is the financial aid department."

"This graduate program is excellent for preparing you in the unique career choice you decide. They do their best to network and assist you in getting you internships to further your knowledge and is an amazing school in terms of facility. The cons to the program is it's still young in ambition, though the new director for the printmaking/bookarts program is an excellent woman who is striving to grow this already amazing department."

"This program offers real immersion into the work-force as one is taking classroom/lectures on theory. All professors are also professionals, which offers up-to-date insight. The single con is cost of living in Philadelphia, but the city is rich in culture, diversity, museums, history, and food! The program is absolutely exciting!"

"The Museum Studies programs at The University of the Arts are wonderful. We are learning a lot of real life scenarios which will help us in the field later. The professors were all working professionals in the museum field and have a large network of individuals who are willing to help and mentor the students as we figure out where we want to be. It is a time consuming program but no moment is wasted because everything we are learning is very valuable. If you choose to live in the city of Philadelphia, the cost of living is expensive but that is the absolute only downside to the program and all of the positives really out way that."

"The definite pros to this program is the experience each professor brings to the classroom and the field experience in special need, ELL and both elementary and secondary education."

"The program is based in an urban setting that naturally becomes disjointed. Classes are arranged in an expanse of buildings, levels, and floors leading to very little communication and movement between departments."

"The work we do is all extremely relevant to the work we'll do as museum professionals (the program is an MFA in museum exhibition planning and design). I couldn't be happier or more excited about the work. However, my biggest issue with the program is the lack of resources, specifically printing facilities."