studio art phd programs

Fully Funded MFA Programs in Studio Art and Visual Art

Last updated March 10, 2022

As a part of our series on  How to Fully Fund Your Master’s Degree , here is a list of universities that offer fully funded MFA in Studio Art and Visual Art. A master’s degree in Studio Art or Visual Art can lead to a variety of careers, including working as an independent artist, within an organization, on faculty in academia, and more.

Fully-funded M.F.A. programs can be difficult to find. Because most universities focus their funding on Ph.D. students, M.F.A. candidates can have a harder time securing scholarships and funding. However, there are a number of universities that do offer funded master’s programs. “Full funding” is a financial aid package for full-time students that includes full tuition remission and an annual stipend or salary for the duration of the student’s master’s studies. Funding is typically offered in exchange for graduate teaching and research work that is complementary to your studies. Not all universities provide full funding to their master’s students, which is why I recommend researching the financial aid offerings of all the potential M.F.A. programs in your academic field, including small and lesser-known schools both in the U.S. and abroad.

You can also find several external fellowships in the  ProFellow database  for graduate and doctoral study, as well as dissertation research, field work, language study and summer work experience.

Would you like to receive the full list of more than 1000+ fully funded programs in 60 disciplines?  Download the FREE Directory of Fully Funded Graduate Programs and Full Funding Awards !

Alfred University (Alfred, NY): Each accepted MFA candidate is given full-tuition funding and a financial stipend, either as a teaching assistant or as an intern, within the School of Art and Design program.

University of California (Berkeley, CA): 100% of enrolled MFA students receive financial support equivalent for both years of their MFA studies’ in-state tuition from Art Practice. All students also receive moderate materials grants for their studio practices. 

University of California (​Los Angeles, CA): In 2020-21, 100% of enrolled MFA students received merit-based support; the average, combined award totaled over $30,000 per student. Merit-based support is available in the form of fellowships, assistantships, and departmental awards; need-based assistance is available to those who qualify. 

University of California  (Davis, CA): The Art Studio MFA is a two-year, generously funded, critically engaged graduate program. It offers substantial financial support through paid Teaching Assistant positions each quarter and through Art Studio Program Fellowships, made possible by generous private endowments.

University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT): UConn’s MFA in Art supports art making across a broad range of studio media with an internationally recognized faculty, generous financial support, and new graduate studios. Five highly qualified applicants are admitted each year and offered renewable merit-based graduate teaching or research assistantships. 

University of Georgia (Athens, GA): All full-time students of the three-year MFA program are fully funded. Applicants will be automatically considered for departmental assistantships. Funding is also available from various sources to offset the cost of materials and travel related to graduate research. 

Indiana University (Bloomington, IN): Student Academic Appointments (SAA) are a primary source of funding for many M.F.A. students, and they make graduate students an integral part of the university’s teaching and research missions. They offer approximately $15,750, paid over a 10-month period.

University of Maryland (College Park, MD): The majority of candidates in the M.F.A. programs are given the opportunity to gain teaching experience through departmental graduate assistantships which include tuition remission and a stipend and are awarded on a competitive basis. In addition, the department offers numerous fellowships and awards to incoming and continuing M.F.A. candidates.

University of Massachusetts Amherst (Amherst, MA): The UMass Amherst MFA program award teaching assistantships completely defraying the cost of tuition to most of our graduate students. In addition, all graduate students receive shared studio space the first year, then single studios for the final two years of the program. 

Michigan State University (East Lansing, Michigan): All graduate students are fully funded through teaching or research assistantships and fellowships. Assistantships offer tuition waivers and health insurance. Whatever your form of support, the MFA program provides full-tuition waivers that cover ten credits per semester and sixty credits total over three years.

University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, NC): Due to the relatively small size of the M.F.A. program, the Department of Art is able to fund a substantial percentage of our graduate students. Departmental funding is available through Graduate Assistantships and Teaching Assistantships.

Northwestern University  (Evanston, IL): This two-year graduate program is an intense critique-based experience that is fully funded for every student. The program’s size, averaging 10 students in residence, ensures a rigorous critical atmosphere. Financial support comes in the form of Fellowships and Teaching Assistantships with full tuition waivers, health care coverage, and yearly stipends up to $32,000. 

Ohio State University   (Columbus, OH): Graduate and professional students at Ohio State have a variety of funding options available to them, including associateships and other employment, fellowships, loans and scholarships.

University of Oregon (Eugene, OR): The Department of Art provides generous funding for MFA Candidates during their three years of study. All students in good standing are given free tuition through a combination of Graduate Employee Fellowship support and tuition remissions.

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (New Brunswick, NJ): All accepted graduate students receive fellowships equivalent to the cost of tuition for the two years of the program. The department also offers a range of paid co-adjunct positions which students may apply for each semester.

University of South Florida (Tampa, FL): Every current graduate student in the School of Art & Art History receives a full tuition waiver plus either a scholarship OR a graduate assistantship. All applicants who are admitted to the graduate program are automatically considered for departmental assistantships and fellowships. Amounts vary from about $6,000 to $10,000 per year plus tuition waivers.

Southern Illinois University ​(Carbondale, IL): Financial assistance is available to qualified students in all fields of study in the form of Graduate Assistantships, Fellowships, Scholarships, Federal Work-Study Programs. 

Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX): SMU offers up to six full fellowships, covering full tuition and all related fees each year, supplemented by teaching assistantships. Additional funds are available for materials and travel related to students’ creative research.

Stanford University (Stanford, CA): Through a combination of fellowship funds and teaching assistantships, each Art Practice graduate student normally receives an aid package that includes tuition and stipend as well as small materials grants.

Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, Texas): Graduate assistantships are offered each year to qualified candidates. They are given a full tuition waiver plus a stipend. Graduate assistants are assigned a studio space.

Tulane University (New Orleans, Louisiana): All MFA students are accepted with full scholarships comprised of a tuition waiver and an additional assistantship stipend. The tuition waiver covers the full cost of tuition for both years of the MFA program. The additional stipend is divided up into 20 bi-monthly payments each year.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Knoxville, TN): Funding is available through graduate teaching assistantships with stipends and other graduate positions with tuition waivers are frequently available. Summer fellowship and some other scholarships are also available.

University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI): UW-Madison offers a fully funded, three-year master of fine art in the studio art program. All students entering the program are offered full tuition remission, generous monthly stipends, access to UW-Madison health benefits, and other annual funding opportunities including the option to teach undergraduate studio courses.

© Victoria Johnson / ProFellow, LLC 2021, all rights reserved

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Fully Funded Master's Programs , Fully Funded MFA Programs

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The UC San Diego Visual Arts PhD Program grants two PhD degrees: Art History, Theory and Criticism and Art History, Theory and Criticism with a Concentration in Art Practice . The program embodies the department's commitment to innovative research by embracing the close intersection of art, media, and design practice with history, theory, and criticism, and by offering training in the history, theory, and criticism of a range and mix of areas represented in our MFA faculty, including studio art, film, video, photography, computational media, performance art, public art, design, visual culture, and socially engaged art practice. Regional and cultural frameworks of study include European and Latin American art, Chinese art, nineteenth-century French visual culture, Mesoamerican, Native American, and Indigenous art and material culture, Medieval art and culture, queer and feminist art, material culture, science, technology, and art; and ocean, environmental, and land art.

The Art Practice Concentration degree, which must be applied for at the time of application to the PhD program, follows the same course of scholarly training, research, and writing as the Art History, Theory and Criticism degree, with additional requirements in research-based art practice that span all years of coursework, qualifying, and doctoral research. Two students are admitted to this concentration annually.

Information for Current and Prospective Students

Requirement overview, program requirements.

• Coursework, 88 units

Language Requirement

• Qualifying Materials and Exams

Dissertation and Defense

• For VA77 Only- Art Practice Project and Exhibition

Full Time Enrollment

In order to remain eligible for financial support all graduate students must be enrolled   in 12 units of upper-division (100-199) or graduate level (200 and above) courses each quarter during the regular academic year. Graduate students must also maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 to maintain good academic standing. The majority of students will choose to complete the majority of their academic coursework for a letter grade.

Pre-Candidacy

Coursework should be chosen in consultation with the Advisor and should be taken in preparation for the Qualifying phase. During the first three years in the program, students should aim to fulfill the following requirements:

• MA en Route Requirements (if interested and eligible)
• Qualifying Materials and Exams (year 3)

Advancing to candidacy occurs when the student has passed all course, language, and qualifying requirements and is ready to research and write a dissertation. Doctoral candidates, sometimes referred to as “all but dissertation” or ABD, work on their dissertation with Advisor and Committee consultation and feedback for two or more years. During this time, Art Practice candidates additionally produce the required art practice components. Each quarter, most doctoral candidates typically enroll in 8-12 units of VIS 299 and/or 4 units of a 500, in consultation with their Advisor. Candidacy concludes when the candidate completes and successfully defends the dissertation (and, for VA77, the additional Art Practice requirements) and is awarded the doctorate.

Degree Paths

The program consists of two degree paths: Art History, Theory and Criticism (VA76) and Art Practice (VA77), a concentration designed for artists engaged in advanced research who wish to pursue their work in an environment geared to doctoral study, and to produce studio, media, performance or public facing work alongside a written dissertation. See Handbook for further details.

Interdisciplinary Specializations

Students within the PhD program who are interested in the opportunity to undertake specialized research may apply to participate in an interdisciplinary specialization. Students accepted into a specialization program would be expected to complete coursework in addition to those required for their PhD program. The department offers interdisciplinary specializations with the following campus programs.

• Anthropogeny:   for students with an interest in human origins
• Critical Gender Studies:   providing specialized training in gender and sexuality
• Interdisciplinary Environmental Research : for students interested in environmental solutions

Curriculum: VA76 Art History, Theory and Criticism

VA76- 22 courses, 88 units

GENERAL FIELD EMPHASIS

During the first year of study, students declare a general area of study in consultation with their Advisor and with the approval of the Faculty Director. This general field emphasis will be considered as they choose courses and, toward year three, plan their qualifying materials. See the Handbook for general field options.

CORE REQUIREMENTS (8 courses, 32 units)

Required (4 courses, 16 units):

• VIS 200- Methods and Theories
• VIS 204- Rethinking Art History
• VIS 500 (1 course, 4 units)- Apprentice Teaching
• VIS 502- Graduate Teaching in Visual Arts

Breadth (4 courses, 16 units), choose from 4 different areas with 3 different faculty:

• Medieval, Renaissance or Early Modern Art- VIS 251, VIS 252
• Modern and Contemporary Art- VIS 254, VIS 255
• Media Studies- VIS 256
• Meso-American Art or North American Indigenous Art- VIS 257, VIS 260
• Asian Art- VIS 258
• Latin American Art- VIS 259
• Material Culture- VIS 261
• Design Studies- VIS 262

ELECTIVE REQUIREMENTS (14 courses, 56 units), choose from the following options:

