17/11/2009 | Creative Arts, Masters and PhD

Graduate Education in the Arts: creating a career path

Graduate students entertaining ideas of a career in film might want to direct their talents towards the Tisch School of the Arts in New York or to its newest campus in Singapore whose artistic director is a certain Oliver Stone.

If the thought of wearing a suit and tie to work in an office each day immediately squashes any creative thoughts you may be having, don’t despair. There are plenty more jobs out there for you that will foster the painter, journalist, musician or filmmaker within.

Ashish Ghadiali’s dream job is to be a feature film director, so he’s studying at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. “It’s a great film school,” he says. “In its 40-year history it has seen through filmmakers that have gone on to change the landscape of cinema – Martin Scorcese, Ang Lee, Spike Lee, Todd Solondz, the Cohen Brothers…the list goes on.”
NYU Tisch School of the Arts fosters creativity and entrepreneurial skills and is itself leading the way. In 2007, the school opened an Asian campus in Singapore and Ashish competed for a place in its inaugural class. “Tisch’s new Singapore-based branch seemed to me a completely unique opportunity to be part of a tradition that is so well tried and tested, and at the same time, to embark on a journey that would be completely new.”

He’s not the only one embarking on a journey with NYU Tisch. So too is Academy Award winning filmmaker and alumnus, Oliver Stone, who in 2008 agreed to serve as artistic director for Tisch School of the Arts Asia. He’s frequently on campus presenting lectures on writing, directing and industry topics as well as working closely with the school’s president and faculty – all of whom are working artists with respected careers in the industry. In other words, Ghadiali is learning from the best.

But what exactly is the study of creative arts? Think advertising, animation, architecture, computer arts, new media, fashion, fine art, graphic design, illustration, industrial design, television, photography, drama, music, theatre or film. Much like NYU Tisch’s filmmakers, the list goes on.

At NYU Tisch, students can earn the prestigious Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) in Animation and Digital Arts, Dramatic Writing or Film. “The curriculum remains solid after 70 years and the faculty has fine-tuned it so that the graduates of our program are among the highest calibre of artists in the world,” says Josh Murray, Director of Global Communications and Program Development at NYU Tisch. “We also offer students the opportunity to study in industry-standard facilities.”

The majority of NYU Tisch’s students are from the United States, but at its Asia campus, students from an additional 23 countries all study towards this prestigious degree, which, says Murray, is just as rigorous and demanding as medical or law school. The average age is 28; 55% are male, 45% are female; and applicants with work and life experience are preferred. “There isn’t one type of candidate who applies to our school – it’s common for us to receive applications from attorneys, doctors and executives. We’re really looking for innovative thinkers but candidates have to want to be an animator, a filmmaker, or a writer more than anything else. An MFA program requires serious commitment,” Murray says.

To be successful at Tisch, students are required to diversify their talents – they must write, edit, direct and act. They also have to understand all points-of-view and the business side of art.

The skills and experience that I will have developed will be invaluable assets for a lifetime

Ashish has been actively engaged in the creative arts for as long as he can remember, but until going to grad school any writing or directing he was doing was either assisting on other people’s commercial projects, or working on his own material during evenings and weekends. “Film school has given me the opportunity to focus exclusively on my own creative vision, from when I wake up in the morning to when I go to sleep,” he says. “I don’t believe the MFA in terms of the piece of paper is so important for gaining work in the film industry, but the skills and experience that I will have developed during the three-year degree will be invaluable assets for a lifetime.”