Info for Teachers & Counsellors

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How to Identify Future Art and Design Students

Our students have incredibly diverse backgrounds and interests. Some students knew they wanted to be artists and designers since childhood and some transfer here from business or engineering programs. Here are a few things to look for to help you identify prospective art and design students to better offer support.

Look for a student who:

  • is creative, unconventional, curious
  • is interested in arts & culture, and/or has passion
  • likes to think outside the box, and/or be hands-on
  • likes to problem-solve, and/or is concerned about their community
  • wants to make the world a better place, and/or is sensitive to their own or other’s thoughts or feelings

How to Support Art & Design Students

  • Encourage them to participate and be active in the local art community; attend openings, go to artist talks and take studio and writing classes outside of high school. 

  • Encourage them to experiment and take many art or design courses in high school, especially ones related to the program they’re interested in. 

  • Encourage them to create work and experiment on their own, outside of school. 

Frequently Asked Questions

  • A portfolio is a collection of art or design pieces that demonstrate a student’s experimental, conceptual and process-based ideas along with his or her technical skills in various mediums. 

  • Check out the Preparing a Portfolio page for more details! 

  • OCAD U offers an experiential learning environment where most of our faculty are working industry professionals and our downtown location gives us easy access to a wide network of industry partners. 
  • Our Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) offers over 400 experiential learning placements. OCAD U offers so much more than co-op because creative careers take many forms. Our approach is specialized, and individual to every student’s needs and goals. Students will be able to take advantage of: 
  • Short experiential learning placements from among hundreds of organizations 
  • Creative in-class projects with real-world industry partners 
  • Exclusive summer internships 
  • Gallery exhibitions of their work 
  • Freelance creative opportunities 
  • Jobs after graduation 
  • We provide both a creative studio environment and a spaces to think critically and engage in real-world, current issues. 
  • The studio environment allows our students to turn their ideas into a reality. Over 18 shops and studios provide tools, machines, technologies and space to build, make and create. 
  • Our liberal arts & science courses (like English, Humanities, Social Sciences and Science/Technology/Mathematics) support critical thinking and gives strong foundation for our students to work with and innovate across many different industries. 
  • Unlike at most other universities, OCAD U’s student-faculty ratio is low. Small class sizes connect students closely with their faculty and peers. OCAD University’s dedicated support services help students build a professional community, valuable experience and skills necessary for a meaningful career. 
Prepare students for post-secondary opportunities in art and design...
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