Grad School Shopping: How To Find The Right Program When What You’re Looking For Isn’t In Popular Grad School Rankings or Listings
Last year when I was considering law schools, it was easy to quickly determine the credibility of a program and admissions standards. There are endless articles about applying to law school, as well as multiple school rankings.
Recently decided that I wanted to pursue a career in interactive web design and information architecture - something I’ve been interested in for a long time, but never considered it as a career path for some reason. The challenge I’ve been faced with is that there aren’t rankings for the niche that I’m interested in. It’s easy enough to find an art school program for web design or something related. There are also library sciences programs with information architecture degrees, as well as computer science focused options like human-computer interaction. All of these could lead to something I’d be interested in, but might not build a diverse enough set of skills. I needed find the perfect graduate school.
Here was my plan of attack for finding the perfect grad school:
1. Google! - I searched for grad programs with the words “interactive,” “web design,” and/or “information architecture” since I wasn’t 100% sure what the right program would be called.
2. I created a list of degree program names that might work for me and read up on each type of program.
3. I narrowed down what I was looking for to information architecture AND interaction design. I found programs that had strong programs in one or the other, but I wanted one that taught both in the same program.
4. I searched for professional organizations and publications that were related to what I wanted to study. Many of these had school listings.
5. I made a list of 2-3 programs that might work, with one of them being a clear first choice.
6. I contacted the program director and started asking questions. I’ve been excited to find that the program that was initially my first choice keeps looking even better.
7. My next step is to work on my application(s) and visit the school(s). Oh, and to tackle the GRE.
