How good is Miami Ad School?

VCU ADcenter is the best

Hmm, but is MAS actually good and well-known?
Pretty please? :)

O curso é bom sim cara.

Mas é aquele negócio, ele é tão bom quanto o aluno.
Se você se esforçar, ralar, buscar referencias e tentar fazer um trabalho novo e diferente, vale muito a pena.

Outra coisa bacana é o quarter away.
DEpois de fazer um ano no Brasil, você pode passar o outro ano estagiando em agencias mundo afora, o que é um grande diferencial.

Agora, se vc tiver grana sobrando eu aconselho fazer a escola fora, mais precisamente em hamburgo.
A miami de lá é a melhor do mundo (basta ver os premios que seus alunos têm ganho.)

Opa! Obrigado! :)

MAS is a great school. A bit overpriced. But good nonetheless. You pay for connections in the industry.

The Miami location is going down hill though, as all the Crispin creatives have left for boulder.

I went to MAS 2000-2002, graduating from Miami. It was the key to my career. I referred 3 friends of mine, and they attended the program, all coming straight from Beirut (which is not easy). The pple you meet are priceless, and the exposure you get, you'll never get, and the chances to get hired are infinite.
When I joined, I didn't know anything abt advertising, nor photography..no worries.
After graduating I had a couple of internships/jobs that include, Saatchi london, BBH london, Leo Burnett Saudi Arabia,
TBWA\PARIS, Freelance NYC, and now JWT Casablanca...
It's all open..

Here are some ads from the students: http://adsoftheworld.com/taxonomy/agency/miami_ad_school

@Motti: Thanks for your comment. I’m the Director of Creative Resources at Miami Ad School and would like to thank you for inquiring about MAS Sao Paulo. As 'tinok' mentioned, our students and graduates can gain experiences at "internships/jobs that include, Saatchi london, BBH london, Leo Burnett Saudi Arabia, TBWA\PARIS, Freelance NYC, and now JWT Casablanca... ".

@bfrosty: Thanks for the “great school” shout out. It’s true there are cheaper options and you get what ya’ pay for. In today's advertising industry, “connections” do often matter. Miami Ad School is truly an investment in one’s future because our teachers rock.

Regarding the Crispin creative department, rest assured that the program and school in Miami remain full of energy and creativity regardless of the location of Crispin Porter + Bogusky's creative department. We view their location expansion as an opportunity to send many of our students to Boulder, CO for a most valuable quarter away experience.

Laura Anderson
Director of Crea

Are there any online courses in graphic design in the school?

Hi khalsain! At this time, we do not offer any online courses through Miami Ad School. We have a wonderful graphic design program for full time students who have been accepted into the school. If you have any other questions, feel free to email info@miamiadschool.com or laura@miamiadschool.com

Thanks!
Laura Anderson

I friggin loved MAS. It was def one of those a-ha moments in my professional life. There is no way I would be where I am at today if it was not for MAS. The teachers they use and the resources they have are endless. Think about it. You learn from creatives in the industry young and old and if you are an OPEN MINDED individual you can learn a lot. I will say that if I was going to do it over again I would try to not go to the South Beach location. You can get into a lot of trouble.:) One of the teachers bailed my sorry butt out of jail once. If that tells you anything about the people there. You truly become part of a family. Good luck to ya!

can you pls inform me about the prices??????

and can we apply the art director or graphic design departments without any previous education on them???

Hey there,

I am currently a first quarter student at MAS San Francisco in the art direction program, I have a lot to say about this program, despite having been here for a month or so. if you have any questions, please feel free to email me at sambruehl@yahoo.com. Good luck!

hi ...I am planning to apply to miami ad school...are the jobs that you get offered only limited to ad agencies or are there any other media related jobs that one can also apply for after graduating from the art directors program...thanks

Whilst a lot of the work from Miami ad school is good, I feel the course is pricing the people off the street out of the industry. Basically the industry is becoming more and more middle class, which means that agencies communications connect with the working class less and less.

I don't like courses like these, they are pricing the everyday creative out of the industry, the work produced can be good, but the creative department needs people that can talk to your 'average joe', and your 'average joe' can't afford MAS.

I don't want another Penelope Loise Smith in the creative dept

Basically MAS might be a good course, but its price excludes a lot of people from of the industry. And lets admit it, you are basically paying for a job in the industry. If you go to MAS you will get a job. How much of that is through actual talent? Or just from meeting the right people, because you paid thousands of dollars.