• Art History Seminars (VIS 230-269), a minimum of 6 MUST be taken for the elective area
• Graduate Research (VIS 299), during 1st year with provisional advisor
• Professional Practice Seminar (VIS 220)
• Art Theory/Practice (VIS 206, VIS 210-219), a maximum of 2 may be taken
• Other Department, a maximum of 3 graduate level courses may be taken 
• Reading Courses (approved undergrad courses), a maximum of 4 may be taken 
• Directed Group Study (VIS 298), a maximum of 1 may be taken
• Individual Studies (VIS 295), a maximum of 12 units may be taken with Advisor

Curriculum: VA77 Art History, Theory and Criticism- Art Practice

VA77- 22 courses, 88 units

CORE REQUIREMENTS (12 courses, 48 units)

Required (9 courses, 36 units):

• VIS 206- Seminar in Art Practice Research
• VIS 207 (repeat 3 times for 12 units)- Working Practice for Art Practice
• VIS 210-219, 1 course from Art Theory/Practice 

Breadth (3 courses, 12 units), choose from 3 different areas with 3 different faculty:

ELECTIVE REQUIREMENTS (10 courses, 40 units), choose from the following options:

• Art History Seminars (VIS 230-269), a minimum of 3 MUST be taken for the elective area
• Art Theory/Practice (VIS 210-219), a maximum of 2 may be taken
• Other Department, a maximum of 3 may be taken 
• Reading Courses (approved undergrad courses), a maximum of 2 may be taken 
• Directed Group Study (VIS 298), a maximum of 4 units may be taken

For the VA76 PhD students, competency in reading, understanding, and interpreting texts in two languages other than English is required before advancement to candidacy (Qualifying Exam stage), and competency in at least one language is expected at the time of application to the program. Art Practice Concentration students (VA77) will be required to satisfy competency in one language other than English before advancing to PhD candidacy. The student and their Advisor will jointly determine examination languages. 

The Program’s language requirement may be met in one of three ways: 

• Passing the department’s in-house Language Exam  
• Passing one approved graduate-level language course 
• Passing two approved upper-division undergraduate language courses 
• Passing a two-year sequence of approved undergraduate language courses in a single language  

Required Paperwork

For each language exam or course sequence taken to satisfy a language requirement, a Language Completion form must be completed by the student, the proctor/instructor and submitted to the Student Affiars Manager in order to receive credit for completion of the language requirement. Submitted forms are automatically routed via DocuSign for approval and processing.

In-House Language Exams

In-house Language Exams test ability in reading and comprehension (by translation into English) only, not writing or spoken fluency in the designated language. The exam consists of two short texts, one less difficult to be translated into English without a dictionary, and one more difficult to be translated with a dictionary. The dictionary may be either a printed volume or an on-line resource. One hour is allowed for each section (total test time: 2 hours). The translations may be written on a computer or by hand. Exams are corrected by the faculty member responsible for designing the exam, who also invigilates the test. If adequate reading knowledge is not demonstrated, the student’s Advisor will review with the student and the faculty setting the exam the steps necessary to master the language and a new exam will be scheduled within a reasonable amount of time. 

Students requesting an in-house language examination should consult with faculty responsible for particular languages:

• Chinese and Japanese : Professor Kuiyi Shen 
• French : Professors. Jordan Rose and John Welchman 
• German : Professor Alena Williams 
• Italian : Professor William Tronzo 
• Korean : Professor Kyong Park
• Mayan languages : Professor Elizabeth Newsome 
• Spanish : Professors Elizabeth Newsome and Mariana Wardwell 
• Turkish: Professors Memo Akten and Pinar Yoldas

Individual arrangements for determination of competency will be made for those languages that cannot be tested by department faculty . 

Committee Constitution and Management

About the committee.

This is the group of four faculty who agree to the student’s request for mentorship and evaluation during the qualifying and doctoral years. The Committee is chaired by the Advisor(s). In addition to mentoring and guiding the student’s research, this team serves as the Qualifying Committee and the Doctoral or Dissertation Committee, conducting the Qualifying Exam and the Dissertation Defense. The committee must be formally appointed by Graduate Division in the process outlined below.

Committee Constitution

The Committee Chair is the student’s Faculty Advisor/Co-Advisors and is selected by Year Two through mutual agreement with the student. The rest of the Committee is constituted through request and consent between the student and other faculty, with the guidance and approval of the Advisor(s). 

Makeup of the committee:

• 3 Visual Arts Faculty (including the Chair/Co-Chairs), 1 member may be a non-PhD faculty
• 1 tenured or emeritus faculty from outside the department

For each option, Assistant or Acting-Associate Faculty may serve as a general member or Co-Chair but not as sole Chair. The Graduate Division website has  additional information  about committees and a  Committee Membership Table  which may be helpful in determining what role a faculty member may serve on a committee.

Submitting Your Committee

After faculty have agreed to serve on the Committee, and the Faculty Advisor has approved the list, the student must complete and send the  Committee Constitution form  which will be routed to the Student Affiars Manager for processing.  This form must be approved by the Graduate Division by Week 5 BEFORE the Qualifying Exam .

Changing Your Committee

There are times when committee membership must change after the intial review and approval. All changes to committee membership need to be approved by the Department and then Graduate Division. Committee reconstitution must be completely reviewed and approved by Week 5, the quarter PRIOR to QE/Defense. When changing committee membership:

• Review the Committee Membership requirements 
• Discuss the change in committee membership with the Committee Chair/Co-chairs
• Discuss the change in committee with impacted committee members
• Complete the   Committee Reconstitution form   which will be routed to the Student Affairs Manager for processing.

