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[Jane]

I applied to teach creative writing and literature at a private, well-regarded 4-year art school in a great city, and now they want an interview.

I'm not sure what to expect. Their website gives out very little info on the profs I'd be working with, so I'm not sure of departmental specialities, etc. Some faculty are VERY territorial, and I want to avoid seeming like an interloper.

In addition, their Human Resources page seems to be hidden, so I have no idea of the benefits, salary, etc., involved.

Most of the artsy profs at this school have an MFA, but it appears a number of those teaching English and creative writing have Ph.Ds. I'm glad about that, because I don't want to feel apologetic that I have a Ph.D.

I do like the idea of teaching at a medium-sized art school with a large international student body, though, because I've been at two large conservative universities, and I'm beyond tired of the homogenous opinions and looks (which are rather clone-like, if you ask me) of the student bodies. I'd at least get different points of view at an art school. At least, I hope I would.

Does anyone know how an interview at an art school might be different from an interview at a Research I institution? What should I stress, credential-wise? And how are the faculty different--if they indeed are at
all-- from those at a Research I institution?

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[Fiona]

Check info about Maryland Institute of Art (Baltimore) and the university of the arts (?) where Camille Paglia teaches in Pennsylvania.

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[On the way out]

Jane,

I interviewed (and was offered the job but did not accept it) at an art school.  My field is different (biology) - so there will be some differences.

How the interview differed -

I have to say in all honesty it was one of the most pleasant interviews that I went on compared to riesearch oriented universities and colleges.

Usually Research Unis. have you run around for a day or a day and a half - and you talk of 90% biology (I do love biology, don't get me wrong).

At the art school - the faculty I met were very different I really enjoyed it  - discussions revolved around other countries, cultures, philosophy, other hobbies - I am going to say very well rounded individuals which is what I always expected in academia (but rarely actuallyl run into that at research oriented universities).

Interview (teaching demo) -one of the briefest I have ever had in my life (for bio, usually 50 minutes to an hour - for art school - 15 minutes). I  I chose something they could figure out, resulted in discussion, and is in the news. I guess what I am trying to stress is - why should art students be interested in your particular field or what you are teaching for the day?

Other difference - you may want to look up the faculty members - publications. I was told point blank that - there were no facilities for research in my field (and actually they asked questions - and had I indicated I was a gung ho researcher, I dont think I would have been invited to the interview). Figure that out before you go in case they are into reserach. For the sciences, there is a database that one can go to - plug in the name and the list of publications will come up. I assume there is something similar for english?

Credential (what to stress) - I have never had to stress this anywhere - you have the PhD, and if prior experience I assume you already stressed this in a CV, cover letter - they are not questiioning your credentials at this point - can you teach? to their students (make material from outside their field relevant to them)? Do you seem like a good fit (would you be happy living there?)

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[prytania3]

Your track record of publications (preferably books) will be a major consideration. The second biggest factor will be your teaching skills. Your Ph.D will be like, whatever....

[just one more]

I didn't teach English at an art school, but taught graphic design in a design department of a large community college campus--and later moved into English at the same campus. What I did notice was that my art and design students who took me for English were, uh, how shall I say this--nontraditional. This was in N. California and the campus was rife with colored hair, many piercings (eyebrow, lip, tongue, cheek, etc.). One of the gd instructors even had red and purple hair! Most were very unconcerned with English--even the gd students who knew they couldn't communicate well with clients if they did poorly poo-poo'd composition.

I would say that trying to make the material relevant to art majors is important.

Read up on fonts and typography if only to "speak their language." Ditto on art and art history.

Use a syllabus that spells out everything so they don't weasel.

Consider dressing less formally or more interestingly. For a gal, maybe a turtleneck and skirt with some big chunky jewelry. If you really want to fit  in, basic color for wardrobe should include a lot of black and some accent colors.

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[Formerly]

For one year as a TA I was assigned to the art school of my big university. (It had a separate campus, and admission by portfolio only.) The faculty were cosmopolitan people, interested in many things. The students . . . well, about a third of them seemed to be people who had been encouraged in art because they were, frankly, not very good at reading and counting; I'm willing to be that a lot of them had undiagnosed learning disabilities. Another third of them were reasonably literate but tended to spend hours and hours and hours in the studio (reasonable, given their focus): they came to class rarely. From both of these groups, a typical Freshman Comp essay tended to run to about 100 words. The final third were probably better at comp than the general run of students in my sections at the main campus in other years: they tended (like the faculty) to be reasonably cosmopolitan, interested in everything, and often had facility in a second language, too.

This doesn't give you any help with what the interview will be like, I realize; but it does perhaps suggest questions you might ask about students, and prepare you not to be shocked if you learn some of these things.

[anon arts]

I'm a visual artist and interviewed at a well respected art school for a job. The job eventually went to the internal candidate, but, after seeing the short shrift traditional topics (English, Science, History, etc.) received, I was having major second throughts about teaching there at all.  

The library was awful, the required courses outside of art were few, and what they did have seemed academically anemic.  This is not true for all art schools, obviously, but if you are in love with your field, you may want to make a mental note about the importance given to non-art subjects.  You may find you are not interested in being second, or third fiddle.

[anon]

I think you should approach this interview as you would a small mid-ranking private liberal arts college.  Jobs for English PhDs are so scarce, you can assume your fellow faculty will be strong, and that the students, if it is a top arts school, are bright and creative but probably more mid-level in their writing skills and academic engagement.  I would stress your teaching skills, and your ability to draw out the academic side of students eager to learn to write and theorize about what they create.