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DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> Brooks Institute Reputation?
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 02/03/2009 01:48:45 PM · #1
After months of fruitless job searching, I've been thinking of going back to school for a master's in photography. The school I went to for my undergrad was mostly International Relations/politics students, so I really have no idea about the reputation of arts schools, especially those in the States.

The schools I've been looking at the most are the Academy of Art University in San Fran and the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara. I'm kinda leaning towards Brooks, but I'd never heard of the school until a month ago and my semi-arty friends have never heard of it either. The internet hasn't been much help in finding rankings of art schools either.

So what do you guys think of the Brooks Institute? Does it have a good reputation?
 02/03/2009 02:08:34 PM · #2
Brooks has an excellent reputation as a school for commercial photography. Not such a good reputation among the academic "art" crowd. What are you gonna use your degree *for*?

R.
 02/03/2009 02:15:53 PM · #3
I'd like to get my basic photographic skills down a bit better so I can do photojournalism/conflict photography (a la James Nachtwey if I may dream a bit).
 02/03/2009 02:21:13 PM · #4
I think you might be better off studying journalism with an emphasis on photojournalism. Check out the University of Missouri, they have a good rep for their PJ program.

Also, it's likely that you will need to complete most, if not all, of the requirements for an undergrad degree before moving into a masters program. Some schools may not require an undergrad degree, but they'll require evidence of some kind of equivalent level of competence.

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but that's been my experience when investigating grad schools.
 02/03/2009 02:33:37 PM · #5
I have a degree in International Communications with a focus in News Production and an emphasis in Digital Photography, which is a really long way of saying I basically have a Photojournalism BA. The problem with it was that it focused more on the "journalism" part than the "photo" part, which is why I've had hell trying to get a job at a newspaper despite the experience I have (like being the head official photographer for my school for over 2 years).

I was planning on getting a master's in photography while taking as many photojournalism classes as I can so that I'll have a wider base and therefore more options should a career in photojournalism not work out as well as I'd like.
 02/03/2009 03:15:43 PM · #6
Originally posted by geinafets:
I have a degree in International Communications with a focus in News Production and an emphasis in Digital Photography, which is a really long way of saying I basically have a Photojournalism BA. The problem with it was that it focused more on the "journalism" part than the "photo" part, which is why I've had hell trying to get a job at a newspaper despite the experience I have (like being the head official photographer for my school for over 2 years).

I was planning on getting a master's in photography while taking as many photojournalism classes as I can so that I'll have a wider base and therefore more options should a career in photojournalism not work out as well as I'd like.


Good luck, just be prepared.

I have a B.S. degree in Applied Art with a concentration in photography. Think of it as a degree in commercial photography.

When I applied to Masters programs, both fine art and PJ, almost without exception, I was told that I'd have to complete such a huge number of undergrad courses in residence that I'd just as well complete another UG degree
 02/14/2009 02:59:57 PM · #7
I am currently studying at AAU for the MFA in Photography, for three weeks now. I am taking two classes on campus this semester - history and concept. I am not sure where is your photography skills level, but I don't feel I am getting my money worth from the concept class.

It just happened that my instructor and all my classmates are either interested in Portraits, Fashion, Sports, Photojournalism or Travel, and I am interested in Still Life that I feel there is a disconnection between their photos and my photo. We spent a lot of time to talk about their photos but only a few words on mine.

We have done three assignments so far – Fear, Isolation, and Objective & Subjective. If you are interested to see what my classmates’ photos, you can check out my posts at //www.sabrinahuang.com/school-aau/ and judge it yourself (the bigger photo is mine, and the small one are my classmates and you can click on it to enlarge).

I don’t feel the level or qualities of students for Master program are equal. I don’t know if this is have to do with their enrollment policy because from what I heard is that you don’t need a portfolio to apply. My Graduate Admissions Advisor who process Graduate students’ applications told me that my portfolio was one of two best portfolios that he has seeing this year.

Now I am thinking maybe a Master program is not what I need because I don't really care a degree at this point if I am not advance my skills. Maybe you think three weeks is too short to judge but how deep do I need to go to make the call? I am taking out a student loan for the education and I am not sure I am getting what I want for the first semester. Would it be like this for next semester or next next semester? I don’t know.

I am looking at the Photography Residency program at Maine Media Workshop, which is a 12-week program that offers students the chance to design a sequence of workshops and master classes in areas of personal interest and wondering if that is what I need. Or the 20-week Career Training Program at Rocky Mountain School of Photography that offers a complete professional training curriculum.

I am not sure if this answer your questions. However, the school is not right for me doesn't mean is not right for you because you and I might looking for different things from school.

Message edited by author 2009-02-15 17:31:52.
 02/14/2009 03:03:48 PM · #8
From what I understand, Brooks has an intense program that will get you some nice connections in the commercial-photography industry. But they're not regionally accredited, which means you can't transfer their credits to any other schools, if that's a problem for you.
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