Master of Fine Arts in Art

The MFA program is not currently accepting applications for the 24-25 academic year.

Basic requirements are a minimum of 60 credits in graduate courses approved by the Department of Art and the Graduate School. A minimum of two 5000-level courses, totaling 6 credits, must be taken in the area of Art History (ART 5525 Contemporary Art and ART 5527 Art and Ideas are strongly recommended for graduate students), and a minimum of 12 credits must be thesis project. The student may elect, as a program option, to take up to six credits in other related areas outside the Art Department. These courses must be departmentally approved. Students are required to complete Art 6620, ART 6621, Art 6649, and Art 6650. Students are also required to take 12 focused studio credits. The department will accept a grade of C in one class as long as the minimum overall 3.0 GPA is maintained. The student will have the opportunity to repeat the course.

Each candidate for the MFA degree must create and display an original one-person exhibition during the last semester of study in the program. The MFA thesis exhibition is reviewed and assessed by the candidate’s thesis committee by an oral examination. In addition, candidates for the MFA degree must prepare and submit an original written thesis to their thesis committee prior to the oral examination. The MFA thesis exhibition and the written thesis should reflect a coherent formal and conceptual point of view. The MFA thesis exhibition and the written thesis should meet the professional and academic standards for the terminal degree in the visual arts. Completion of the requirements for the MFA degree requires a minimum of two years enrollment in the program.

Program Objectives

  1. Students will formalize their ability to direct and focus their professional work.
  2. Students will demonstrate the breadth and depth of conceptual capacity appropriate for a terminal degree in the arts.
  3. Students will demonstrate a professional level of competence and a unified creative point of view.

Program Outcomes

  1. Students will conceptualize and write a Thesis Proposal for their Thesis Project.
  2. Students will conceptualize and execute a Thesis Project  which  projects  the student's conceptual and expressive relationship with his/her major area(s) of studio work.