Mapping jewellery schools

When I moved to the US I was quickly introduced to some of the finer points of the US education system, thanks to the Brigitte Martin co-organised Think Tank that I was a participant of, at Touchstone Center for Crafts in June of 2012.

It was before then, or perhaps at about that time, that I started compiling a map of US jewellery/metals programs in universities/colleges around the country. It’s a complex thing, as some schools have what is termed a ‘metals concentration’, while many others have a couple of jewellery units available to their undergrad students (sometimes taught by jewellers, but sometimes a part of a sculpture or crafts department, for example, and taught by other artists), without offering the ability to major in metals or jewellery. Needless to say, it’s quite different to my Australian experience, and since I’m inexpert at the differences between the two offerings, it likely has effected the composition of my map.

Caveats aside, here’s what I have so far: Jewellery Schools USA.

Based on a presentation at SNAG this year, I think there might be other similar compilations floating around, and given that it’s quite possible I’ve made incorrect judgements, (I did start out on the very conservative side, thus the current listing is only 19 schools and does not yet include Canada) if you have seen/own a better list please let me know and I’ll post it up here in this one’s place. Or if you have anything to add to this list, please email me for permission to edit and we’ll get them on there!

I know I promised a SNAG wrap-up; I just wanted to get this out there as I’ve been thinking about it since SNAG, and it might help answer a question from an email I recently received 😉