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the mfa vs studio potters,and why these lines need to be crossed

updated sun 24 oct 04

 

PurpleLama@AOL.COM on fri 22 oct 04

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>I appreciate much of your post, but I do not see the problem. Ohio
>University, University of Pennsylvania . . .

Vince,

When you referred to "universities that support the objectives of potters and utilitarian ceramics," did you really mean my alma mater, The University of Pennsylvania (Ivy League, $$$ tuition, etc. in Philadelphia) or did you mean Penn State (in State College, PA)? If you did mean Penn, it boggles my mind to think about the debt incurred to get the MFA. I was able to pay off my student loans after receiving an MBA from Penn (the Wharton school), but I can't imagine a potter easily paying off the cost of an MFA from Penn.

Shula
in Philadelphia, PA
back to accumulating more student loans as I get a BSN!

Richard Aerni on sat 23 oct 04

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On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 23:13:09 -0400, Vince Pitelka wrote:

>>I appreciate much of your post, but I do not see the problem. Ohio
>>University, University of Pennsylvania . . .

Hi Vince,
I also wondered big time when I saw that Penn had gotten into crafts big
time. When I was there, more than thirty years ago, the Fine Arts
undergrad major was mostly peopled by folks who'd been washed out of the
Architecture Dept. I wasn't aware that they even offered an MFA in
ceramics. To my knowledge, the only ceramics in evidence there (other than
in the Archaeology Museum) was in a small co-op located off of Locust Walk.
But then, times change, and so do institutions.
What's more, the tuition was ruinous in the late 60s, early 70s. It must
be in the 30-40 K per year range right now. That's a lot of money for an
Ivy League degree in ceramics.
Richard Aerni
Rochester, NY