Offer for a Place!

[KarolinaMoon]

I posted recently about the advantages and disadvantages of doing a degree in applied arts....
well I have been offered a place on the degree course for contemporary applied arts....
and I am in two minds whether or not to do it...but swaying more towards doing it at moment! I only have a week left to decide! It is a part time course, and I would have to keep my 3 day job on. Plus I would be a 'mature student' (eeekkkkk!!). It would mean a hell of alot of juggling between my day job, study and caring for my 20 month old daughter!

So confused about what to do, but now that I have the offer I am very very tempted to give it a go!

[madsally]

I have a degree in Contemporary Applied Arts, which I graduated from 3 years ago. I went there as a sculptor, and came out as a metalsmith. Whether or not it's the right route for you depends on what you want to get out of it, I guess. Personally I got frustrated with the lack of direct teaching, and I feel like I've learned more since I left than when I was there. But it is a great opportunity to take the pressure off making to sell, and having a chance to play. On an Applied Arts course, they encourage you to experiment with all different materials, and you can end up discovering something you didn't know existed, and it certainly gave me a base knowledge of lots of different processes. It could be said that it's a waste to go into it being set on one type of art, say metalwork, but if you're open to trying new things and seeing where they lead, it can be great.

Of course it all massively hinges on the individual course, establishment, facilities and staff. And you certainly get out what you put in.

Good luck, whatever you decide!

[Nyc]

I tossed a coin for you. It landed heads up, so it's a 'go'. Could be life changing.

If things get out of shape you can always stop and get a partial refund (make sure you know the cut-off dates and percent refund you can get).

[pearlescence]

Young students will probably be in the minority when you get there - mature returners are in the majority on many courses these days, especially part time ones.
If you are worried about the juggling, get your toddler down for childcare at the univ - you will have priority for a place and remember you only have to attend during terms not holidays. Do try to attend when you should though - once you start skipping attendance it is hard to pull back momentum,
University isn't necessarily about shoving a certain package of factual information into your head, it is much more about growth in knowledge as well as personal growth, and stuff like self discipline.
If the university didn't think you were up to it they would not offer a place. They really do not want you to drop out either because that leaves a hole in the course for the full five (?) years.
I was a mature student who ended up (much to my surprise) lecturing in the subject. I never expected that.

[Patstone]

What an opportunity, go for it while you have the chance.

[KarolinaMoon]

The course will be 6 years part time (3 years full time), but I am looking into seeing how I can go about doing it in a shorter space of time. I am going to accept the offer!!!

[medusa]

remember you only have to attend during terms not holidays.

yeah, but you don't get half-term off which can be a problem with school-age children.

I'm (finally) in the home run of a 10 year career as a student which has included a few years of lecturing on a vocational degree when I was doing post-grad study and I am consequently a bit exhausted with it all, so my perspective is a tad jaundiced.

I think it is worth weighing up the financial costs of going the academic route as opposed to the practice route. 6 years of fees at £2.5-£4.5k per annum plus loss of earnings, could buy a lot of personal tuition/training and/or equipment for self-employment start up.

A degree by nature, even an applied arts one, has an academic component. You will need to research and write essays to a good standard. This is great if you are naturally a bit bookish and enjoy writing, but if you are more practice orientated it can be frustrating and can become difficult. Despite media reports of the academy 'dumbing down', it is still a huge demand on time and if the course is a good one (and there is no point if it's a mediocre one), then the staff will be on your back to hand in and get your grades up on the academic side

Part time degrees are not neatly compartmented. You ~will~ spend more than half your time working on this. They should more accurately be called ⅔ time degrees.

What kind of contact time will you have with your lecturers? If it is 10 minutes of attention per day in a workshop, is that going to be valuable to you? What will the non-workshop time consist of and what is the ratio?

What is the caliber of lecturers and support/technical staff? Are you going to be paying out for uninspiring and mediocre teaching or do the lecturers inspire you?

Do you want to break new ground design-wise or improve and perfect skills? Will you be able to make use of the networking opportunities that arise if you have to do paid work and look after kids?

Finally can you actually sustain 6 years of study plus working? The drop out rate for part time students is pretty high for a reason. It's hard to maintain work/life/study balance and the thing which costs the most and is least urgent tends to get dropped. I can't recall if you said if you already had a degree, but if you haven't, then financially and practically it would make sense to do it full-time if you really think that this degree will be beneficial to you.

The plus side is that you will have opportunities to make some amazing and useful contacts and you will get a good grounding in business set up and marketing etc and it could take your design into new and exciting areas. It could also be the springboard to an absolutely stellar career in jewellery design. I know there are people out there who didn't take the design degree route who are fabulous designers, but I think the kind of connections and opportunities a degree offers can accelerate that.
[/Eeyore]

[pearlescence]

While I can agree with some of what Medusa says
some universities have readings weeks which are posh academic half terms - or there will be care facilities for children (they want adult returners)
A degree is more than just learning a skill set - there is the demonstration of the self discipline needed to follow a course for six whole years which, if nothing else, demonstrates to anyone that you will stick and not bale when the going gets tough
An academic component with essays is another way to stretch your mind to new skills. Your tutor will help you if you are rusty or nervous - indeed many univs run courses for just such people
You will have access to great facilities
you will hopefully be encouraged to challenge yourself and expand your envelope
you will get letters after your name. no-one can take that away from you ever and it is a great example to set to your children - you all sit down to homework together! (mine used to come with me to the univ library on sunday mornings when I was researching my dissertation and do their homework)

[medusa]

Well I ~did~ say my view is jaundiced! and as an avowed academic (I can't recall the last time I read a non-academic book) who started in my mid 30s I do appreciate the benefits of academia and I actually really enjoy academic writing. But, as a lecturer and post grad/doctoral student, I have also seen countless students saddled with debt and full of regret. The university system is rapidly undergoing huge changes, much of which are detrimental to students and staff alike.

I don't know anyone who is studying at the moment (including a large number of arts students, not just those from my own field) who are satisfied with their courses and feeling they are getting any benefit, which is why it is important to carefully weigh up the decision and consider the alternatives. I was hugely disappointed when my own children decided against HE four years ago. I think they made the right choice, at least for the time being.

[pearlescence]

Well, I baled out some years ago now. I got totally disillusioned with the way students of my subject (law) simply wanted me to photocopy model answers for them and shoals of them would spout forth what they thought I would ask in an exam rather than actually answer the questions I had asked.
Teaching to the test kills any depth or understanding of subject and curiosity. It is indeed sad. Much of the blame goes to league tables which started with the Times univ guide which is a load of rubbish. In some ways a univ is measured by how few firsts it awards, not how many it splatters about like old chip papers.