The Master of Fine Arts in Painting + Drawing + Printmaking is an intensive two-year course of study. We seek advanced students who are highly motivated, self-directed, and committed to painting and drawing as visual expression. We enroll between four and six MFA candidates each year, providing for a group of eight to ten students. Our graduate students work closely with a dedicated faculty of six professors who, in their own work, represent a broad range of contemporary painting. The Graduate Painting + Drawing Program emphasizes self motivated and intensive studio work and research. We encourage students to enroll in classes or seminars which are available in the university and the school at large. We encourage the cultivation of individual sensibility and the pursuit of each student’s unique artistic vision.
Why study Painting + Drawing at UW?
Studios + Facilities
Graduate students are each provided with a studio, and they have 24-hour access to many of the facilities needed for their work. The Painting + Drawing graduate studios are located in the School's Sand Point facilities.
EXPLORE SAND POINT STUDIOS + GALLERY
Work with nationally recognized faculty
The Painting + Drawing faculty are nationally recognized practicing artists and researchers that prepare graduates to become research-driven, experimental, and conceptual art practitioners.
MEET THE PAINTING + DRAWING FACULTY
Admissions
Annual admission to the Master of Arts graduate program is competitive. Applicants who are admitted begin their studies during the autumn quarter of the UW academic year.
Degree Requirements
Students receive a Master of Fine Arts degree following the successful completion of a two-year course of study, a thesis, and the Graduate School Degree Requirements.
Coursework Requirements
Students must complete a minimum of 78 credits. Year one of the MFA program is dedicated to seminars, studios, and electives. Year two is centered on the thesis project.
YEAR ONe
Autumn Quarter: 15–18 credits
ART 592: Painting Studio (5 cr)
ART 590: Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar (5 cr)
Elective (5–8 cr)
Students take ART 501 Graduate Student Teaching Mentorship (3 credits) in Autumn or Winter quarter of their first year.
Winter Quarter: 15–18 credits
ART 592: Painting Studio (5 cr)
ART 594: Painting Seminar (5 cr)
Elective (5–8 cr)
Students take ART 501 Graduate Student Teaching Mentorship (3 credits) in Autumn or Winter quarter of their first year.
Spring Quarter: 15–18 credits
ART 592: Painting Studio (5 cr)
ART H 509: Seminar in Special Topics in Art History (5 cr)
Elective (5–8 cr)
Year Two
Autumn Quarter: 15–18 credits
ART 590: Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar (5 cr)
ART 592: Painting Studio (5 cr)
ART 700: Master’s Thesis (2 cr)
Elective (3–6 cr)
Winter Quarter: 15 credits
ART 592: Painting Studio (5 cr)
ART 594: Painting Seminar (5 cr)
ART 700: Master’s Thesis (2 cr)
Elective (3–6 cr)
Spring Quarter: 12–15 credits
ART 592: Painting Studio (5 cr)
ART 700: Master’s Thesis (6 cr)
Thesis
The MFA thesis has a visual, written, and presentation component, and it is a degree requirement. During the second year of their program, students work closely with a thesis chair (a member of the Divison of Art faculty) to develop a body of work while simultaneously shaping the written thesis. They conclude their thesis project by exhibiting their work in the MFA Thesis Exhibition in the spring of their final year.
Satisfactory Progress Requirements
MFA graduate students must maintain satisfactory performance and progress toward completion of their degree program to continue graduate study and research at the University of Washington. Graduate students engage in quarterly progress reviews with their advisor and receive an annual progress evaluation from the design faculty to ensure they continue to meet all UW Graduate School satisfactory progress requirements.