Thanks for the opportunity to share my thoughts about portfolio schools. As Director of Student Affairs for the VCU Brandcenter, my POV may be a bit biased but hopefully some of this advice will be helpful. I’ll start by saying a few quick things about the VCU Brandcenter (I can’t help myself!) and then I’ll focus on portfolio schools in general.
The first thing our faculty, students, and alums will tell you about that Brandcenter is that we don’t consider ourselves to be a portfolio school. The Brandcenter is a comprehensive graduate advertising program focused on creativity, commerce (remember, advertising is a business!), collaboration, and culture. We have five tracks (Copywriting, Art Direction, Communications Strategy, Creative Brand Management, and Creative Technology), and while the students work together in cross-functional teams, each student develops an expertise in his/her individual track. Assignments at the Brandcenter are as realistic and practical as possible including actual "real world" assignments from companies like Google, Barnes & Noble, Audi, and HBO who've asked Brandcenter students to work on some of their most challenging marketing issues. Students are supervised by full-time faculty who’ve all had successful careers as Creative Directors, Planning Directors, Agency Presidents, Designers, Directors, and Editors. Most of our faculty members continue to work or consult in their field in addition to teaching. Brandcenter students earn a Master of Science degree in Business/Branding from Virginia Commonwealth University. Our students tell us the Master’s degree is important to them, more for the long-term, as it may give them an advantage if they choose to take on management roles or teach at the college level in the future. All of that said, the VCU Brandcenter is often included in the portfolio school “category" b/c all of our students (brand management, strategy, creative, and technology) graduate with portfolios that showcase their strategic and creative thinking abilities. Our copywriters and art directors are often competing for jobs against graduates of Miami Ad School, Creative Circus, Chicago Portfolio School, and Portfolio Center. So, if you’re thinking about attending one of these schools, here are the questions I would ask each portfolio school you apply to (and if they don’t have the answers, that’s a red flag!)
QUESTIONS TO ASK OF PORTFOLIO SCHOOLS YOU ARE APPLYING TO: Answers for the VCU Brandcenter are below each question so you’ve got one school’s answers already!
1.) What is your school’s job placement rate? (That’s why you’re going back to school, right? Most students go to a portfolio school to get a job in advertising vs. to continue on with a Ph.D in advertising.)The VCU Brandcenter’s job placement rate is consistently 95% within 6 months of graduation. Here’s a more detailed breakdown of job placement rate using the Class of 2013 as an example:Job placement by graduation (mid-May) = 39%Job placement by June 1st = 51%Job placement by July 1st = 75%Job placement by Nov 1st = 95%
2.) Can I see a list of where your most recent grads got jobs? (It’s important to see which agencies/companies recruit from the school. Who will be recruiting YOU when it’s time for you to graduate?)Here’s a list of where the VCU Brandcenter Class of 2014 is getting jobs.
* What does the school do to help students get jobs? (Your portfolio/work is important but so are the connections your school has to the industry.)The Brandcenter hosts a Recruiter Session event each April for recruiters to come meet our graduating students. Over the past 5 years, we’ve consistently had 200+ recruiters from the best agencies in the country attend our event.
3.) Can I see the portfolios of your most recent grads? (Look at the “end product” of your investment. Check out the graduates’ portfolios. Are you impressed by their work? Are you envious of their portfolios? Hopefully, the answer is “yes!")Here’s a list of VCU Brandcenter Class of 2014 student portfolios, organized by track.
4.) Who are your faculty? (How many of them are full-time vs. adjuncts who have other full-time jobs? How many of them actually worked and/or continue to work in our industry?)Here’s a list of VCU Brandcenter faculty w/ bios.
5.) Do you have salary data for your alums? (You are making a huge investment in yourself and the school you choose to attend. What’s the ROI (return on investment) going to be?)Here’s a link to the VCU Brandcenter’s Alumni Salary Survey Results. It’s organized by discipline.
6.) Why do recruiters and Creative Directors say they like to hire graduates from your school? (What recruiters and CDs think about the school is important. They are the “gatekeepers” to your dream job.)Here are some quotes from recruiters, CDs, and industry leaders about why they recruit from the VCU Brandcenter.
Makinads is an amazing resource so keep reading what these guys have to say. You may also want to check out books like Pick Me (by Nancy Vonk and Janet Kestin) and Hey Whipple, Squeeze This (by Luke Sullivan) and Breaking In: How to Build a Portfolio that Will Get You Hired (by Burks Spencer.) Good luck to all of you as you pursue careers in advertising! Hopefully, I’ll see some of you at the VCU Brandcenter one day!
Ashley SommardahlVCU Brandcenter / Director of Student Affairs and Industry Outreach / 804-827-8874 direct / 103 S. Jefferson Street, Richmond, VA 23284www.brandcenter.vcu.edu / [email protected]