I am in an advertising program in Canada, I have heard of MAS and am going to attend one of their locations(hopefully) upon completion of my program.
To the above comment; regardless of how much money you put into a school or program you only get out of it what you put into it. In creative advertising you MUST be creative and innovative; companies, agencies, and above all else the faculty of MAS are not stupid, and can see this difference between those with the talent, and those without. There is no way someone without talent would A) be accepted to the school in the first place B) be successful enough in the program to graduate and most importantly C) be hired by an agency, because their book would more than definitely not be up to par. Yes it is about WHO you know to start, but once you are there, you will not be successful/win awards/gain a good reputation without using WHAT you know.

That's false, and you should learn this lesson now. There are a lot of shit creatives in top agencies that just play the game and get awards because they were in the room at the time the idea was cracked. They are cousins, nephews and clients daughters, but that is true of any business.

So you are telling me the school will turn people away even though they have the fee's. Get real, its a business. And I have worked with people from the school who are shit. Yet they can mac up an idea. If it was so selective why have they expanded around the world to accept more students? More money? Think about it.

Hi I'm applying to MAS. I just wanted to know if you get a masters degree after graduating (and not just a diploma). Thats important to me.

I'm also applying to the Academy of Art University (in SF). Does anyone know if their program is better than the program at MAS. Thanks!
Would really appreciate a response - a little confused.
My email - jxd37@yahoo.com

Hi there! I'm the Director of Creative Resources (I introduced myself much earlier via above post) and will be contacting you today via your email address to help answer some of your questions you have about Miami Ad School. A masters degree is important to many of people and we do offer that in Miami in collaboration with Florida International University. Let's talk and find out if that is the right path for you to go down, depending on your goals. Thanks!

Laura
laura@miamiadschool.com

Hello,
i am from Vilnius, Lithuania. i'm planning to apply for a art direction course at miami ad school, however i don't have previous expierence in advertising, except small project of advertising in public transportation. Does it matter to show big knowledge in advertising to get accepted? I would be very grateful for any tips from you guys.

Thanks!

Hi,
I m from India.I've finished my graduation in B.SC Visual communication.I've also currently doing a Post graduation certificate course at the Mudra institute of communication.I also happen to own a small Advertising agency with a couple of my friends.I've been in the creative side of the agency since my schooling.As i planning to get back to heading my agency i thought it would be better if i know the management side of it too.SO i am planning to apply for the account planning course at MAS.I mailed Mrs.Laura twice but never got a response.SO it would be of great help if you help me understand if MAS is good for account/ communicatin planning

Regards
Sudharshan

I attended MAS and I can tell you that it's a great school. I would attend all locations except one.

The director in San Francisco was snobby and not helpful at all. She almost ruined this school for me. Yes, Denise. I would recommend any location besides this one.

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to take a moment to thank those of you who have followed this forum and also to the ones whom I've had the honor of meeting at the AAF career fairs and colleges around the nation. It's nice to see the real faces behind the words! I'm still traveling quite a bit, so please introduce yourself if you hear that I'm coming to your school. If you would like us to visit your university or college, just email your Professor or Ad Club Adviser's contact info and I would be happy to get in touch with them.

Remember, if you have any questions about Miami Ad School, please visit our website at www.miamiadschool.com or feel free to contact any of the Directors. They are all very helpful and would love to hear from you.

Thanks!
Laura Anderson
Director of Creative Resources
Miami Ad School
laura@miamiadschool.com

"I am in an advertising program in Canada, I have heard of MAS and am going to attend one of their locations(hopefully) upon completion of my program.
To the above comment; regardless of how much money you put into a school or program you only get out of it what you put into it. In creative advertising you MUST be creative and innovative; companies, agencies, and above all else the faculty of MAS are not stupid, and can see this difference between those with the talent, and those without. There is no way someone without talent would A) be accepted to the school in the first place B) be successful enough in the program to graduate and most importantly C) be hired by an agency, because their book would more than definitely not be up to par. Yes it is about WHO you know to start, but once you are there, you will not be successful/win awards/gain a good reputation without using WHAT you know."

As a response to this...MAS entry policy is not tough at all...based on what I ve seen you pay, you get in...no need for you to be even mildly talented...

I am interested in applying to MAS.

I just had a few questions;

1) what is the average age of the student there?
2) do students usuallt attend straight out of high school/after college etc.
3) Is the school accredited?

Thanks so much!!

Hi.I am keen on knowing more about the MAS, SF location. Why is everyone so against this particular location?

could someone comment on this -

Hi.I am keen on knowing more about the MAS, SF location. Why is everyone so against this particular location?

"Hi.I am keen on knowing more about the MAS, SF location. Why is everyone so against this particular location?"

I can field this one, seeing as I am completing my first year of MAS in the SF location.

