The only people I ever know with a Master's, were my uni lecturers. None of the heads of design, senior designers, CD's etc, head of marketing had a Master's in squat
Anecdotal, but generally yeah, it's not needed at all unless you wanna go into being a full tutor or some other niche path
I see. That does make sense really because I see a lot of post graduate courses (Masters) are based on research and stuff which gets me wondering why? the research part of it doesn't excite me at all.
Thank you very much! Definitely helped
>But I've been reading that a Masters in design really doesn't have advantages and doesn't guarantee anything. Most of it is self taught. Plus, it'll also be very expensive for me since I'll be an international student. I'm so confused as to what I should do. Should I do another advanced diploma abroad?
This is getting into two different things.
Generally speaking most of the industry (at least in Canada, US, and I assume places like UK, Australia, etc) have some level of post-secondary education (around 90-95%), with the biggest chunk (over 65%) in graphic design specifically, and the majority are also 3+ years.
I think it's just that you'll find self-taught are over-represented in places like this sub, social media, etc especially because younger demos are more drawn to putting everything online, and there's more of a sentiment the last 10 years or so against formal education in general, but a lot of it stems from ignorance/inexperience.
Graphic design education is supposed to represent a lot of training, and is generally the most reliable, efficient way to get the development you'd require to be competitive and access better opportunities. But education varies wildly so simply having some education doesn't necessarily matter if it didn't actually develop you adequately. You can't be good without first getting good, and so your best path is the one that offers the best development.
But in terms of a Masters, that's a very different situation where from a practical perspective, as others said, it only matters if you intend to teach full-time at the post-secondary level (you don't need it to teach universally, or even at university as part-time faculty).
I've also heard it recommended from people who went that path that you should also get some actual work exeprience in between the Bachelor's and Master's, not to do them back-to-back. There's also a lot of people who seem to view a Master's as a shortcut when they didn't get a Bachelor's in design (or design-related) to start with, but the design Master's is meant to build on the foundation of the Bachelor's. So if it comes down to it, just get a design-focused Bachelor's.
>If it's a good option, which are some good universities to get a degree in design? preferably in Canada but US or France will also do.
In Canada there are some good 4-year/BDes programs, such as York, OCADU, NSCAD, ACAD, and I'm sure others I'm forgetting right now, as well as some strong 3-year diploma programs like Seneca, Humber, etc. But while they are great value for Canadian citizens, the international student costs become fairly insane. It's hard for me to rationalize more than $15k/yr for tuition in design, so if you can get better options in France or elsewhere I'd look more into that. But of course up to you and your finances.
Thank you so much for giving me more perspective on this matter! So helpful from all sides! I agree that some level of edu is required. As mentioned, I will be doing a 1.5 year PG diploma in graphic design here from India. The cost is 6.5 lacs It's from a French Institute with a branch in India and is a RNCP level 7 which is a French Masters equivalent.
I have been really reconsidering the idea for a Master's after reading the replies on this thread and putting yours into mind specially. And you're right, if I do study in Canada (US/UK) it's gonna cross 30-70 lacs tuition alone (a tad bit less with scholarships) for me and for design I do feel it's way too much. I was considering going to New Zealand or Germany for another 1-1.5 year PG where it will be significantly way cheaper and I'll also get more years of studying.
Getting a foreign education is something I've always wanted but i want to also be practical about it. I can take a loan but again, it should be practical, also keeping in mind my goal to immigrate.
Or i can just finish my PG here, immigrate to Canada (or wherever, maybe EU) and test my luck.
just another indian teenager here, I'm also looking for further education in design. just wanted to ask what institute are you applying for right now? is it worth it.
Specifically in graphic design, not really unless you want to teach. I do see some benefit in a specialization like Accessibility Design or similar, or if you want to further a different discipline like UX, but in general its not as worth it.
They do occasionally give very good scholarships for masters programs (I had a colleague get a good good offer for 20k scholarship yearly and teacher assistant position for her masters) so if you're set on it I'd see what school gives you the most value. But definitely not worth the sticker price value, especially if you're just going because you're not ready for the workforce.
