How do you choose a computer graphics school?

tommyiommy

How do you choose a computer graphics school?
Wich ones are the best cg schools in the world? And why?
Are there any very good cg schools in Europe or if you're a EU citizen should you move to U.S.A., Canada, Singapore, etc. or should you take online courses? 

Brian "Panda" Choi

I'm mum on Europe's university situations for this.  Anyone else have a better handle on it?

Joost

I didn't go there but I hear this is a fantastic uni in Belgium and you'd save yourself a ton of debt. http://www.digitalartsandentertainment.com/
If you live in the "EEA" tuiton is just 890 Euros per year. http://www.digitalartsandentertainment.be/page/81/Tuition+fee

This one also comes to mind but it's in the UK so you'd pay significantly more for tuition. http://polycount.com/discussion/68766/games-art-course-at-the-university-of-hertfordshire/p1 Tuition is £9000 per year for EU students and £11.500 for international students.

Whether or not you should go to university is a whole different story. To put it bluntly, if you're not already involved with game art in some way you shouldn't even be thinking of it as a possible career. 

If you're already actively creating game art and you have a decent mastery of it you might be better off staying home and further developing your skills and portfolio by yourself.

Eric Chadwick

Education In The Games Industry: Yes or No?
also
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Game_Industry

Amaury

I don't know about schools other than France, Supinfocom in Valenciennes is quite reputed, New3dge recently in Paris seems cool too. Lots of teachers whose names are well known in the community. Sometimes I get to talk to students from various schools in France and basically nobody got in a perfect school. They all have their pros and cons. However... Some are definitely better than others.

Meet them at an open house, look at pictures, see if the environment and gear look ok.  You don't want to throw away massive amounts of cash and never understand how it got spent by the school.
Type in the name on google to find out about testimony. Check out their website. Does it look pro ? Most important : Is the student work gallery up to par with the industry standards ? Consider  it as the best they can show. Do they have good relationships with studios and professionnals ? Do students find work after they graduate ?

Knowing about 3D before entering a school is a good advantage as it's much easier to judge if you're going to develop your skills well in that school. There's nothing worse than advancing at a faster pace yourself and basically being forced to go every morning waste your time and money when you know you'd learn exactly what you want FAST at home. Because you didn't know when you entered and thought that it was all nice and pink. I'm not saying that every school suck but you should choose wisely what is best for your career plans.

Joost is right, if you are passionate and can handle working your ass off at home with tutorials and polycount's community feedback among others, school might not be the best option. Depends on the school itself actually.

Kwramm

get a degree if you're in the EU

* Many degrees in Europe are very cheap or even free, especially in non English speaking countries. Take advantage of this! If you look at the rest of the world, what we have is a rare luxury.
* Want to work at a big studio in the US or Canada? A degree will help a lot.
* How many years do you have to retirement? Can you imagine doing the same for all this time, or do you think that, maybe in 30 years from now, you may want to do something different. A degree keeps you options open to advance your job, change careers, etc. Maybe at 20 this doesn't sound important, but at 35 or 40 it may turn out to be a good investment. Also, keep in mind, the industry changes too!
* With the Brexit looming and nationalist parties getting elected, I wouldn't be surprised if the regional job markets get more restricted. People who'll suffer will be the degree less. Maybe it won't happen right away, but maybe in 10 - 15 years? I wouldn't rule it out.

The main advantage of a degree lies in the long term.
Short term you can just work your ass off on some tutorials (*) and have a lot of success with it and even beat some of the college kids to a job.

(*) You often hear this advice from people who paid tons of money for their education - i.e. Americans. They're absolutely right. For the sort of money they pay it's better to just do tutorials. But in the EU the picture may be different, depending on the uni you're looking at.

lefix

I also think people are also too obsessed with efficiency. Sure, you could probably learn faster and cheaper on your own. And I am not sure I would want to spend the kind of money american colleges ask for. But by going to school you are likely to have some of the best years of your life, together with likeminded people.

BlakeP

In the age of the Internet, access to anything you want to learn is readily available for free online. However, it can take much longer to teach yourself things this way, because you must locate the information yourself and separate the quality data from inaccurate tutorials. If you want to do freelance work, it’s entirely possible to teach yourself what you need to know. The websites that you create can be listed together and used as a portfolio to lure in potential clients. Is foregoing a computer graphics school a good idea, however? That’s questionable. Degrees from computer graphics schools will give freelancers the right educational background to get the job done right. In addition, the credentials you’ll be sporting after you graduate will attract potential clients in much greater numbers than a resume full of links to all of the online videos that you’ve watched. On the other hand, if you’re seeking a career in computer graphics with a company, you might as well assume you will need a degree in your field. In general, there are hardly ever exceptions to this rule. Very few companies will hire you based on what you “know” when there are so many other candidates with the educational goods to back it up. If you want to work for a computer graphics firm, it’s in your best interest to seek out computer graphics schools to make that dream a reality. Ultimately, the decision of whether to enroll in a computer graphics school is up to you, however. Weigh your options carefully, and make sure that the field you choose is one you’ll be happy working in for the rest of your life.

Joost

BlakeP said:

Very few companies will hire you based on what you “know” when there are so many other candidates with the educational goods to back it up. If you want to work for a computer graphics firm, it’s in your best interest to seek out computer graphics schools to make that dream a reality. Ultimately, the decision of whether to enroll in a computer graphics school is up to you, however. Weigh your options carefully, and make sure that the field you choose is one you’ll be happy working in for the rest of your life.

I dropped out of High school and never went to uni.
Out of 5 interviews I've been to, including the one that led to my last job I was only asked about my educational background once. And in that case the guy interviewing me actually saw it as a positive that I never went to uni. Because it shows you're driven and independent. Independence is extremely important for game artists.
Having said that, I've met a lot of people who wouldn't be in the industry had they not gone to university. I would definitely have a much better and more prolific portfolio and I'd probably have a significantly easier time finding work because of this (not because of the degree itself!) But I'd also still be at uni right now if I had gone. 

Not having a degree might fuck me over later in life but I've come this far so I hope it will never be an issue. 

Personally I think if you're driven enough you'll be successful no matter what you choose. Conversely, if you're not driven you will most likely fail either way. 

JacqueChoi

My 6th year teaching, and I've noticed a really significant trend:
I've noticed that classes that have a great dynamic within the students tend to collectively push each other to be better.


I've had some classes that were cream and others that were crap.
I've seen talented students dragged down by their peers, and mediocre students pushed to become amazing.


If there's any advice for schools to choose; look up their faculty, and find ones that have alumni that have worked in the industry.

ambelamba

 Because of my choice of software, I pretty much have to teach myself all the way through. And even if I chose industry standard software, schools are nasty expensive for me. And my family won't cough up the money although they are capable of doing that.