The atmosphere of SF as a city just screams "creative" and "daring" and "free," BUT the school itself is bogged down in the same bureaucratic nonsense that plagues other schools: the occasional incompetent teacher, the school director who can only do so much, a few talentless students who are just buying more time to fool around before joining the real world (and thus wasting YOUR time if you are a serious student)...

It happens. In fact, it happen at any institution at any location, not just portfolio schools. But it sucks, because SF is supposed to be this creative haven, and you're stuck dealing with a school system (or rather, business money-making bonanza) that sometimes can be disappointing.

So. What do you do?

Surround yourself with the students who ARE there to learn and push and pull and knock the socks off the advertising world. Walk in with your long-term goals set, and stick to them. Don't expect the director or coordinator to drop everything to fix all your problems (you can, however, go to them and belly-ache about it in a mutually-satisfying trash-talk session. Natural frustration is fine. Demanding or forcing change is sort of overstepping your bounds). Talk with your teachers. Talk with guest speakers. Ignore the ones that are there for a power trip. Work with people outside of class assignments. Focus on what you want to walk out of school with.

And all will be fine.

(P.S. I see you, Sam. I didn't know you were on this forum. What up?)

tem algum brasileiro aqui que tenha feito MAS no exterior?
Se sim, gostaria de saber se vale mesmo a pena pagar esse preço e se tem muita diferença o MAS daqui e o de lá. No momento estou fazendo publicidade e propaganda na FAAP e estou estagiando em uma agência em direção de arte. Me formo em julho de 2010 e gostaria de ir pra miami mas nao sei se vale mto o preço e o tempo.

Obrigado.

Hi everyone,

I'm considering the MAS in Madrid as an opportunity for my future. I have a degree in Advertising - Art Direction and I've been working in an AD agency for 1 year.

I have some questions about the school:

- Which kind of diploma does the school provide after the 2 years?
- Is it required, or suggested, to have already a diploma or a degree in an advertisement area?
- Are the lessons in the Madrid school teached in English or in Spanish?
- What is the average age (and experience) of the students there?

Thanks to everyone who will answer me back!

How tough is it to get into Miami Ad School,Hamburg?

I am not an advertising/design major in college.I have had very little work experience in the field of design and no experience whatsoever in the field of advertising.However,I do have a large number of creative samples,some look very professional and others that look not so polished.

I really want to get into the school at Hamburg.The schools in the USA are my second option.

Hey everyone!

You guys all have some great questions about Miami Ad School and it has been really great to receive so many emails from readers on this site! I would encourage any of you who are interested in applying to take a look at our website, which can help answer a lot of your questions and then click on 'request info' about the location you are interested in. Once you fill out that information, one of our Admissions Directors will be in contact with you. You may also write me an email and I would be happy to put you in touch with an Admissions Director. They have lots of answers to your questions! :)

www.miamiadschool.com

Laura Anderson
Director of Creative Resources
Miami Ad School Minneapolis
laura@miamiadschool.com

Cara, seguinte

Se você quiser fazer miami fora do Brasil, não pensa duas vezes e se manda pra Hamburgo.
Vale o tempo, vale o dinheiro.

Acabei de me formar la..do caralho..

hey ppl,

I m a student of graphic designing from India. I still have a year to graduate, and I am currently looking up on post graduation opportunities. How is MAS for creative advertising? If not MAS which college would you guys recommend?
The other thing is it more advisable to directly do a job and build on a career from there or is post graduation a necessity?

thankx :)

Do you think it's possible to get a scholarship from such an expensive school? Or is it hard to afford expenses other than school fee, like accomodation and food.

Denise of MAS SF is extremely snobby and is only helpful if she thinks she can get something out of you...like professors emails from your college, or another tuition check.

The best advertising school in the world right now is Berghs School of Communication in Stockholm, Sweden. They also have a school in Oslo, Norway, called Westerdals School of Communication.

Berghs won the school of the year in Cannes Lions. Was the Most Awarded school in One Show. Won student of the year in D&AD. Westerdals was the most awarded school in Clio this year.

Compared to many other advertising schools, Berghs has only 40 ad students - and still won all this. Westerdals is about 60 ad students.

It sounds pretty far away, but it is truly two amazing schools, who beats Miami Ad School any day.

Former students here is now working in the best agencies around the world.

Check it out!

Hello guys,

I am currently searching for a scholarship to do a master's in Art Direction at VCU Brandcentre. I am Sudanese/British. Can someone help me please?

I really want to do this course, I graduated from Digital Media Production from London College of Communication. I think a master's from VCU would really help me widen my chances of getting a job as an AD. So, please help me!

Kind regards,

Still... nobody has answered which of the MAS locations is considered to be the best location!

Any comments on this. Please... this would be very helpful to me.

thank you.

