The Painfully Real Life Of An Up And Coming Art Student

Some people think that being an art major will be all fun and games. There will be no tests, no homework, and no stress. Those people could not be further from the truth. As a current art student myself, I can say it is like no other major but that does not mean it is easy. Here is the real life of an art student.

1. Long classes

Since art classes are almost entirely hands on classes, you can expect to be spending almost three times the amount of time for a regular class in the classroom. One studio class is about 6 hours a week. You will be taking three studios a semester. That means you will have 18 hours of class time a week just for your three studios and that is not including your other core classes.

2. Out of class time

On top of your 18 hours a week of studio class time, you will have an additional 6 hours a week of out of class work. The kind of assignments you will be doing as an art student will take much longer than a typical class assignment. These project can last longer than a month and demand a lot of time in and out of the classroom.

3. Critiques

Instead of tests to determine your knowledge of the material, you will have critiques. This is where you and all the students in the class will present your work for a particular project and get feedback from your professor and fellow students. These critiques can last three hours and may even go over to the next class time. These critiques are very important because there may only be two per semester and they will be your only grades.

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4. Supplies

You may think you’ve gotten lucky by not having to buy expensive textbooks every semester. However, you will have to buy art supplies for your classes. Your professor will give you a list of required materials for the semester and expect that you purchase all of them. These supplies can be quite expensive and can range anywhere from 200 to 500 dollars.

5. Attendance

Another misconception about art classes is there policy on attendance. Some people think that being an art student means having classes that are laid back and come and go as you please. However, due to the hands on nature of these classes, the attendance policy will be very strict. Most art classes will only allow you to miss two classes before your grade starts to decrease.

Are you an art student and how accurate are these signs to you? Tell us what you think in the comments below!

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