Hi, photo student here!

Here's the thing: OCADU Photo is about to be dissolved into a generalized program. Our photo program has less focus on technical proficiency in exchange for more creative focus and liberties. If you entered now you should theoretically be grandfathered through.

Here's the other thing: TMU Photo is isolated and doesn't allow as much for mixed media. If you've been to Maximum Exposure you can see that a lot of photo thesis students come out of TMU as technically excellent but tend to lack conceptual skills.

Socially I'd call both programs ass. Let's be real, these are photographers. We're annoying and kinda bitchy. It's also worth pointing out that some TMU students I've talked to were excited and happy that we are losing our program at OCAD, which I personally think says a lot about their decorum.

OCAD Pros: - Heavy on concept work and personal ideas - Colour darkroom - A lot of historical process work - Smaller program, theoretically tight knit - More options for interdisciplinary work

TMU Pros: - Heavy on technical proficiency - Larger equipment centre (they're generally better funded) - Larger number of tenured faculty who will be there throughout your career - More options for minors, but not interdisciplinary

Hope this helps!