IU Schools

[Chris007 43,621]

Did anyone graduate from or have any opinions on SPEA, Luddy, or the Media school?  I'm taking my stepson for a campus visit in a couple of weeks. We're visiting each school but he doesn't quite know what he wants to study. He goes from sports management to engineering, to game design. He's only a junior but he's only considering IU. Ever since he found out his family name of Cheaney meant something he's been all IU. Any help would be appreciated. 

[Hoosierfanyuh 2,153]

Luddy Alum. It would really depend on what he wants to do. I have an informatics degree, which I best explain it as, technology in general, you take classes about coding, UX design, database management, project management, computer design, ect. you get a taste of a lot of different things that have to do with tech. With the informatics degree you essentially get a built in minor that’s called a “concentration”, I chose the business concentration since its linked to KSB. Luddy staff is very resourceful and does well at building relationships beyond “you need to take these classes x”. Their main goal is education and helping you find a job. Im currently a technology consultant. Also, their building is only a few years old and very nice haha 
 

I will add I was always interested in the media school. They’ve done some great stuff lately. 
 

@Chris007

[Banksyrules 4,599]

7 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

Did anyone graduate from or have any opinions on SPEA, Luddy, or the Media school?  I'm taking my stepson for a campus visit in a couple of weeks. We're visiting each school but he doesn't quite know what he wants to study. He goes from sports management to engineering, to game design. He's only a junior but he's only considering IU. Ever since he found out his family name of Cheaney meant something he's been all IU. Any help would be appreciated. 

Spea is one of the best programs in the nation in environmental studies (Harvard is typically number one), I’m not fond of the media program because they don’t really push you like other media schools (USC or Texas) etc. I would consider that as a minor but not as a major. You can develop skills with on field expereince ( my brother works audio for films).  

[Chris007 43,621]

6 minutes ago, Hoosierfanyuh said:

Luddy Alum. It would really depend on what he wants to do. I have an informatics degree, which I best explain it as, technology in general, you take classes about coding, UX design, database management, project management, computer design, ect. you get a taste of a lot of different things that have to do with tech. With the informatics degree you essentially get a built in minor that’s called a “concentration”, I chose the business concentration since its linked to KSB. Luddy staff is very resourceful and does well at building relationships beyond “you need to take these classes x”. Their main goal is education and helping you find a job. Im currently a technology consultant. Also, their building is only a few years old and very nice haha 
 

I will add I was always interested in the media school. They’ve done some great stuff lately. 
 

@Chris007

I guess as a parent my first question Was it hard to find a job after college? My sister is a Luddy alum as well but she doesn't use her degree. When we were looking at each school, his first choice seemed to be Luddy last night, but I don't think he really knows. 

[Banksyrules 4,599]

I would say if you’re taking a classes at the media program take classes that offer a technical education. Don’t take classes about “How to be a producer”- out of curiosity I shadowed some of those classes and they’re just garbage to be honest. 

[Chris007 43,621]

8 minutes ago, Banksyrules said:

Spea is one of the best programs in the nation in environmental studies (Harvard is typically number one), I’m not fond of the media program because they don’t really push you like other media schools (USC or Texas) etc. I would consider that as a minor but not as a major. You can develop skills with on field expereince ( my brother works audio for films).  

Yeah, I think my wife is pushing Spea and it seems he has an interest. I also think a media minor would be a good choice. Thank you. All of this seems like a lot for now but I'm sure it will be easier as time goes on. 

[Hoosierfanyuh 2,153]

4 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

I guess as a parent my first question Was it hard to find a job after college? My sister is a Luddy alum as well but she doesn't use her degree. When we were looking at each school, his first choice seemed to be Luddy last night, but I don't think he really knows. 

In short, if you’re willing to put in the effort yes. 
They host 2 career fairs a year, theres 2 classes that help you make your LinkedIn, resume, cover letter ect, interview tips, ect.  They also have spot events almost weekly with random employers to make connections. Also, it’s been awhile, but if i recall correctly they have some sort of internal database for available jobs too

[Chris007 43,621]

10 minutes ago, Hoosierfanyuh said:

In short, if you’re willing to put in the effort yes. 
They host 2 career fairs a year, theres 2 classes that help you make your LinkedIn, resume, cover letter ect, interview tips, ect.  They also have spot events almost weekly with random employers to make connections. Also, it’s been awhile, but if i recall correctly they have some sort of internal database for available jobs too

All great info. Thank you

[Lebowski 2,474]

56 minutes ago, Hoosierfanyuh said:

Luddy Alum. It would really depend on what he wants to do. I have an informatics degree, which I best explain it as, technology in general, you take classes about coding, UX design, database management, project management, computer design, ect. you get a taste of a lot of different things that have to do with tech. With the informatics degree you essentially get a built in minor that’s called a “concentration”, I chose the business concentration since its linked to KSB. Luddy staff is very resourceful and does well at building relationships beyond “you need to take these classes x”. Their main goal is education and helping you find a job. Im currently a technology consultant. Also, their building is only a few years old and very nice haha 
 

I will add I was always interested in the media school. They’ve done some great stuff lately. 
 

