OCAD University (reviews)

There were some very good profs who genuinely cared about teaching and the students, but there were also some who did not know study their teaching material properly and shouldn’t have been professors.

There’s also little to no opportunity for a social life outside of trying to make friends within their program.

My program – Advertising only has 3 good professors right now, and the other good ones have apparently already quit.

I had to choose between York, Ryerson and OCAD when it came to acceptance. Although all 3 school sounded great on paper, I really wanted to visit the campsus and see how I felt. I visited OCAD last and absolutely love with everything about it. With multiple campsus around the downtown Toronto, the vibrancy of the city really makes a huge difference on the school and its students. Its an “art” school in every aspect of the word. Weather you are talking about the interior, its students and teachers, and insulations, its is THE place for any one thats a little bit different. The proffs are wonderful if you gain mutual respect, your peers are great because everyone is on the same wavelength, and there are so many recourses available through the schools which really helps. Overall, it was a great experience and I do recommend it to anyone with an art bone!

The faculty members possess extensive knowledge in the field and demonstrate a persistent willingness to assist with any matters. The environment not only promotes healthy competition but also encourages collaboration, making it ideal for my personality.

Overall, Ocadu has an excellent support system and groups for their diverse background of students. Clubs, welfare, and social groups are abundant, but cliquey.

Being a commuter school, outside of such groups , there is no real sense of community social life. The lack of residential housing for the campus also compounds the fact of loneliness commuters who are located in Markham, Scarborough, Missisauga and Portcredit have.

From an artistic standpoint, Ocadu focuses primarily on theoretical concepts, rather than technical application. Their teachings of marketing yourself as a freelance, self employed artist are rooted in a fundamentally rigid and traditional culture- Galleries. There is also a tendency for classes to mold their students into more traditional and old school ideas, rather than embracing contemporary ideas, modes of presentation, display, doing, etc.

If you are to seek an art school, perhaps Sheridan might be better?