Master of Fine Arts Degree Requirements

1. The program consists of 60 credits in the following areas:

2. Formal review of the M.F.A. candidates work will be conducted by the appropriate faculty at the end of the student’s second and third semesters of the graduate program.

3. Prerequisites to graduation include:

a. Preparation and presentation of a Graduation Exhibition, which will be a formal presentation of creative work.

b. An exhibition catalog which will include an artist’s statements and reproductions of the work.

c. A slide portfolio of the Graduation Exhibition must be submitted to the Art Department for its permanent files.

d. Successful completion of Art 510.

Residence Requirement. The M.F.A. degree requires at least two semesters, or one semester and two summer sessions taken within a three year period, in residence.

Professional Exhibition. All M.F.A. candidates are required to register for Art 599—Professional Exhibition (three credits). The intention is to give candidates a summary experience as they near the end of their formal training which will serve as a benchmark in their career development. The presentation and format of the catalog may vary with what the candidate and committee deem appropriate and complimentary to the work to be presented in the exhibition. The artist’s statement may include such things as a critical statement on the candidate’s work, its development, its cultural, philosophical and historical context, and/or reference to the artist’s procedures and techniques.

Candidacy for the Degree. Admission of a student to the Graduate School as a degree student in Approved Status implies only that the student has met the minimum entrance requirements and will be permitted to take graduate courses which normally may be expected to lead to a degree. The student has not been admitted as a candidate for a degree. Advancement to candidacy is granted only after the completion of specific requirements and upon the recommendation of the faculty advisory committee. Candidates for the M.F.A. degree will not be permitted to graduate in the same semester or summer session in which they are advanced to candidacy.

Students in Approved Status may be advanced to candidacy for a M.F.A. degree when they have satisfied the following requirements in approximately the following sequence:

1. Completion of the first departmental comprehensive evaluation. During the course of study, all M.F.A. students will be evaluated twice and recommendations will be made regarding continuation in the degree program. The first evaluation, held near the end of the second semester, is conducted by a committee of three members from the Graduate Faculty of the Art department. After formal review of the student’s work, the committee prepares a written summary of the results of the evaluation and a recommendation regarding the continuance of the student. A copy of the evaluation is sent to the Graduate School.
         
2. Program of Study should normally be approved no later than the beginning of the third semester of enrollment.
         
3. Completion of a substantial portion of the course work for the degree with an overall GPA of no less than 3.00.
         
4. Completion of the second formal departmental comprehensive evaluation prior to the end of the semester preceding the semester in which the student expects to graduate (normally the third semester in residence). The evaluation will be conducted by the student’s faculty advisory committee and will consist of a review of the student’s progress toward completion of degree requirements, and a review of plans for the professional exhibition. The results of the evaluation will be filed with the Graduate School and will include a recommendation regarding advancement to candidacy for the M.F.A. degree.

5. Recommendation to the dean of the Graduate School for advancement to candidacy by the faculty advisory committee.

Final Evaluation. The faculty advisory committee will examine and evaluate the student’s performance in the Professional Exhibition, and report the results to the Graduate School on the form titled “Final Report on Candidate” by the deadline specified in the Academic Calendar. The advisor and department chairperson will certify receipt of a copy of the Exhibition Catalog and a slide portfolio of the Exhibition.