Art Institute of Ft.Lauderdale

[Scottg4001]

Hey everyone. My name is Scott and I live in Ft.Lauderdale,FL. I am seeking a yacht design course to fulfill my needs. I have attempted Westlawn but found it difficult without someone there explaining to me the information,etc. It become annoying to stop studying and email the designated professor and wait a response to continue and sometimes the response was still a bit confusing.Also the curriculam seemed a bit unorganized. I know that many seem to agree that the program at the art institute is a more of a art school where you learn to draw a yacht and make it look nice, etc. I have the courses in front of me and will list the yacht and marine courses only and let you guys tell me is this something worth while. My goal in life is to graduate and then work for a company and then in the future design and build my own line of boats. I basically want to design center console and flats boats.

Here are a list of the marine classes given in the course:

Fundamentals of Vessel Design
Marine Drafting
Marine Rendering
Marine Construction Materials and Techniques
Marine Design Process
Computer-Aided Drafting
Advanced Marine Rendering
Exterior Yacht Design
Marine Systems
Exterior Yacht Design(again)
Model Shop
Marine Component Design
Marine Business
Graduate project research and porgramming
Graduate project application and defense

These are the main courses mixed in with art, english, math and science.

If anyone has gone through this course it would be very helpful to get you opinion as well.

Thanks, Have a good weekend

Scott

[DavidJ]

I wasn't sure if they were still offering that course. They no longer list it on the website. As far as schools go I think that one is about the most expensive option around. It would probably be cheaper to go anywhere else, even considering moving and living expenses.

If you are in the same city anyhow you should go to the school and have a look around. I'm sure if you called them they could arrange a time for you to get in and see what they are doing. You could talk to the instructors and see some of the work the students are doing. Contact any local boat designers and builders you can find and ask them if they have ever hired any grads of the program. They will be able to give you the best information about the quality of the program. If the grads are good, usually the program is good.