Committee Management

It is the responsibility of the student, in consultation with their advisor/committee chair, to engage with and request feedback on drafts of written materials and (for VA77) documentation of artwork progress with all committee members during research and writing of their qualifying materials and dissertation. The student also must email final copies of all materials to their Committee prior to their Qualifying Exam and Dissertation Defense. 

Qualifying Exam, Advancement to Candidacy

About the qualifying process.

The Qualifying process occurs throughout Year Three. The student, under the supervision of the Advisor and with the advice of the Committee, prepares two bibliographies (one on the chosen field of emphasis and the second pertaining to the proposed dissertation); writes a qualifying paper and a dissertation prospectus; and takes written and oral examinations pertaining to these documents. The Art Practice PhD additionally requires a practice prospectus and a third bibliography.

Qualifying Exam

The Qualifying Examination has two parts: A Written Examination in which the student writes two essays over five days in response to questions provided by the Committee; and two weeks later,  a 2- or 2.5-hour Oral Examination led by the Committee, during which the student is asked questions and put in dialog about all of the qualifying materials.

Qualifying Timeline

A student must have completed all required course work and passed all language examinations before taking the qualifying examination, which will be held no later than the end of the third year. Upon successful completion of the qualifying examination, the student will be advanced to candidacy.

Qualifying Exam Administrative Checklist  

Qualifying Exam Failure

Should a student fail the examination, the Faculty Committee will clarify the weaknesses in the exam, so that the student can prepare to take it a second time. If a second oral examination is warranted, they will have to re-take and pass the exam prior to the end of the Pre-Candidacy Time Limit (or they need an extension approved to continue). They can always take a leave and return but if the PCTL is expired, they will have to advance before returning or an exception to extend the time would be need to be approved prior to retuning. If the student fails the oral examination a second time, their graduate studies in the department will be terminated.

MA en Route

• Five Art History seminars 
• VIS 200 Methods and Theories
• VIS 204 Re-Thinking Art History 
• One Theory/Practice seminar (chosen from VIS 210-219)
• Four breadth courses, from four different breadth areas

We do not offer an MA with an Art Practice concentration. Therefore, Art Practice concentration students must make a formal change in their degree aim to designate Art History, Theory, and Criticism (VA76). This change must take place at least two quarters prior to the Qualifying Exam. 

Note:   Students who wish to receive an MA as part of the Ph.D. program   must apply for master’s degree candidacy by the end of the second week of the quarter in which they expect to receive the degree.   Please see the Graduate Coordinator regarding this process.

Necessary Documents for the Qualifying Exam

• Report of the Qualifying Exam

Necessary Documents for the MA on the Way

• Application for MA (due week two) 
• Final Report for MA 

Best Practices for Completing the Report of the Qualifying Exam and Final Report via DocuSign:

• Ahead of your exam/defense ask faculty to add [email protected] as a “safe sender” so those emails are less likely to go to junk/spam. Although campus IT has taken steps to identify DocuSign as a safe sender, it is still recommended that individual users do so as well.
• At the end of your Exam/Defense ask your committee members to check their email for the DocuSign email with the link to the form and sign while you're all online together. 
• ask the faculty to check their junk folder, spam quarantine, or other spam folders
• next, ask them to log into their DocuSign account using their @ucsd.edu email address and SSO credentials to access the form/s directly (https://docusign.ucsd.edu) *some people have personal DocuSign accounts so ask them to ensure they are logging into the UCSD DocuSign account
• Get verbal confirmation of who has signed and who has not, then follow-up with the Student Affairs Manager to resolve any issues your committee members have with signing the form.
• Once the appropriate form is submitted to the Graduate Division, the appropriate fee will be charged directly to the student’s financial TritonLink account. 

About the Dissertation

Following successful completion of the qualifying examinations, the candidate will research and write a doctoral dissertation under the supervision of their Advisor and with the input of the Committee. Students in the art practice concentration (VA77) will submit a written dissertation that observes the same regulations and conventions as VA 76, except that the length requirement is slightly shorter and there must be one additional chapter devoted to discussion of the art practice. In addition, Art Practice candidates will additionally produce and exhibit a visual component. See the Handbook for details. 

About the Defense

After the committee has reviewed the finished dissertation (and art practice components, for VA 77), the candidate will orally defend their dissertation (and art practice work and exhibition), responding to questions from the Committee in a meeting that may be public (the student may invite visitors), as per university policy. The Dissertation Defense is the culmination of all of your work within the Ph.D. program. Please read all of the information on the Graduate Division's website about " Preparing to Graduate " and make an appointment to speak with the Student Affairs Manager one year prior to when you plan to defend.

Roles and Responsibilities for the Defense

Student will:

• Schedule the Dissertation Defense with their committee. This is normally scheduled for three hours. (You are responsible for reserving a room or scheduling the zoom meeting). 
• Complete the PhD Dissertation Defense Notification form which will notify the Student Affairs Manager of the date and time of the defense. This form is required so that the Final Report paperwork can be initiated and sent to your committee members on the date of the defense.
• Follow-up with your committee, the Graduate Division, and the Student Affairs Manager about any issues surrounding the completion of your degree.

Faculty Advisor will:

• Ensure the   policy   appropriate participation of all members of the committee at the Dissertation Defense. It is also helpful to remind all committee members to sign the forms by checking their inboxes for the DocuSign request to sign the forms. These sometimes end up in a person's spam folder.

Student Affairs Manager will:

• Fill out the Final Report form via DocuSign and route the form the morning of the exam/defense for signature to all committee members, the department chair, and the Graduate Division.
• Follow-up with committee members regarding signatures on the Final Report and general petition forms (if needed).
• Send out the announcement of the defense to department faculty and graduate students.

