SCAD Savannah has been around for a little more than 30 years. Thirty-three, to be exact. During that time, the private college has grown from 71 students to 10,461. Savannah, the main hub of the growing university, is the only location out of four that features 38 of the 42 programs of study. SCAD Atlanta follows close behind with 20. Hong Kong, which just opened in September 2010, has eight.
Over the last six years, SCAD Atlanta has grown substantially. Still, students sometimes talk about the lack of complete majors, such as dramatic writing and sound design. “We have expanded our majors from 12 to 20 in the six years our campus has been in operation,” said Teresa Griffis, Ph.D., associate vice president for SCAD Atlanta. “A new major is considered for Atlanta based on student demand, infrastructure availability and ability to attract top notch faculty.”
Some students made the choice to come to Atlanta hoping that their major would become available. For first-year, undecided student Mark Maynard, the wait has been too long. “I originally came to this campus as a student athlete, hoping to join the sound design program,” said Maynard. “It was supposed to start this fall, but apparently that’s not going to happen.”
Students like Maynard have few options in this situation when they’ve already committed to being a student at SCAD. They can transfer to Savannah, where the programs are more plentiful, or they can stay in Atlanta and pursue another program. Atlanta is the sole location which offers television production, printmaking and sculpture. Griffis urged students to bring their concerns to her. “We are always evaluating additional programs, and if students are interested in majors we don’t offer, then they should communicate this to my office at thall@scad.edu,” Griffis said.
Correction, May 25: This article has been changed to reflect the following corrections: There are 42 programs of study, not 38, and Atlanta offers three programs which are not offered in full elsewhere — television production, printmaking and sculpture.