Many aspiring students check out the New York Institute of Art and Design, find a course that covers all the topics they’d like to learn, but then find themselves wondering what it’s really like to study a creative subject online.
We often receive questions about how the courses work, how our students interact with their instructors, or how things like projects are submitted and graded. If you’re feeling unsure about what it’s like to be an online art student, here’s a helpful breakdown of how it all works.
How Do You Get Started?
For one, you can enroll in any one of NYIAD’s courses at any time of the year. Unlike traditional schools, we have no start dates, no semesters and no set class times. We understand that many of our students have scheduling obligations- many work full time, have families to take care of, and have other responsibilities that they cannot put on hold in order to commute to a campus or be at any given place at a set time.
That's why all of our courses are entirely self-paced. You can get started whenever you’re ready, and work at whatever speed best suits you. Although our courses take about 6-8 months to complete on average, we give all NYIAD students 18 months to finish at whatever pace they are most comfortable working at.
Where Do You Access Your Course?
Once you officially enroll as an NYIAD student, you will receive an email that includes all your login information to access your course. Once you click that link, you’ll access the NYIAD Online Learning Center. This is where you will login to work on your course, view your progress, chat in the student forum, shop student discounts and benefits- everything you need to complete your course can be found in the Online Learning Center. And since the course is entirely online, you can login and access your course materials from any internet-connected device - computers, tablets, and smartphones, and from anywhere in the world, as long as you have access to the internet.
What Is The Course Itself Like?
Your course caters to all types of learning styles- so whether you prefer to read, watch video tutorials, or listen to audio lessons, you can find your learning needs met as you work your way through your program. Every one of our courses includes video, audio, and text lessons that you can review at your own pace. And when you’re ready to get hands on, at the end of each unit you will have the opportunity to complete a project. In her article about NYIAD’s online interior design course, NYC lifestyle blogger Jacqueline Clair shares:
“At the end of each Unit, after you’ve gone through all of the topics, you do a project. You mail the project in to the school, and they mail it back to you with a grade and audio feedback. The audio feedback is a recording of your teacher, who has your work in front of you, and she talks to you as she goes over it, offering critiques and insight on how you did. That part is pretty cool, I have to say – it makes it feel totally personalized and it’s great to know an actual person is sitting down with your project.”
Want to Learn More?
If pursuing a creative career is something you’re interested in and you like the idea of being able to learn online, you can check out all of NYIAD’s online art and design course offerings by clicking that link. If you have any questions, feel free to email [email protected] or call 1-800-583-1742 for clarification.
