Art, M.A.

Admission

Applicants must have a B.A., B.F.A., or equivalent degree from an accredited college or university. The applicant’s transcript must be equivalent to the curriculum requirements of an undergraduate degree in art and any undergraduate deficiencies in art history or studio art must be remedied. A representative portfolio in prints and/or images on CD/DVD-ROM, an artist’s statement, three letters of recommendation, and a letter of intent must be approved by the graduate faculty of art and will remain on file in the graduate advisor’s office.

Curriculum Requirements

The M.A. curriculum in art consists of 36 credit hours of graduate study as follows:

Transfer credit of up to six credit hours is allowed for the M.A. degree at the discretion of the art program’s graduate faculty.

The maximum number of credit hours that a student can take at the 6000 level is 15 hours. Studio work must include a minimum of three credit hours with at least three different faculty professors. Elective hours, with the approval of the graduate advisor, may be met with courses within or outside of the art program.

 The time limitation for completion of the M.A. degree is six years.

Review

Each semester, a critique will be done of the student’s work with all School of Art, Design and Art History  faculty. Full formal reviews of the full portfolio to date are required at the end of the second semester or at the completion of 18 credit hours with all School of Art, Design and Art History  faculty and thesis committee members.  At each semester critique and during the formal review, each student is also required to present an artist’s statement to discuss with all faculty members present in conjunction with their body of work. The artist’s statement and the representative body of work must also be discussed with the thesis committee separately from the formal review. If a student does not pass the formal review, a probationary review will take place at the end of the next semester. Failure to pass a probationary review will result in dismissal from the program.

The Master’s Thesis

The student will select a graduate professor to be director of the master’s thesis and chair of the thesis committee. The master’s thesis is defined by the student in consultation with the major professor and consists of a body of creative works in an identified area of emphasis and a written component discussing the works. The format for the submission of the thesis work consists of professional documentation in prints and CD/DVD-ROM, as well as a written master’s statement. The evaluation committee consists of three professors: two from studio art and one from a discipline outside of the studio art area. The committee will conduct an oral examination at which time the student will defend and discuss the work presented. Students must adhere to all departmental and Graduate School deadlines concerning completion of the thesis project. The written component and images must be submitted to the Graduate School and follow the thesis preparation guidelines.