So You Want To Be An Art Therapist?

The purpose of this blog and my senior project is to look at educational opportunities after undergraduate degrees. I find many art and psychology students graduate unaware of what ways to continue their education, what career opportunities there are and what types of jobs are available with specific Master degrees. Here we look at Art and Psychology Master programs separately and together. Whether you are an art student or a psychology student or art and psychology interdisciplinary, it is vital to keep your future education and careers in mind!

What comes first?

RESEARCH/KNOWLEDGE OF CAREERS (Masters programs)

• Art
  • -Career opportunities and schools for Masters of Fine Arts.
• Psychology
  • -Career opportunities and schools for Masters in Psychology
• Art and Psychology
  • -Career opportunities and AATA (American Art Therapy Association) accredited institutions

FINDING AN INSTITUION THAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU

• Graduate programs I am interested in and differences in the programs
• Emailing schools with questions

APPLICATION PROCESS

• Creating Art for portfolio submission
• Finding yourself as an artist
• Writing essays for application
• Acquiring recommendations
• Creating a resume or CV
• Volunteer

ART

Popular possible M.F.A’s in art are:

Theater Art
Drama
Design
Graphic Design
Creative Writing
Film Making
Art History
and Studio Art
Which includes ceramics, photography, painting, design, graphic design, screen printing/print making, sculpture and illustration.

Over all, top 5 M.F.A programs in the United States are at Yale University, Rhode Island School of Design, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, University of California Los Angeles, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Ratings are from U.S. News and Report Ratings, found here: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-fine-arts-schools/fine-arts-rankings

Theater and Drama schools come with all different specializations like playwriting, directing, or theatre education. Naropa University has a theater: contemporary performance Masters program, University California, San Diego, University of Wisconsin and Emerson College all have a respectable theatre programs. Columbia College Chicago and Goddard College both offer interdisciplinary art masters programs relating to theater and drama.

Art history Masters programs are fairly common. Some schools are Pratt Institute, Columbia University in New York, University of Pennsylvania and University of Florida. Art history careers usually are in museums, but can be art historian or art critic.

Most popular creative writing careers include being a novelist, poet, playwright, journalist, biographer, proofreader, or English teacher. Schools with creative writing masters programs include School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia University in New York, NY, Arizona State University, and Indiana University in Bloomington.

Design and Graphic Design programs are also easy to find. Top graduate design programs are Rhode Island School of Design, Pratt Institute, Art Center College of Design, and California College of the Arts. Career options for graphic design include designing for private companies, senior designer, or creative directors.

Film careers are mainly in two categories, film production and film studies or cinema studies. Film production career options usually include film director, film editor, screen writer, cinematographer, lighting and sound experts. Film studies careers can be film critics, film historians, film teachers or film exhibitors. Top schools for film are University of California, LA, New York University in New York, NY, Boston University, and Columbia University.

Some schools offer Studio Art as a masters title but usually will be titled under that specific medium. Best ceramic schools are Alfred University, Cranbrook Academy of Art,  and Rhode Island School of Design. Some good photography graduate programs to look into are Yale University, School of the Art institute of Chicago, Rhode Island School of Design and California Institute of the Arts. Top schools for painting and drawing are Yale University, Rhode Island School of Design, Columbia University and School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Good schools to study sculpture is Virginia Commonwealth University, Yale University and University of California, LA. Some highly rated institutions for printmaking/screen printing are Rhode Island School of Design, University of Wisconsin in Madison, University of Tennessee in Knoxville and University of Iowa. Some Illustration schools are Massachusetts College of Art and Design, California College of the Arts and Suffolk University.

Careers that come of a MFA in studio art are usually either being a visual artist, or an art educator. A lot of “artist” artists work freelance jobs. Photography careers can be freelance, but photographers can also work for private owned companies or larger corporations like magazines or catalogs. Although, graphic design students and Illustrators often work with corporations, and students in film making are more likely to work in film and theater/drama students in theater. Art history careers usually are in museums or gallery work, but can also lead to an art historian or art critic. Most popular illustration careers are advertising illustrators or children’s book artists or graphic novelist, but I have met some freelance illustration and graphic artists. In recent years, art degress awarded to students have increased (Americans for the Arts, 2012). But don’t worry about being a starving artist, in a survey by SNAAP (2013) they found that unemployment for students with art masters was less than half of the national unemployment rate for all Americans.

 

PSYCHOLOGY

Popular Psychology Masters programs are lists as:

Clinical/counseling
-Marital and Family, Educational, child counseling
Developmental Psychology
-Usually called child and adolescent psychology
Organizational/Industrial Psychology
Forensic Psychology
Health Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive Neuroscience
-Also called neuropsychology in some programs
Behavioral Psychology
Social Work
Experimental Psychology

*Most specializations you can receive with these degrees are in child counseling, health psychology, school psychology, developmental and social psychology.