Nobody has answered which MAS location is considered to be the best location.
Would someone please comment on this. It would be very helpful to me.

Thanks

I am a Canadian thinking about attending miami ad school in april. I keep reading how expensive this school is, i am familiar with the tuition costs but are there extra costs for living and fees for studying in the U.S?

MAS is insanely expensive compared to a normal American college education. Normally when you're going for a higher level of education in the states, colleges pay you to teach undergrad classes and to be a graduate assistant. This is not the case with ad schools, so it really does make it a free for all for the rich only...or those with the kind of amazingly great credit for a big stinking loan. I couldn't even go to MAS because I couldn't take out a big enough loan...that's how expensive it is. It kind of makes me angry that the CD's who are currently in power didn't have to jump through all of these hoops, but now they expect us to at our own financial demise.

hey, I'm a student interested in creative advertising, especially copyright. I've been looking into MAS @ San Francisco. I see that some are not fond of the director there... why? What is the better MAS location? Also, those in the field... would you say its a bad thing to go ahead with MAS or should I pursue a degree vs the 2 year diploma? If anyone has information email me: justonian@cavtel.net

MAS (and I am a current student there) sucks. It really overall sucks.
The owners Ron and Pippa are in it for the cash. The school is yes, very liberal, but constant talk at the school is among students how lame the programs are.
The photo program is a joke, and a rip off, the account planning program is meh, and so-so, and the school really is only good for AD's.

I would look elsewhere for that kind of money. Dont go to the Miami branch if you go at all. Save your money and a lot of headaches.
The one thing they do have is internships, but I suspect you could get those on your own if you actually have any skill.

Saddened to say, MAS is a rip off in my eyes.
Better to spend 2 years in the field and travel, as well as network, than to waste a lot of time and money on empathy classes, and flawed programs that they run.

- Chris

With all due respect , i think chris is wrong. if Ron was in it for the money he would have retired a long time ago. i graduated from mas several years ago and i think it remains to be a great school. what you get out of this school, is only equal to what you put in. the sky is the limit. they provide the right tools, connections, internships, but the rest is up to you.
a lot of students nowadays days don't make the effort and end up blaming the school.
if you're talented and hard working, MAS is the right school to get into any top agency.
It happened with me. I did one quarter away, then i got hired in my first internship.
hope this helps.

I would vote for Miami Ad School! Lots of friends of mine have attended Miami Ad School, and have been more successful than their professional peers from VCU or Creative Circus. It is just a more hands on learning experience!

I am a big advocate of Miami Ad School. I met one of their staff members (from San Francisco, I think?) in 2005. She came to speak at my school, and gave me a lot of information. I tried for two years after getting my bach. degree in advertising to get into an agency, and I couldn't. My book was pretty good, but the creatives I talked to at agencies kept telling me to "go to portfolio school". MAS was highly suggested to me by several creatives too. If you have doubts about MAS, try doing what I did and see what happens. I wanted to be a creative right away, so I went MAS. It is the best. You do have to try really hard though, it is tough work, but well worth it. I don't know why Chris feels the way he does, I did not have that experience, and neither had any of my classmates.
Look further into the school yourself, if you don't you could be missing a great opportunity. That's the best advice I have for you.

Thank you for your insight and for sharing your experiences with more favorable outcomes. I was actually a bit bummed for not attending Portfolio Night earlier this year in order to get feedback on my book, but maybe I was better off. Especially since most, if not all, of the work in my book is print.

While that is great and wonderful ideas are still executed on ads, billboards, and posters, I am starting to see agencies want for people to expand their ideas to various medias. I feel that aside from making my book stronger, MAS could help gear me towards working in that direction.

I was looking at the courses at MAS for Art Directing and while I raised my eyebrow at a few of the classes (i.e. video storytelling and gaming concepts), I feel that the program provides you with the stepping stones to success. How much effort the student is willing to put in their climb is up to them, which is what I assume might be the case with Chris.

Right now, with financial obligations, I may not jump in right away, but if I will continue looking into this thread and coming up with my own findings in order to make a final decision. I may especially look into the greenhousing program if given the opportunity once enrolled and a year in. Since their FAQ says "all of our students rent apartments..." I guess that the student eats the cost, but it's still an experience many would love while only a dozen or so live each quarter.

On a final note, while on the subject of greenhousing and interning through MAS, I was reading a blog post by a Miami Ad School student posted in February of 2009. He posted how hard it was for him and other students to even receive internships. I believe he stated that two of his classmates were supposed to intern in Dubai, but then later received an e-mail stating that they wouldn’t be going there. If this is indeed true to this date, may it all get better in time.

Thanks again!