The major departments at Pennsylvania College of Art & Design either recommend or strongly recommend that students become members of one of the following organizations. (Note: student-level memberships cost less than professional level memberships.)
Graphic Design: American Institute of Graphic Arts of Central PA (AIGA). A student chapter of this organization exists at PCA&D. Graphic design majors generally join and membership benefits include internship information; networking with professionals in the field; access to national competitions; regional portfolio reviews; and access to speakers, seminars, panel discussions and publications. (When these events occur near Lancaster, PCA&D students and Communication Arts faculty attend.) Having a student chapter means that PCA&D can host and invite illustrators to show portfolios at AIGA-sponsored open review of portfolios held at the College. The knowledge gleaned from interactions and critiques with a professional illustrator working in the field can increase a student’s chances of being employed after graduation.
Illustration: The Illustration Club of DC. Fourth-year illustration students who are producing their final portfolios are encouraged to join. Students who are members can post their portfolios on the club’s website, which is viewed by working illustrators and art buyers, particularly in the mid-Atlantic region, where there are job opportunities. Students pay reduced rates to be included in the club’s annually published and widely distributed professional directory. There is also access to open portfolio reviews, networking, publications, seminars and conferences.
Photography: The Society of Photographic Education. Student members can post their work on the SPE website, have access to mailing lists of potential clients and working professionals, and attend the annual conference, where they can network directly with clients and photographers. There is ongoing access to seminars, speakers, symposia, and publications.
Fine Arts: The Center for Emerging Visual Artists (Philadelphia). This will be a new professional resource for fine artists in the spring of 2010. The Fine Arts department has arranged to take third- and fourth-year students to Philadelphia for a day for an introductory program that will demonstrate the ways the center can help “emerging artists build sustainable careers.” PCA&D’s one-day program in the spring will include visits to studios of working artists; a networking reception with artists who are members of the center; a professional development workshop on a topic important to students’ success in the arts industry; and an internship, mentorship and gallery networking information seminar.