Besides a BA, what higher education do I need to become a design professor?

Question

I am a graphic designer for a publishing company. I have a Bachelor of Arts in visual communication with a minor in fine art. In the future I would like to end up as professor of graphic design on the college level. I am not sure what type of degree I need to do this. I was hoping to get my Masters in Design or Fine Art, but do I need an education degree?

Answer 1

Sadly, you do not need any experience in teaching AT ALL to become a college professor in your chosen field. At minimum you need a master's degree. If you want to teach full-time, you'll need a terminal degree in your field. Usually this means a doctorate, but as the person above mentioned, for you your terminal degree is most likely an MFA.

Just to be clear, no education degree is needed to teach at the college level.

Answer 2

The other person is incorrect. In the fields of art and design, the final degree is usually the MFA. You'll need an MFA in design, preferably from one of the top design schools in the US, in order to get a job as a professor.

Note that I said an MFA. NOT an MA in art. You need an MFA.

You do not need an education degree. Nor do you need a PhD - not for the fine arts.

To get an idea for what schools you should start to look at, check out the backgrounds of the professors at some of these schools, which are very strong art schools. That'll give you some idea for which schools and what sorts of degrees you need:

Rhode Island School of Design
Massachusetts College of Art
Art Institute of Chicago
Syracuse University
Carnegie Mellon
CalArts

Good luck!

Answer 3

Masters degree and then a PHD