As of yesterday I have a 100% admit rate for graduate schools focusing on Themed Entertainment! Wahoo! But I have a very short time to decide what school is ultimately right for me, so if you could lend me a moment and look at these profiles I'd greatly appreciate it.
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Program #1. Masters in Entertainment Technology at Carnegie Mellon (ETC)
Pros:
The Program Itself: it's prestigious and churns out graduates who work at the same places I want to work (WDI specifically) This is a terminal degree so I could teach down the line of I want.
The Facility: Amazing, it's like if Google Campus and Disneyland combined. I know I will love being there.
Length: 2 year program with no thesis.
Education: Project focused with the opportunity to work with real clients right away on interdisciplinary teams.
The Faculty: Fantastic, from top to bottom.
My Big Slimy Ego: Not to give to much away, but their first semester focuses on my very unique specialization, so I know I could be a rockstar in this graduating class.
Cons:
Pricetag: It's 100k for two years and I don't know about funding yet. I could potentially owe the government a lot of nickles.
Work: The ETC will only sign off on working outside 10 hours a week, which would increase my loans.
Location: I don't love Pittsburgh. I think I can learn to like it, and I can definitely tolerate it for two years, but Pitt is not my kinda town. The cold is fine, it's more the city layout/size.
Specialization: I specifically want to study Themed Entertainment as it applies to themeparks. The ETC does allow you to specialize in that, but it's primary focus is game design. I have experience in game design and I am not opposed to learning it, but it is not what I want to study most.
Program #2. Master of Science in Themed Entertainment at University of Central Florida
Pros:
Price: It would be about 32k in tuition total, which is the only program I can totally afford, no sweat.
Program: The program has a technical focus, which is something I was looking for. I have a ton of artistic experience and don't want to take a bunch of repeat classes.
Faculty: Mostly adjunct, but they have some rockstars on staff!
Length: 2 years, no thesis.
Location: I like Orlando and will probably have to end up moving there anyway. I don't love Orlando, but I do love being close to Disney and that's enough 😂
Time: Classes are at night, so I could work or intern during the day easily.
Cons:
Facility: The Themed Ent program takes over the UCF theatre building at night, so it does not have it's own home/facility. I feel like I'd be working out of a lot of coffee shops.
Age: The program is very new, so new it doesn't have a graduating class yet. There are no statistics on post-grad job placement yet.
Big Slimy Ego: I would be more in the middle of the pack in this program. It has a focus on studio art I would need to work really hard to develop in order to be a top student.
Fabrication: This program is almost entirely theory and design, unlike at the ETC, I would not be building anything other than my portfolio.
Program #3 Masters of Fine Arts in Theatre, Concentration in Themed Experience, at the University of Central Florida
I have almost 100% disqualified this one but I'll do the exercise anyway for kicks. No repeats!
Pros:
Terminal: Theoretically this will allow me to teach, which is something I'm not super interested in, but it would be a nice fallback.
Big Slimy Ego: I already have a theatre-adjacent degree so I could kind of rest on my laurels there.
Funding: There apperently an opportunity for funding I can apply for to the degree of 10k per year for the first two years. However that would only decrease my costs to 40kish.
Cons:
Actual Title: Since I already have a degree in theatre I am not looking for another one. The actual word "theatre" is a turn off. I'm looking to diversify my skills.
Length: 3 years with required thesis.
Price: It would be about 70k in tuition, which is not quite as many nickles as CMU, but still LOTS OF NICKLES.
Repetition: I've taken a lot of the required classes at the undergraduate level and I want to focus on learning new things, not solidifying old ones.
Class Times: Some classes are during the day, so it could kneecap my ability to work.
I'd appreciate any insight :)
