MFA in PAINTING + DRAWING
The Master of Fine Arts in Painting is an intensive two-year course of study. We seek advanced students who are highly motivated, self-directed, and committed to the disciplines of painting and drawing. We enroll between six and eight MFA candidates each year, providing for a group of twelve to fourteen students. Our graduate students work closely with a dedicated faculty of eight professors who, in their own work, represent a broad range of contemporary painting. We encourage the cultivation and examination of each student’s individual vision within the discipline.

Instruction is conducted primarily by the tutorial method. MFA candidates work independently in their studios with oversight provided by three faculty members who form that student’s Graduate Committee. At the end of each quarter, the full committee meets with each student to appraise progress towards the degree. These tutorials are supplemented with graduate classes. There is a quarterly Graduate Painting Seminar (Art 520), which covers a wide range of topics of interest to the painter. We offer a Graduate Drawing Seminar (Art 525) believing that a firm grounding in drawing is essential to successful work in painting. A Graduate Seminar, Art 512, is also offered, which focuses on diverse issues and fosters interaction among graduate students across studio disciplines.

A comprehensive education in drawing and painting stresses both breadth and depth. An awareness of the breadth of what is being done in the present and what has been done in the past encourages students to relate their own practice to both the current context and earlier historical ones. With this in mind, we require the study of art history, theory, and criticism to complement studio work. Our colleagues in the Division of Art History offer a broad range of excellent courses to satisfy this requirement.

A program, such as ours, situated in a major research university benefits from the influence of students and colleagues from a wide range of disciplines. Our program majors and graduate students profit by the experience of a rigorous conservatory education compounded with the breadth of exposure that such a university affords.

The two years of study toward the Master of Fine Arts in Painting culminates in a thesis exhibition, which is held at the university’s museum, the Henry Art Gallery.

Facilities
Each student is given a private painting studio and appropriate studio furnishings. The School of Art has a well-equipped woodshop and a large and newly outfitted computer lab for student use. The school also has facilities for work in ceramics, fibers, metals, photography, printmaking, and sculpture and has excellent faculty and graduate students in these fields who are generous with their knowledge. The school has a dedicated art library which has a large collection of texts and receives many of the important national and international art journals.

Course Requirements and Graduate Committees
A minimum of 72 credits is required for the Master of Fine Arts in Painting as follows:

Art 563 Painting (independent studio work) 24 credits
Art 520 Graduate Painting Seminar 18 credit
Art 525 Graduate Drawing Seminar 3 credits
Art History,Theory, Criticism or ART512 9 credits
Art 700 MFA Thesis 9 credits

Electives 9 creditsOur program’s Graduate Advisor works with students to help them plan their course of study and arrange for their graduate committees. Committee members oversee the independent work done in Art 563 and Art 700. During the first year of study, Graduate Committees are assigned by the Graduate Advisor so that each student has the greatest opportunity to work with as many faculty members as possible. During the second year of study, students work with the Graduate Advisor to select the members of their Graduate Committee.

Graduate Student Teaching
Graduate students have the opportunity to apply to teach beginning level undergraduate courses in drawing, 2-D design, and 3-D design. These teaching assignments are awarded on a competitive basis. The MFA program complements our BFA program, which consists of 90-100 undergraduate majors. Graduate students often have the opportunity to mentor excellent undergraduate painters in their work.