Not what I signed up for

Did you look into the program with concerns to ecological restoration curriculum before you started? Most LA schools will not give you a good specialized education in that, and it seems like you have an aversion to the real fundamentals of the profession. If you think it is bad now, just wait until you get into a studio. LA is mostly about design, with ecology being just one of many components. You have to know how to express your ideas visually, and that means A LOT of drawing and CAD work. Summer courses are also very intense as a result of the condensed timeframe; you take a 14 week semester and cram it into 6 weeks. It sounds like you would probably be better off taking one of the environmental science degree programs. If you are in a 3 year MLA, you have a LOT crammed in to that three years, so you just get a taste of things, and a disproportionate amount of that time is spent learning the tools (all of the computer stuff) rather than PROPER design, ecology, environmental psychology and real-world office preparation like detailing and management.

I had just the opposite experience in grad school; they focused too much on the fundamentals for someone already with an LA degree and 10yrs+ in practice. It was just a repeat of my BLA where I was more like an unpaid TA than really learning all that much.  

It does sound like you’re not getting a good introduction. I remember doing a lot of the same things you describe, but we got some introduction to drafting, etc. I’d say stay for the rest of the summer, then, if you aren’t getting what you want out of the program, switch to another school. If you do stay, but want a better introduction, try taking graphics courses in other departments like engineering, architecture or art.

Hello Leslie B:

First up, I would defer to Jason R  and Roland G.. as your counselors in this matter. I am not volunteering them  here. But, both do  have real world and recent  experience in the graduate school experience and have posted well-writtten and expressed pieces about what each went through. Your currrent experience and theirs might be completely different, but they probably have more in common than either of you think.

Having said that, you put down a lot here. I will comment on a few important points. You are being challenged, in a very intense and focused way, to quickly establish and develop a strongly “design” influenced and oriented ability and viewpoint. There is a lot of merit in that. You also need to be prepared for being interrogated  on what process or inspiration you used or were influenced by that informed what ever you came up with. Sketch expression or in the digital form, it is all the same.

I am not going to assess your previous background or preparation for this profession. Jason R’s comments are far more valuable than mine. What I will say, is again, your being challenged, in a focused and time intensive situation. If you make it into the real world, that world is no different. So, despite what your protestations may be, this is good preparation for the real world.

I suspect your at the University of Georgia, but I really have no idea and no preconceptions about the program there. My concluding suggestion is this. Gut it out, go through the summer, and see where you at when September rolls around. Flipping to another graduate school for the sake of finding a program that is more responsive to what you thought it would be, is an expensive and dislocating proposition.

I have been very clear here  before on the employment prospects in our profession here. You need to get extremely real and fast with this prognosis. If you complete your graduate program, you will be entering the job market at a time when, if everything locks in and meshes in your favor, the job market will be on the BEGINNING of an upswing. That is the optimistic outlook.

I fundamentally believe in the value and purpose of this profession and so should you. I am also trying here to give you a reality check.

I wonder if a BLA would not be better both to give you the foundation to learn on and I’m not so sure that it won’t better prepare you to do wht you want to do. The words “Master’s Degree” seem to be a major sales ploy in universities these days. Some are phasing out having undergrad LA degrees accredited in order to keep students in school longer (am I right Roland?).

They break everyone down like they are two year olds when teaching basic design classes in under grad, at least they did in the early 80’s and still in the mid 90’s. I was not an artsy person either, but they taught me what I needed to balance me out. It was not fun, but the artsy people suffered through grading and drainage in the same way as I was enjoying it.

This profession is tough because it is a blend of left brain – right brain. I don’t think anyone can jump into without getting ALL the basics broken down and re-built so that you get that balance. I don’t have a MLA and never took the classes, so I don’t know. But, it seems to me that if you don’t have the basic foundation and the rigors of studio for a few years it will be hard to be competitive.

Can you blow out a BLA in the same time frame instead?

My BSLA program also went from the ethereal to the downright tedious.  You may get a clearer picture by looking at/talking with the folks who are in the years ahead of you. 

Your entry reminded me of the feelings I had pretty much all the way through school!  With hindsight, I realize that I didn’t know enough then to know what I needed to know.  Was some of what I was taught useless to me?  Absolutely, but some of the stuff I thought was useless at the time was invaluable.

Hmm. I think I could do a better job teaching that stuff if they are as you described.  However, it seems like a lot of design programs are like that.  You go in expecting to be told what to do and then you’re just told to go do it, then bring it in for critique.  That can be rather nerve-wracking, especially if you’re not used to criticism.  I know there were some times when I got fed up with it.  Some dropped out of my program because of what they perceived as unfair criticism.  I heard something similar from someone who went for fashion design.  You’re expected to already have an interest in fashion and be able to present ideas.  The teachers consider themselves to be there to develop your design skills.  It can help to have some kind of design or art background before you go into it.

What do you hope to get out of it?  These skills aren’t very marketable these days.  I certainly wouldn’t go back for a grad program unless I was independently wealthy.  On second thought, if I was doing it for fun and wasn’t concerned about the investment value, I’d do a film or acting program.