Jewelry Design - Schools, Degrees, Courses

What’s it all about?
A degree in jewelry design encompasses two main things. The first is to give you a thorough understanding of the practical aspects of the industry. You’ll learn about the different approaches and contexts that a designer has available to him (or her). This will be further implemented by in-depth study and critiques of your own work, your fellow students and designers who already successfully work in the industry. The second aim of the course is to help you discover your own particular talents. You’ll be encouraged to experiment and take risks with different designs to develop your own individual style. Not only this, but you’ll study how cultural awareness plays a big part in understanding the design of popular jewelry. You’ll also discover how designers have social issues to consider along with the ethical implications that affect the manufacture of jewelry.

What will I learn?
Expect your degree course to begin with a comprehensive grounding in both technical and material research. From then on you’ll work to cover the following:

• Generating and development of creative ideas
• Workshop skills and techniques
• Creative use of resources, technical competence and material expression
• How jewelry relates to the body
• The study of popular culture, art and design
• The different approaches and contexts to jewelry design
• The importance of originality and design risk taking
• How to explore ideas within the restraints of commissioning and production requirements

How will I learn?
Your degree course will be delivered using a combination of both theoretical and practical learning. As the course progresses you can expect the learning process to become more and more practically based – with various projects allowing you to experiment and develop your individual style. This will be encouraged at all stages of your education. The aim of this is to allow you to develop a strong understanding of what is required from your designs, and how to successfully generate a creative idea into the finished product. Critiques and critiquing will aid your learning curve. Expect to be encouraged to take responsibility for various parts of your own education. This will increase as the course heads towards its finale, so preparing you for a successful career and employment opportunities once you leave education.

After gaining my degree, what options are open to me for employment?
Graduates in jewelry design can expect to find employment in a variety of fields. Of course, there are the obvious ones such as working for a commercial jewelry house – and there are certainly enough big names to aspire towards. Tiffany and Swarovski are just a couple of the prestigious makers out there. But a degree of this kind also opens doors to employment opportunities that you might not automatically think of. These include teaching, freelancing, styling and model making for the TV and film industry.

Today, more than ever before, it’s almost vital to have a degree if you want to secure any chance of forging a career in your chosen industry. With unemployment rising on a daily basis, employers really do have the choice of the cream of the crop. So taking a degree is one of the most successful ways in proving that you take your profession seriously. It’s a sad fact that many employers today simply don’t even consider an applicant who doesn’t have a degree. It’s a tough fact, but one you need to accept if you want to be a success. But it reaches further than that. Taking a degree in jewelry design gives you the solid foundations you need to commence your learning. After all, as with anything, your knowledge is only as good as the base it’s built on, and a degree in your chosen field is simply the very best way in which to create this.

But of course, there are plenty of jewelry design courses out there, and we know probably better than anyone what a mammoth task it can be to search out the ideal course for your particular needs. So that’s why we’ve done it for you. Here at CollegesandUniversities.org you can easily narrow down course options – and our advanced search facility means you can search by region, program or degree level. Our lists cover the whole of North America – so if you can’t find it here, you probably won’t find it anywhere! So what are you waiting for? Click over to our search page right now, whilst it’s fresh in your mind, and begin your journey towards the career of your dreams. Remember, opportunities don’t come to those who wait – they come to those who grab hold of them with both hands. And there’s no time better than right now to browse through our degree course listings.