With nearly 50 majors and degree programs, Keene State College has a lot of options to choose from, ranging from Education to Holocaust and Genocide Studies to Architecture to Studio Art and Graphic Design.
Every major entails some kind of extra work whether it be an internship, student teaching, portfolio preparations or in some cases, extreme out-of-pocket costs for needed supplies.
Three majors offered here on campus that require large out-of-pocket expenses are Graphic Design, Studio Art and Film.
Some may wonder why these majors entail such costs and what they need to buy that causes them to spend so much money out of their own pockets.
Some materials these students need are special printers, special printing paper, canvases, paints, paintbrushes, production kits, special film and the list goes on.
Michelle Lefebvre / Equinox Staff
All of these materials are essential to complete these majors and it’s nearly impossible to be able to graduate and pass classes without buying these necessary materials and kits.
Senior Erin Duffy, graphic design major, said she definitely did not know about all these extra costs when she first started taking her required classes.
She stated, “All of a sudden you hop in here, and you think that everything is right in front of you, and then all of a sudden [you’re told] ‘oh, you should probably get a printer that costs four-hundred dollars, you should buy ink for this printer that costs a lot of money on top of that.’”
Duffy made a point that many students can sell back their books at the end of the semester to get some money back, but graphic design majors can’t sell back printers, ink, paper and all their other materials at the end of the semester when they are done using them.
According to senior Kori White, studio art major, she knew she wanted to choose this major because, “art was something I always had as something I just enjoyed doing and I just decided that I wanted to be in a field that I could really express myself and be creative.”
White continued and she said that hopefully in the future she could, “use [her] artistic ability to be a wedding cake designer.”
White said that although she figured there were going to be some expenses, she wasn’t expecting there to be as many as there is.
“It’s hard because at the beginning of the semester, you buy your kits or the stuff you need and the materials and you spend a couple hundred dollars but then after each new project—there’s always a new canvas to buy or new paint to stock up on, so it gets to be a lot,” White said.
Film major and senior Shayann Lynch explained she grew up watching the same movies over and over and critiqued them, even when she was little. She said this is how she knew that film would be in her future.
Lynch expressed a desire to learn sound editing.
She said some materials she has to buy are, “Bolex’s, which are old video cameras—so you use real film and you have to buy the film and pay for it to get developed all on your own which is roughly, total, a little over five-hundred dollars.”
A plus side to the film major is these students are provided with some of the equipment they need for projects.
In the Media Arts Center, these students find equipment rooms. These rooms are available to students to rent for free, which helps cut down on some costs instead of having to buy everything with their own money from their own pockets.
All three girls stated how they all wished they knew more about these extraneous costs when applying into these programs so they could budget for these expenses.
Duffy said she would find it helpful if professors created a cost list ahead of time. She said,
“They [professors] put together a list for everyone and say on average this semester, if you’re following this rubric, you’ll probably end up spending this, and this is what you will be spending it on.”
Both White and Lynch agreed that it would be a good idea if incoming freshmen were given a list of what their estimated out-of-pocket costs would be for each semester and what they would be spending this money on.
White said she spends nearly a whopping $1,000 a semester on all of her extra required materials. Lynch said she has spent approximately $1,600 over all four years.
Duffy said she has spent close to $400 for just three classes during this current semester. For her portfolio class for next semester, she said students spend anywhere from $300 to $600 all together.
Despite all of the out-of-pocket costs and multiple extra materials needed, these students in the graphic design, studio arts and film programs say all the extra money is worth it, because at the end of they day, they love what they do.
Erin Severns can be contacted at eseverns@keene-equinox.com