Additional Information and Tasks

Preliminary Dissertation Appointments with the Graduate Division: Students will schedule their preliminary and final appointments with Graduate Division Academic Affairs Advisors utilizing the online calendaring system they have in place:   https://gradforms.ucsd.edu/calendar/index.php

Committee Management : If you need to make any changes to your doctoral committee please follow the instructions above in the "Committee Management" drawer. 

Embargo Your Dissertation:   Talk to your faculty advisor about embargoing your dissertation. You may want to embargo your dissertation if you are planning to turn it into a book. The embargo will delay the university's publication of your dissertation and prevent other academics from using your research.   https://grad.ucsd.edu/_files/academics/DissertThesisReleaseTemplate.pdf

Necessary Documents for the Dissertation Defense

• Final Report (routed for signature by the Student Affairs Manager)

Best Practices for Completing the Final Report via DocuSign:

• At the end of your Defense ask your committee members to check their email for the DocuSign email with the link to the form and sign while you're all online together. 
• Get verbal confirmation of who has signed and who has not, then follow up with the Student Affairs Manager to resolve any issues your committee members have with signing the form.

Paying Associated Fees:  For students who will need to pay fees (advancement to candidacy, thesis submission fee, filing fee, re-admit fee), they will be charged on the financial TritonLink account once the form is received by the Graduate Division. There is no need for students to go to the cashier’s office.

Grades and Evaluations

Only courses in which a student received grades of A, B, or S are allowed toward satisfaction of the requirements for the degree. Note that a “C” is generally regarded as unsatisfactory within this department. In satisfaction of all program requirements and electives, A, A-, and B+ are regarded as acceptable grades for seminars and courses. Grades of B, B- indicate weaknesses and are cause for concern. Grades of C+ or below are regarded as unsatisfactory and may lead to academic probation. University policy states that any student with more than 8 units of “U” and/or “F” grades is barred from future registration including the next available quarter. It is not recommended that VIS 295/298/299 are taken for a letter grade.

Grade Point Average

A graduate student must maintain a minimum grade point average of at least 3.0 (B average) to continue in good standing. A student is subject to dismissal if the overall grade point average falls below 3.0 at any time.

Spring Evaluation

Every Spring quarter, Advisors (in the first year Provisional Advisors) will submit an evaluation of their advisee’s progress to Graduate Division. Students are expected to submit a summary of the past academic year to their advisor. These evaluations serve as an important tool for students and advisors in assessing student progress, while also providing suggestions and goals for students’ successful completion of their projects.   

The Graduate Division will review the evaluations when student/departments are making specific requests for exceptions

The duration of the Ph.D. program is five to eight years. University and departmental regulations stipulate that the maximum tenure of graduate study at UC San Diego or Total Registered Time Limit (TRTL) is eight years; while seven years is the limit for receiving any type of university financial support or a student's Support Time Limit (SUTL). For the Department of Visual Arts, the "normative" time to degree is 6 years. Students are expected to pass their qualifying exam and advance to candidacy in year three, but no later than year four which is the university's Pre-candidacy time limit (PCTL).

To learn more about time limits please visit the Graduate Division website.

Time Limits:  https://grad.ucsd.edu/academics/progress-to-degree/time-to-doctorate-policy.html

You can check your time limit by logging into the Graduate Student Portal.

Graduate Student Portal:  https://gradforms.ucsd.edu/portal/student/

PhD Current Students

Phd handbook.

The department website and catalog are great resources for students to learn generally about the PhD program and progress towards their degree. There are detailed instructions and robust program information available in the full PhD Handbook. Each student should refer to this resource throughout their academic career.

2023-24 Academic Year

2022-23 Academic Year  

2021-22 Academic Year

How to Apply

• Join our PhD Art History Program (VA76)
• Join our PhD Art Practice Program (VA77)

MFA in Studio Art

Virtual Open House For Prospective Applicants

November 6, 2024 6–7pm CT Zoom

• Learn more about the program, the department, and the university.
• Meet faculty, staff, and students.
• Ask questions about the program and application process.

The Studio Art graduate program welcomes all lines of inquiry: spatial, lens-based, two-dimensional, interactive, sound, and performative. We are a multidisciplinary program using as an organizational structure the expansive territories of Painting & Drawing, Photography & Media, Print, Sculpture & Extended Media, and Transmedia.

MFA students work closely with dedicated and professionally active faculty to fine-tune existing skill sets and develop new approaches, both conceptual and technical. We have built a supportive yet stimulating community in which students are immersed in an environment of discovery, challenged to consider the depth of an individual discipline, encouraged to explore new ones, meanwhile finding overlaps in new and familiar ways.

Used to its full advantage, our curriculum is distinctive to each student’s interests and particular to the assets and research strengths of the department as well as to The University of Texas at Austin. The curriculum allows for many course options giving MFA candidates progressively more studio time as their investigations become more demanding and distinct. Students develop their artist’s voice, in both the ability to make images and to build intellectually upon the discourse surrounding one another’s practices. Students formulate an ongoing and dynamic dialogue with faculty, peers and visiting specialists allowing for a richly informed approach and experience in art making.

Coursework Requirements

Course Descriptions

ART 480: Group Critique in Studio Art    Group critiques of student artwork organized under the leadership of the instructor in additional to regular individual studio visits between the instructor and each student. 3 lecture hours a week for 1 semester. Additional laboratory hours are also required. Students must take this course each of the four semesters for a total of 16 semester hours of credit. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in studio art and consent of the Graduate Advisor.

