MacDirectory 151 MacDirectory 151
FEATURE
TOP CREATIVE INSTITUTIONS > A FULL ARRAY OF LEARNING
MacDirectory magazine presents
descriptions of several of the nation's
top creative institutions, covering
interests from fine art to graphic design
to entertainment. Web sites are
included for more detailed information.
Museum of Fine Arts
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is a
unique institution of higher learning.
Offering no set curriculum, students – with
the aid of advisers and mentors – choose
their own paths of study. Furthermore,
since the Museum of Fine Arts believes
contemporary art is truly interdisciplinary,
the school encourages its students to
acquire skill sets in numerous art disciplines
-- rather than major in one particular
medium. The result? Students will
ultimately be able to create new artistic
possibilities and new forms of art making.
With respect to the more popular pro-
grams at the museum, all of the school's
programs are popular at the school – but
the Diploma program, in particular, at-
tracts quite a bit of interest. This Diploma
program is one of the nation's oldest
programs with an intensive, all-elective
curriculum. Students like this program as
they can practice one discipline or several.
Further, art students can adapt their
course of study as their art practice
develops or concepts shift.
Los Angeles
Recording School
The Los Angeles Recording School's
curriculum covers all phases of recording,
music and post-production one-year
programs. Students also have the option to
further their training by partaking in a Pro
Tools certification program. The school
prides itself in taking a "hands-on"
approach with its students. For instance,
in the Recording Engineer Program,
students receive audio production training
in professional-quality audio production
environments – in which they use digital
systems, large-format mixing consoles and
more. The faculty at the school consists of
professional recording engineers who
teach recording, mixing and optimizing
audio for music, movies, television,
computer games and the Internet. Alumni
have garnered Grammy awards and
nominations, engineered multi-platinum
albums, and worked with artists including
the Black Eyed Peas, Mary J. Blige,
Coldplay, Sheryl Crow, Eminem, Shakira,
Seal, Justin Timberlake and Kanye West.
Full Sail Real
World Education
Orlando-based Full Sail Real World
Education offers more than 10 degree
programs and three online degree
programs. The institution boasts many
popular creative programs with Game
Development, Film, Recording Arts and
Entertainment Business being among the
most popular. The school focuses on
students wishing to launch a career in the
entertainment industry. On-campus
students experience a real world education
with a professional class structure of eight
to 12 hours a day. Its unique learning
environment earned Full Sail the "Most
Innovative Program Award" by the Florida
Association of Postsecondary Schools
and Colleges. Additionally, Full Sail
provides students with cutting-edge gear
and equipment in world-class facilities and
studios. Students receive an Apple
MacBook Pro laptop computer loaded with
program-specific professional software.
Numerous Full Sail graduates have gone on
to work on Oscar, Emmy and Grammy-
winning projects, best-selling video games,
and popular concert tours.
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago is another
unique creative school of higher learning.
The renowned school offers a great variety
of courses and students can choose
exactly which courses they wish to
undertake. Students enrolled in graduate
programs at the school are encouraged to
experiment across various art disciplines.
As such, graduate students take advantage
by crossing disciplines in art making,
designing, art historical research, critical
thinking, and writing. Further, graduate
students participate in seminars that
discuss contemporary issues existing
among the various art disciplines – thus
students develop exceptional critical
thinking skills. The school also has a strong
commitment to Apple-based products as
departments and programs (from Art
Therapy to Writing) use Mac systems and
applications as a core foundation to
support students' creative process.
WORDS BY LARISA REDINS
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS FULL SAIL REAL WORLD EDUCATION ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO
