Through the School of Liberal Arts, the Newcomb Art Department offers the MFA degree in an intensive, two-year residency program that emphasizes close interaction with faculty and peers, with concentrations in Ceramics, Digital Art, Glass, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, and Sculpture. Degree requirements focus on studio work but include two graduate level courses in the history of art, and four MFA seminar courses that rotate in theme: Pedagogy, Professionalism, Studio Practice and Art Theory.
Sample Schedule, Master of Fine Arts, Studio Art
The Master of Fine Arts requires sixty-three (63) hours of graduate level courses. Two courses in Art History (6 hours) at the graduate level are required, as is attendance in the MFA seminar courses (12 hours) that are held each semester and rotate in theme (Pedagogy, Professionalism, Studio Practice, Art Theory). Of the remaining courses (45 hours) 30 hours must be in studio disciplines and are designed to meet individual needs and interests. These are mainly of a “workshop” or “atelier” nature. During the second year, all students are required to present a thesis exhibition in the Carroll Gallery and complete a written thesis contextualizing the exhibition. In addition, an oral examination is conducted by an appointed faculty thesis committee.
Sample Schedule
| Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credit Hours | |
| ARST 7010 | Graduate Art Studio (Studio work) | 3 |
| ARST 7020 | Graduate Art Studio (Studio work) | 3 |
| ARHS 7800 | Canon in Crisis: Challenging the Tenets of Art Theory | 3 |
| ARST 7800 | MFA Seminar (MFA seminar, rotating theme) | 3 |
| ARST 7810 | Studio Art MFA Critique Class | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| ARST 7030 | Graduate Art Studio (Studio work) | 3 |
| ARST 7040 | Graduate Art Studio (Studio work) | 3 |
| Art History Elective | 3 | |
| ARST 7800 | MFA Seminar (MFA seminar, rotating theme) | 3 |
| ARST 7810 | Studio Art MFA Critique Class | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Year 2 | ||
| Fall | ||
| ARST 7400 | Special Problems I (Studio work) | 6 |
| ARST 7410 | Special Problems II (Studio work) | 6 |
| ARST 7800 | MFA Seminar (MFA seminar, rotating theme) | 3 |
| ARST 7810 | Studio Art MFA Critique Class | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 18 | |
| Spring | ||
| ARST 7420 | Special Problems II (Studio work) | 3 |
| ARST 7430 | Special Projects (Studio work) | 3 |
| ARST 7450 | Thesis Project (Exhibition and written thesis) | 3 |
| ARST 7800 | MFA Seminar (MFA seminar, rotating theme) | 3 |
| ARST 7810 | Studio Art MFA Critique Class | 3 |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 63 | |
Frequently Asked Questions about applying to the MFA Program.