ART 182, 281,381, 481, 581, 681,781, 881: Graduate Committee Study in Studio Art    Studio hours to be arranged. Work to be reviewed at end of semester by graduate committee with grade submitted by the committee member assigned to oversee that semester. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in studio art and consent of instructor and the Graduate Advisor.

ART 482: Seminar in Studio Art    Addresses topics and issues in contemporary art. Uses lectures, readings, guest presentations, discussions, and writings to articulate and discuss the production and reception of culture. 3 lecture hours a week for 1semester. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in studio art and consent of the Graduate Advisor.

ART 484F: Master of Fine Arts First Year Seminar    Restricted to first-semester graduate students in studio art. Designed as an introduction to the extensive research assets of the university. In addition, the class develops critical assessment skills and develops effective and consistent habits for working in the studio. 4 lecture hours a week for 1 semester. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in studio art and consent of the Graduate Advisor.

ART 498P: Professional Practice for Fine Artists    Restricted to second-year studio art graduate students. Designed to help fine art students through lectures, guest specialists, field trips and readings to understand and prepare effective strategies for entering various aspects of the art world. 4 lecture hours a week for 1 semester. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in studio art, and consent of instructor and the Graduate Advisor.

ART 398R: Master’s Portfolio Report    The production of a written interpretation of the artwork created in the graduate program, addressing concepts of and influences on the work, and including a digital portfolio of major works. The equivalent of 3 lecture hours a week for 1 semester. Offered on a credit/no credit basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in studio art, passage of the required 45-hour review, concurrent enrollment in Studio Art 498S, and consent of the Graduate Advisor.

ART 498S: Master’s Exhibition Seminar    The class is a vehicle for the presentation of a professional exhibition in which significant work from each of the students is displayed. The instructor organizes the exhibition with all students collaborating in its execution. The students’ final review takes place during the exhibition and is individually conducted by faculty committee. At a later date during the exhibition, students may publicly discuss and present their work open to the public. The equivalent of 4 lecture hours a week for 1 semester. Offered on a credit/no credit basis only. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in studio art, passage of the 30-hour MFA oral examination, concurrent enrollment in Studio Art 398R, and consent of the Graduate Advisor.

Example Program Plan

Program Handbook

People & Work

• Current Graduate Students

Visiting Artists & Critics

Each year, a number of artists, critics, and others are invited for visits through a series of speaker programs. In addition to public talks, many provide studio visits with MFA students.  

Speaker Series

Thesis Exhibitions

• 2024 / All Else

• 2023 / A Second Helping

• 2022 / Painted Hooves

Work Spaces

All students in the MFA program are provided private studio space in the Art Building and have access to a variety of analogue and digital labs and facilities .

Residencies & Travel Support

The MFA program offers competitive attendance fellowships to residencies such as Skowhegan, SOMA Summer (Mexico City), and Ox-Bow, as well as limited grants and travel awards for other professional development opportunities.

Tuition Waivers

The faculty’s goal is to award Tuition Waivers to all out-of-state and international students that forgive the non-resident portion of tuition . Therefore, it is very likely that each admitted student will only be charged resident (in-state) tuition for both years. Accepted non-resident applicants, as well as continuing non-resident students, are automatically considered for this waiver.

Fellowships

All incoming students are automatically considered for fellowship support. No additional application or supporting material is required. Fellowship decisions for continuing students are made each spring after a faculty review of student artwork.

Teaching Assistantships

Teaching Assistants (TAs) provide support to faculty members in classrooms and/or monitor open periods in labs. Some 10- and 20-hour assistantships are available to both incoming and continuing students, and all students are considered for appointment as TAs. 20-hour appointments pay the majority of tuition, a stipend, and high-quality health insurance. Appointments are based on institutional need and available funding, and are made on a semesterly basis (rather than annual).

FAQ Visit Apply

Program Contacts

Rowan Howe Graduate Program Coordinator

Eric McMaster   Graduate Advisor

School of Art

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• Ph.D. in Fine Arts

School of Art Fine Arts Doctoral Program (Art)

Fine arts doctoral program (art).

The Art track of the Fine Arts Doctoral Program centers on art praxis, which we define as theoretically informed action aimed at creating change in academic, social, and community contexts. We have chosen the word "praxis" instead of "practice" to signal a different relationship to theory than assumed by the theory-practice binary, and to indicate a fundamental difference between MFA programs in studio practice and the PhD. For Aristotle, praxis meant an action that is valuable in itself, as opposed to that which leads to creation, and for scholars of modernity from Marx to Lefebvre, praxis was, and remains, infused with an ethical and political imperative, and designated a more grounded and intentional mode of social and political transformation.

The Art track is part of a College-wide Fine Arts Doctoral Program , which includes students focusing on music, theatre, dance, and visual art. All areas of the Fine Arts Doctoral Program require a series of core courses that bring together students from across the College for innovative interdisciplinary and collaborative inquiry. These core courses support the art area's commitment to blurring disciplinary boundaries through original modes of investigation.

Students conduct interdisciplinary research integrating methodologies from a home discipline related to Art with methodologies from disciplines of Music, Theatre, and Dance housed at other Schools in the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual and Performing Arts or the University at large. Such interdisciplinarity is not simply additive, but transformative, blurring the chosen disciplines and even fundamentally altering them.

This program is for

• studio artists who want to transform their approach to making into a methodology for research,
• scholars who want to intervene in their home discipline by proposing novel ways of conducting research,
• curators and cultural practitioners who want to do community-engaged projects, and
• educators who want to rethink inquiry and develop meaningful practices organized around art and images that transform engagement through interdisciplinary initiatives.

