#Grad School Discussion

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

stone anchor
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So deciding what program you want: Take some time to look at the curricula, and decide what kind of program you want and what degree you want. Where do you want to go after?

As a rule, two year programs are usually more intensive than one-year, but it's up to you to ascertain what skills you already have and how long of an education you can afford/want.

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I have a bunch of friends who went to CMU and do want to warn you the atmosphere there can also be very competitive (same with Brandcenter), so take that into account with where you decide to go as well.

grand valve
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hmmmm interesting, the only appeal of 2 year program for me is that i am an international applicant so it would require me a longer time to make connections settle down and look for jobs, because i would need to find a job in a 3 months durations right after graduating. with one year worrying about a job would come up very early.

stone anchor
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Yeah, I don't know if the extra time to make connections is the boon here since you'll spend a bunch of that studying. I'd make sure with two year you have some financial stability since education in the US is very pricey and puts a good chunk of us in debt for decades.

grand valve
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yesss that too

stone anchor
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and most international students don't qualify for scholarships for Master's (as in the university doesn't offer scholarships for international students)

grand valve
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true 😦

stone anchor
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yeah...american has a really sucky way of education and money that way :S

grand valve
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do you have an idea regarding portfolio?

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what sort of portfolios do design schools look for and how are they different from job portfolios?

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for schools they do prefer pdf versions

stone anchor
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It depends on the school; each school has different requirements. In general you'll want:

  • a web AND PDF portfolio
  • 3-5 pieces, no more than 15 pages total
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job portfolios will be looking for specific requirements; like a bank will be looking for data and fintech design work/research

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a grad school entrance portfolio can be more generalized and broad.

grand valve
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ooooohhhh

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15 pages is less in my mind, because we would have to present case studies in detail?

stone anchor
# grand valve ooooohhhh

not really. can do five pages each if it's ux case studies. Remember that they have hundreds of applications to plow through. Keep it brief and to the point

grand valve
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do you think making a portfolio on canva is alright? for the pdf one? (as it needs to include visuals as well)

grand valve
stone anchor
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but also remember that they don't need to be ux case studies, can be writing samples, graphic design projects, etc

stone anchor
grand valve
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oh no worries ... (its actually a very dumb questions)

grand valve
boreal bramble
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this thread is very helpful,as I'm planning for my MS in HCI in US too! I had the same questions regarding portfolio! Thanks

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These are my target Universities

unknown.png
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Does anyone know how is California State University, East Bay for HCI program? I have 1 year of experience in Graphic Design and now I'm looking for UX internships. And side by side doing a course from Uni of Michigan (Coursera) UX Specialization. Will GD and UX work be okay to include in my portfolio for my application?

stone anchor
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Haven't been to east Bay, but in general there is a list of requirements re: portfolio for each uni on their admissions page. They want to see how your mind works and barring maybe GT, they don't expect you to have full UX case studies, maybe UI work. Just go into detail about your thought process

boreal bramble
stone anchor
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Georgia Tech, sorry. And GD thought process can be like, a brief explanation of what you did and why. Doesn't have to be pages of text.

boreal bramble
stone anchor
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How did you make the design decisions you made? What was the goal of the project? Maybe like, three sentences tops. If you'd like, I can DM you the design portfolio that got me into DePaul

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(which was all just GD work)

boreal bramble
stone anchor
boreal bramble