Art (M.F.A.)

Master of Fine Arts. Major in Art.

The Master of Fine Arts degree is a 60-credit degree designed for students wishing to prepare themselves for a career as a professional artist or art teacher at the college or university level.

The M.F.A. is the terminal degree in studio art and requires a thesis. The major portion of the student's thesis consists of a one-person exhibition of professional quality work supported by a written statement on the nature of the work. The statement includes an explanation of the evolution of the conceptual or theoretical basis for the work (including historical and contemporary examples and influences), and a discussion of the experiments, processes, and technical experiments that were used in the evolution of the work.

Areas of concentration are painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, graphic design, printmaking, and interface design, or a direction may be developed that combines two or more of these areas. Students wishing to work in an area other than those listed above must clearly state their intention in their statement of goals or intent upon application for admission to the M.F.A. program.

A final oral examination is required (and may be supplemented with a written examination at the discretion of the graduate committee).

1. Students should create a body of work that somehow expands their creative practice and showcases their understanding of current issues and developments in their chosen field or emphasis.

2. Graduate students should acquire and demonstrate the ability to use analytical tools, design processes, technologies, and bibliographical resources to develop concepts, reveal patterns of information, and create rationales for specific design solutions that can be communicated clearly in speech and writing to the public and various professional communities.

3. M.F.A. graduates should acquire and demonstrate the ability to integrate and synthesize information associated with an area of specialization, including the ability to reach and articulate conclusions as an individual artist or designer in work that is speculative and propositional; for example, what art and design can achieve or address economically, socially, culturally, and technologically.