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How to apply.

Interested candidates applying for admission to the Fine Arts Doctoral Program for Fall 2023 can do so through the Texas Tech University Graduate School portal.

A complete application - via the Graduate School application portal - will include the following:

• Official transcripts of all previous college-level study
• Official G.R.E. score report (The GRE score requirement has been waived for Fall 2024-entering applicants)
• 3 letters of recommendation
• Current resumé or curriculum vitae
• A scholarly writing sample (10-30 pages of academic writing)
• Art portfolio (optional)
• Statement of intent (800 words maximum; see tips on writing statements of intent). Please indicate in your statement the faculty members in the FADP(Art) program (see below) with whom you would like to work.
• For international students: passport and additional documents that prove your eligibility to study in the United States
• Registration fee

ENTRANCE QUALIFICATIONS

For acceptance into the doctoral program, the applicant must have completed a master's degree, or its equivalent, with emphasis in some area of the visual arts. Every effort is made to select candidates who show strong scholarship and professional competence.  Applicants who have not taken at least 15 hours of art history, art criticism, art education, arts administration, aesthetics, and/or visual culture courses at the college level may be required to meet the 15-hour minimum in the form of leveling courses taken here at TTU, which will not count toward the 60-hour minimum in the doctoral degree plan.

While the Fine Arts Doctoral Program (Art) takes applications year-round, please take into consideration the following dates:

JANUARY 15th for Fall semester entry, with full financial consideration.

OCTOBER 15th for Spring semester entry, with available/limited financial consideration.

curr icu lum

Degree handbook.

• PhD Handbook

ONLINE CATALOG INFORMATION

Student success, school of art alumni.

Class of 2012

Sara Peso White

Class of 2015

Bryan Wheeler, dissertation: “Painting ‘Section' or Painting Texas: Negotiating Modernity and Identity in the Texas New Deal Post Office Murals.” Lecturer in the School of Art and College of Media and Communication.

Class of 2016

Yuan-Ta Hsu

Lina Kattan, dissertation: “Conflicted Living Beings: The Performative Aspect of Female Bodies' Representations in Saudi Painting and Photography.” Associate Professor of Visual and Performing Arts, University of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Class of 2017

Norah Alqabba, dissertation: “Globalization and the Role of the Sharjah Biennale in the Transformation of Saudi Contemporary Sculpture”

Class of 2019

Kimberly Jones, dissertation: “Women in Contemporary Israeli Cinema”

Katharine Scherff, dissertation: “The Virtual Liturgy: An Examination of Medieval and Early Modern Ritual Objects as Media Technology.” Full-time Lecturer at TTU, Art History and Global Art Program, Affiliated Faculty Medieval and Renaissance Studies Center.

Jared Stanley, dissertation: “Working Through Grief: Continuing Bonds in the New Golden Age of American Television.” Division Chair, Division of Art and Design, School of Fine Arts and Communication, Bob Jones University.

Class of 2020 

Niloofar Gholamrezaei, dissertation: “Photographic Images, Distanced Realism, and the State of Being Modern in the Works of Mohammad Ghaffari and Otto Dix.” Assistant Professor of Visual Arts and General Education, Regis College.

Class of 2021

Ahmad Rafiei, dissertation: “Objects in Motion: Global Interactions and Cross-Cultural Exchange from Safavid to Twentieth-Century Iran.” Curatorial Fellow, Toledo Museum of Art, 2021-2024.

Sylvia Weintraub, dissertation: “Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Online: Why Making Matters on Pinterest.”

Assistant Professor of Art Education in the department of Visual and Theatre Arts at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

Class of 2022

Corina Carmona, dissertation: “Re-membering a Coyolxauhqui Pedagogy: Creative and Cultural Praxis at the Intersection of Ethnic Studies and Fine Art”

Deepika Dhiman, dissertation: “Using Autoethnography and Visual Storytelling to Examine How Identity is Informed by Social Normative Behavior in India and the United States”

Class of 2023

Kathryn Kelley: “Creatives Engage with Spontaneous Self-Affirmation as a Part of Their Writing Practices”

Quest ions?

Contact the interim coordinator.

Andrés Peralta, PhD Interim FADP Coordinator

Fine Arts- Art Doctoral Program Faculty

Klinton Burgio-Ericson, PhD

Kevin Chua, PhD

Theresa Flanigan, PhD

Rina Little, PhD

Jorgelina Orfila, PhD

Andrés Peralta, PhD

Maia Toteva, PhD

Heather Warren-Crow, PhD

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Embark on a new chapter in your journey of artistic growth and self-discovery.

As a graduate student at MassArt, you’ll explore new mediums and new approaches to making. Here, technical progress and creative experimentation are grounded in an understanding of the historical, contemporary, and global contexts in which we create. As you expand your perspective and enhance your practice, you’ll be challenged to create work that embraces empathy and speaks to social issues or personal challenges.

Inside our studios and facilities, you’ll find the time and space you need to develop unique, impactful work. You’ll learn alongside a diverse community of talented peers, and study with renowned faculty who are passionate about teaching, mentoring, and supporting students. Along the way, you’ll find countless opportunities to grow your creative network and connect with internationally celebrated visiting artists, designers, entrepreneurs, and scholars. 

• Tuition & Financial Aid

MassArt allowed me the freedom to engage with my work by taking risks and diversifying my art practice and that really set the goal for my career. -Ambreen Butt ’97, MFA, Fine Arts 2D

Master’s Degree Programs

Accredited by the National Architecture Accrediting Board, the M.Arch prepares students to thrive as architects and in other architecture-related fields.