@Chris007

Same team. However, showing my age here, my degree is the pioneer (IUPUI campus) and kicked off the school.  The year I got my B.S. was like the first year of Informatics. The graduating class before me was the actual pioneer of the B.S. degree. It was called Media Arts and Science and I'm not even sure that's offered or what they call it anymore. But it's basically what you are describing (Informatics) now. It's a very wide range of technology. I chose computer science as my concentration. And no new building while I was there. They broke ground right after I graduated.   

How I got my foot in the door for that degree was audio. I wanted to pursue sound engineering and the placement staff at IUPUI suggested I look into what they called at the time 'New Media'. Extremely thankful I did because I found a completely different niche. And I don't know if that would have ever occurred if I didn't have such a wide range of technology to explore. 

Wow, it's been over 20 years since I even thought about it. LOL! Does Informatics still go down the realm of "art", like 3D modeling, audio, video and graphics? 

[Hoosierfanyuh 2,153]

6 minutes ago, Lebowski said:

Same team. However, showing my age here, my degree is the pioneer (IUPUI campus) and kicked off the school.  The year I got my B.S. was like the first year of Informatics. The graduating class before me was the actual pioneer of the B.S. degree. It was called Media Arts and Science and I'm not even sure that's offered or what they call it anymore. But it's basically what you are describing (Informatics) now. It's a very wide range of technology. I chose computer science as my concentration. And no new building while I was there. They broke ground right after I graduated.   

How I got my foot in the door for that degree was audio. I wanted to pursue sound engineering and the placement staff at IUPUI suggested I look into what they called at the time 'New Media'. Extremely thankful I did because I found a completely different niche. And I don't that would have every occurred if I didn't have such a wide range of technology to explore. 

Wow, it's been over 20 years since I even thought about it. LOL! Does Informatics still go down the realm of "art", like 3D modeling, audio, video and graphics? 

Some of that has gone to the media school,  but 3d modeling for example id assume is still with Luddy 

[Pudman 247]

@Chris007 I am a Luddy faculty member in the Informatics department, so I am pretty in the know :) I'd be more than happy to set up a meeting with you and your kid to chat about Luddy. I love recruiting and meeting with prospective students. Actually, my very first job years ago with in the IU Office of Admissions, so I am also able to speak quite broadly about IU academics in general. Feel free to shoot me a DM and I'd be happy to set something up. 

Also, when are you coming? I'll be out recruiting high schools students overseas until April 17th, so if you are coming after that, then great! If not, I could put in contact with some stellar Luddy faculty for you to chat with. Just let me know!

Edited March 30, 2023 by Pudman

[Lebowski 2,474]

23 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

I guess as a parent my first question Was it hard to find a job after college? My sister is a Luddy alum as well but she doesn't use her degree. When we were looking at each school, his first choice seemed to be Luddy last night, but I don't think he really knows. 

For me it took awhile (like 2 years after graduating) to find the gig where I was actually doing what I wanted to do. But taking entry level gigs and through networking with those gigs I landed on some solid ground. Networking is vital and you have to put in the work to do that. I found that no one was knocking down my door and it was me that was trying to push through doors. I ultimately became a victim of brain drain and pursued work out of the state. There were so much more opportunities elsewhere. I don't think that's the case anymore because you can work remote. 

[Pudman 247]

@Chris007 finding a job with an Informatics degree here in Bloomington is not hard at all. Our job placement rate for the 2022 class was about 95% found a job within 6 months of graduations and the starting salary was around 70K. I've never met a student with solid grades, >3.0 that didn't have a job before graduation. Actually, most of the student have a job in hand after their summer internship going into their senior year.

Our career services office is stellar, and students are encouraged to work with them starting their freshmen year. I know I might be a little biased as a faculty member, but I think that we do a fantastic job.

[Lebowski 2,474]

6 minutes ago, Hoosierfanyuh said:

Some of that has gone to the media school,  but 3d modeling for example id assume is still with Luddy 

Yeah I really wish I didn't have to take those art based electives in order to graduate. Sounds like they have weeded those out to be a little more business/science concentrated. Which is a good thing in my opinion. 

[hoosierbgh 1,264]

34 minutes ago, Banksyrules said:

Spea is one of the best programs in the nation in environmental studies (Harvard is typically number one), I’m not fond of the media program because they don’t really push you like other media schools (USC or Texas) etc. I would consider that as a minor but not as a major. You can develop skills with on field expereince ( my brother works audio for films).  

I work with a lot of SPEA grads(typically E not P) and their equivalents from other schools and I also took some SPEA courses during my time at IU. Relative to similar programs at other schools, SPEA earns the high ranking from my experience. Relative to other more traditional backgrounds, I'll just say that the SPEA experience is very wide but not at all deep. It is a good way for those that find science challenging to get into science adjacent fields without suffering the full rigors of more science focused programs. For those that find science more appealing, I'd suggest sampling some of the better SPEA courses without committing to a SPEA degree.