Top ranked Psychology schools in the U.S. are Stanford University, University of California Berkeley, University of California Los Angeles, Harvard University, University of Michigan Ann Harbor and Yale University. All very prestigious schools, but educational success in the field of psychology is not limited to theses schools and programs. These rankings are from U.S. News and Report Ratings, found here: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/psychology-rankings

Forensic Psychology: A master’s degree option in this field may be offered as a stand-alone program, or students may elect to complete a program in counseling psychology with a focus on forensic psychology. Forensic psychology graduate programs have the advantage of providing students with specialized coursework in their field of interest. Topics may include psychology in the criminal justice system, investigative techniques and criminal ethics. However, these highly specialized programs are not as widely available as counseling psychology programs, many of which offer students the flexibility of independent study and research to tailor their curriculum. School for forensic psychology is often taught by low professionals as well as psychologists which is something to keep in mind when looking for graduate programs. Institutions with forensic psychology programs are Capella University, CUNY John Jay College Criminal Justice, University of Denver, Roger Williams University, Marymount University and Prarie View A & M University. Information copied from: http://education-portal.com/forensic_psychology_graduate_schools.html

Cognitive Psychology: Top cognitive psychology graduate programs are Stanford University, Harvard University, University of California-San Diego, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign and Carnegie Mellon University. Info From U.S. News located here: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/cognitive-psychology-rankings

Cognitive Neuroscience: The most popular cognitive neuroscience programs are offered at Colorado University-Boulder, and Duke Institute.

Clinical Counseling: Counseling is offered at many schools. Counseling jobs range from school counselors, academic counselors, marriage and family counselors, career counselors, substance abuse counselors, and mental health counselors. Top Masters counseling programs are University of Florida in Gainesville, Indiana University in Bloomington, Florida State University, and Idaho State University.

Clinical Psychology: Many Universities offer Clinical Psychology programs (Masters of Arts or Master of Science). It is important to choose a school in a state you want to be working in because that institution readies you to be licensed under that states requirements. Looking into Doctoral Degrees, A Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Clinical Psychology or a Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) degree program can take four to five years to complete, not including a mandatory one to two year full-time internship. Doctoral programs emphasize various types of research, including experimental and quantitative research. Students enrolled in doctoral programs may choose to concentrate in behavioral, biological, psychoanalytic or cognitive approaches to clinical psychology. Clinical Psychology schools with high student population are University of Central Florida, University of Texas at Austin, New York University, University of Washington-Seattle Campus. University of Houston.

Developmental Psychology: Top schools with programs for educational psychology are University of Minnesota-Twin cities, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Yale University in New Haven, and Bowie State University. Top Schools for child psychology are Harvard University, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Yale University in New Haven, Pennsylvania State University and Stanford University.

Social Psychology: Top schools for social psychology are the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Ohio State University in Columbus, Harvard University, and Princeton University to name a few. Information from Education Portal.com

Health Psychology: Health psychologist strive to understand how psychological, cultural and behavioral factors effect physical health and illness. Top three health psychology schools are Stanford University, University of California, Los Angeles, and University of Michigan in Dearborn. Other Highly rated institutions for health psychology are University of Wisconsin in Madison and California State University. This is a great website if you are interested in a career in social psychology: http://www.socialpsychology.org/facq.htm

Industrial/Organizational Psychology: When choosing a graduate program in industrial psychology, prospective students may want to consider the opportunities for relevant laboratory and field research offered by a school. Top programs are at Michigan State University, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Blowing Green State University and University of South Florida. This information found here: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/industrial-organizational-psychology-rankings

Careers. Most psychology degrees allow you to work in health facilities, schools and the government. Clinical/Counseling Jobs are usually in school education, private practice, and larger institutions. Developmental jobs are usually in research and school psychology. Organizational/industrial psychology is the study of the workplace environment, organizations, and their employees. Organizational/industrial jobs are academic or private practice. Cognitive neuroscience careers are often in academics, private researching, and federal research organizations. Cognitive neuroscience is often combined with a medical degree of some sort. In most states, social work only requires a bachelors degree and is funded by the state. Jobs in Forensic psychology involve psychology in the criminal justice system, investigative techniques and criminal ethics. Experimental jobs are in research. To work as a licensed psychiatrist or therapist, a doctoral degree is required. Therapists then would study under a specific type of therapy of their interest such as, psychoanalytic, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive-behavioral, inter-personal, person-centered, Adlerian, etc. Some therapies are more effective than others in some cases. For example if you want to work patients of more severe mental illnesses, then psychoanalytic may be one way to go, as opposed to a humanistic direction, like person-centered therapy.

ART and PSYCHOLOGY

Masters in art and Psychology:

Art and Psychology -general or marital and family

-Or you can just get a specialization in Art Therapy

Art therapy jobs are usually private practice or for bigger health facilities like hospitals and nursing homes. With your art therapy license you can work with a wide range of people, children, elderly and seniors, families, and special needs individuals. Under the umbrella term art and psychology, you can get a masters in drama therapy, music therapy, movement therapy, etc.

Some of the top rated art therapy schools are New York University, which has been offering art therapy since 1950 and is one of the first schools to gain approval by the American Art Therapy Association (AATA). Second is George Washington University, also AATA certified and students can get a masters in art therapy and concentrate in trauma training, art therapy, or counseling. There is also Drexel University, Emporia State University and Florida State University. All are approved by the AATA and leave graduates eligible to receive their art therapy license. This information is from Education Portal, found here: http://education-portal.com/articles/Best_Art_Therapy_Schools_List_of_Top_US_Schools.html

An AMAZING website with AATA approved institutions is:

http://www.americanarttherapyassociation.org/aata-educational-programs.html

AND

Guide to Art Therapy Schools & Programs