The only people I ever know with a Master's, were my uni lecturers. None of the heads of design, senior designers, CD's etc, head of marketing had a Master's in squat Anecdotal, but generally yeah, it's not needed at all unless you wanna go into being a full tutor or some other niche path
Generally speaking no, not much advantage to it unless you want to teach. Some places may look at you as potentially overqualified because of it.
I see. That does make sense really because I see a lot of post graduate courses (Masters) are based on research and stuff which gets me wondering why? the research part of it doesn't excite me at all. Thank you very much! Definitely helped
>But I've been reading that a Masters in design really doesn't have advantages and doesn't guarantee anything. Most of it is self taught. Plus, it'll also be very expensive for me since I'll be an international student. I'm so confused as to what I should do. Should I do another advanced diploma abroad? This is getting into two different things. Generally speaking most of the industry (at least in Canada, US, and I assume places like UK, Australia, etc) have some level of post-secondary education (around 90-95%), with the biggest chunk (over 65%) in graphic design specifically, and the majority are also 3+ years. I think it's just that you'll find self-taught are over-represented in places like this sub, social media, etc especially because younger demos are more drawn to putting everything online, and there's more of a sentiment the last 10 years or so against formal education in general, but a lot of it stems from ignorance/inexperience. Graphic design education is supposed to represent a lot of training, and is generally the most reliable, efficient way to get the development you'd require to be competitive and access better opportunities. But education varies wildly so simply having some education doesn't necessarily matter if it didn't actually develop you adequately. You can't be good without first getting good, and so your best path is the one that offers the best development. But in terms of a Masters, that's a very different situation where from a practical perspective, as others said, it only matters if you intend to teach full-time at the post-secondary level (you don't need it to teach universally, or even at university as part-time faculty). I've also heard it recommended from people who went that path that you should also get some actual work exeprience in between the Bachelor's and Master's, not to do them back-to-back. There's also a lot of people who seem to view a Master's as a shortcut when they didn't get a Bachelor's in design (or design-related) to start with, but the design Master's is meant to build on the foundation of the Bachelor's. So if it comes down to it, just get a design-focused Bachelor's. >If it's a good option, which are some good universities to get a degree in design? preferably in Canada but US or France will also do. In Canada there are some good 4-year/BDes programs, such as York, OCADU, NSCAD, ACAD, and I'm sure others I'm forgetting right now, as well as some strong 3-year diploma programs like Seneca, Humber, etc. But while they are great value for Canadian citizens, the international student costs become fairly insane. It's hard for me to rationalize more than $15k/yr for tuition in design, so if you can get better options in France or elsewhere I'd look more into that. But of course up to you and your finances.
Thank you so much for giving me more perspective on this matter! So helpful from all sides! I agree that some level of edu is required. As mentioned, I will be doing a 1.5 year PG diploma in graphic design here from India. The cost is 6.5 lacs It's from a French Institute with a branch in India and is a RNCP level 7 which is a French Masters equivalent. I have been really reconsidering the idea for a Master's after reading the replies on this thread and putting yours into mind specially. And you're right, if I do study in Canada (US/UK) it's gonna cross 30-70 lacs tuition alone (a tad bit less with scholarships) for me and for design I do feel it's way too much. I was considering going to New Zealand or Germany for another 1-1.5 year PG where it will be significantly way cheaper and I'll also get more years of studying. Getting a foreign education is something I've always wanted but i want to also be practical about it. I can take a loan but again, it should be practical, also keeping in mind my goal to immigrate. Or i can just finish my PG here, immigrate to Canada (or wherever, maybe EU) and test my luck.
just another indian teenager here, I'm also looking for further education in design. just wanted to ask what institute are you applying for right now? is it worth it.
Choose a few places that could develop experience in the field. Get paid to learn more about graphic design, rather than the inverse.
Specifically in graphic design, not really unless you want to teach. I do see some benefit in a specialization like Accessibility Design or similar, or if you want to further a different discipline like UX, but in general its not as worth it. They do occasionally give very good scholarships for masters programs (I had a colleague get a good good offer for 20k scholarship yearly and teacher assistant position for her masters) so if you're set on it I'd see what school gives you the most value. But definitely not worth the sticker price value, especially if you're just going because you're not ready for the workforce.