Hoo boy, I get asked this question a lot.
I’d quit the small art college I was attending in the 80s to work for an illustrator as his ghost painter. Back then, I’d have said an art degree was a waste of time.
After I’d graduated from college with my bachelor’s degree in the early aughts, I was pretty darned sure that a college degree was the best thing anyone could do for their life in general.
Later I earned my master’s at MICA and the experience was totally awesome, challenging, excruciatingly difficult, grueling, exhilarating, and possibly the best thing I could have done for my art career or my life even though I wanted to quit every year.
All that said, the above question provokes me to ask you another question: what do you want to use the degree for?
Here are some ways to think about whether you need an art degree to do the “art job” you think you want to do:
Some art “jobs” require a degree — like teaching (any public school and any college for sure) or for a job in graphic design. A degree in teaching gives you some background in pedagogy (the ability to know how to teach a subject) and graphic designers get a degree in order to “certify” that a student is proficient in design ideas and language, programs, etc. Graphic design is a super competitive field and a degree puts you into a position to compete. Same goes for jobs in museum curation, restoration, etc., — and maybe animation jobs in the bigger movie studios.
Art “jobs” that definitely do not require a degree are in illustration (comic books, book cover art, editorial art) and fine art. There are many others, but these are the most obvious. And, if you’re teaching classes in your local art association or arts guild you likely don’t have to worry about a degree there either.
So ask yourself: do I want to teach in a degree-granting institution or work in a corporation? If so, then a degree is probably necessary.
If you just want to be an artist and sell your work as fine artist, creator-maker, or freelance subcontractor, then you really don’t need one. No art director ever asked to see my diploma.
“So how do I acquire the skills I need to be a fine artist or illustrator?” you ask. There are TONS of resources online for painting and drawing and the finer aspects of crafting illustration images, how to work digitally, how to set up a fine art or illustration business, how to approach prospective clients, how to set up a website for your business, etc., etc. (If you’re still stuck, email me and I’ll send you a more comprehensive list of free or cheap resources.) An art education can be had way more cheaply than buying one from a degree granting institution.
Are you still unconvinced and remain adamant that you need an art degree? Ok, then perhaps look into the many minors offered at your college of choice that will augment your interests. Are you making paintings about the body? Then supplement your art classes with theater or behavioral science, or biology (anatomy, etc), or feminist studies. Are you a planning to get into comic/ graphic novel art? Then take a minor in creative writing, humanites, or business. Art isn’t created in a vacuum; your satellite studies and side obsessions are what will inform your work and make it grow.
Remember too, a degree of any sort will help you develop socially and emotionally as a person who can function well in a society. There are benefits to higher education beyond just developing technical skills.
Have more questions about your specific situation? Feel free to contact me or drop comments below.