MFA in electronic arts, BA in philosophy. An art practice allows you an opportunity to trust your instincts while working through a problem. I think this is a b

MFA in electronic arts, BA in philosophy. An art practice allows you an opportunity to trust your instincts while working through a problem. I think this is a big advantage. Also, art making is production oriented -- you work through the issues in the work itself. This puts you in the same company as the engineering co-workers and is an important point of commonality. But as a student, you also need to take charge of your education because there are pitfalls in much of the standard studio art curriculums (I'm a tenured professor of art. I see this up close....) The older pitfall is an emphasis on art training as the development and articulation of a personal visual style. This approach doesn't help you the long run and isn't particularly helpful when your goal is to apply your knowledge to IT work. The current pitfall is seeing your education as a checklist of training and mastery of specific software packages. This is often built into the course sequence of degree programs. I think this reflects the wrong approach. An art education ideally provides you with great powers of close observation, pattern making/matching and systems analysis/creation. It teaches you to trust your own abilities as your ideas come together. It teaches you patience. It builds critique and review into the creative process. And it ties you into a long history of people exploring the expressive possibilities of a diverse range of media systems. This is a great legacy to be a part of. My advice is to make sure there is room in your schedule for other liberal arts classes that involve reading, writing and discussion. These skills will help you bridge the differences between your approach and the approach of those your work with who have a more technical background. I love working with technology, and while at times I wish I had more knowledge in CS and math, I wouldn't change a thing about my background.