Learn the art of teaching as part of an exciting, thriving art and education community that keeps studio practices at its core.

The MassArt BFA/MA qualifies Art Education students to apply for the Massachusetts initial teaching license.

The BFA/MAT qualifies MassArt BFA students who are not Art Education majors to apply for the Massachusetts initial teaching license.

Learn to lead organizational and social transformation at corporations, nonprofits, educational institutions, and entrepreneurial ventures.

Through rigorous research, prototyping, and writing, ready yourself for high-level creative roles at innovative organizations.

Refine your creative practice within the moving image through critiques and immersion in a wide variety of approaches to film/video media.

Develop an independent body of artwork in an interdisciplinary, collaborative, and flexible learning environment.

Explore the practice of photography along with the critical theory and the contemporary multi-disciplinary environment surrounding the medium.

Our full-time, two-year (60-credit) MFA Studio Arts program encourages students to experiment and explore, while refining the technical and conceptual strategies in their work.

Post-Baccalaureate Programs

In this immersive educational program, you’ll investigate the role and new uses of dynamic media in communication design.

Through collaborative class discussions and a rich, individualized curriculum, you’ll build your skills and elevate your practice. 

Gain a deep, practical understanding of the relationship between studio practice and teaching.

The MassArt x SoWa satellite gallery allows graduate students to display their work publicly while honing their curatorial skills.

Each semester, the Doran Gallery hosts graduate exhibitions, critiques, and experimental projects.

Gain hands-on experience in teaching, research, studio management, curatorial support, and/or administration while also helping to fund your education.

Discover endless ways to connect with our community.

Heirloom Convoy | MassArt x SoWa | 4th Annual Graduate Alumni Exhibition

• Saturday, September 14, 2024 / 11:00am to 6:00pm

Broken Amulet // Doran Gallery

• Monday, September 16, 2024 / 11:00am to 5:00pm
• Design and Media Center

Fall 2024 Photo Lecture Series | Barbara Bosworth

• Tuesday, September 24, 2024 / 6:30pm to 8:00pm
• Visiting Artist

Fall 2024 Photo Lecture Series | Keisha Scarville

• Tuesday, October 15, 2024 / 2:00pm to 3:30pm

Fall 2024 Photo Lecture Series | Mark Armijo McKnight

• Tuesday, October 22, 2024 / 2:00pm to 3:30pm

Fall 2024 Fine Arts Lecture Series | Barbara Sullivan

• Wednesday, October 23, 2024 / 12:00pm to 1:30pm
• Fine Arts Lecture Series

Fall 2024 Fine Arts Lecture Series | Brandon Ndife

• Wednesday, November 6, 2024 / 12:00pm to 1:30pm

Fall 2024 Fine Arts Lecture Series | Hanneline Røgeberg

• Wednesday, November 13, 2024 / 12:00pm to 1:30pm

Fall 2024 Photo Lecture Series | Stephanie Tung

• Tuesday, November 19, 2024 / 2:00pm to 3:30pm

Fall 2024 Fine Arts Lecture Series | Eric Aho

• Wednesday, November 20, 2024 / 12:00pm to 1:30pm

The Art Education program at the Lamar Dodd School of Art is grounded in critical, experiential, and interdisciplinary inquiry. Faculty and students benefit from close proximity to the Georgia Museum of Art, partnerships with schools and community organizations in diverse settings, and the expertise of renowned studio and art history faculty within the School. As a community of art educators, we explore the intersections of contemporary art, histories of art education, visual culture, service-learning, social justice, and digital technology. Graduates are encouraged to be innovators who challenge the status quo through locally and globally transformative practices.

Art Education

Art Education Faculty

Current Art Education Graduate Students

Art Education Alumni

Graduate Admissions

Funding and Research Support

Recent MAEd & PhD topics in Art Education

Handbooks and Forms

A Doctor of Philosophy in Art degree with an emphasis in Art Education is the highest degree offered by the area of Art Education. The culmination of the degree is the acceptance of a doctoral dissertation that demonstrates that the student is capable of doing independent and original research that contributes to the body of knowledge in the field. 

Candidates for the degree will demonstrate competence in academic writing, research methodologies and contemporary theories and practices in art education and related disciplines. The specific sequence of courses for each candidate will depend on his or her area of interest and previous coursework. The PhD offers eligibility for an upgraded T-7 Georgia teaching certification for those working in PK-12 schools.

Faculty Contact

Dr.  Mira Kallio-Tavin , Graduate Coordinator for Art Education,  [email protected]

Key Information

This program requires:

• An intense level of commitment and is best suited for those who have professional aspirations that require a PhD (Higher Education, Administration, etc.).
• Minimum 12 hours of Art Education
• Minimum 9 hours of Research
• Minimum 8 hours of Electives
• After completing coursework, students must register for dissertation research hours 2 out of the 3 semesters each year until the degree is completed.
• Coursework that is primarily in-person, as the program is residential.
• The following Exams and Checkpoints: Qualifying Exam, Written Comprehensive Exam and Oral Defense, Prospectus, Written Dissertation and Oral Defense

Two Options to Pursue the PhD in Art with an emphasis in Art Education

• Full-time study that is funded by a Graduate Assistantship, which covers all tuition and offers a monthly stipend (August through May). Graduate assistants typically serve as graders or instructors for courses in the School of Art. Students should anticipate a minimum of four years to complete the degree, with assistantship funding available for three of those years. We are able to offer a limited number of assistantships to highly qualified applicants each year.
• Part-time study. With this option, it is possible for students to maintain full-time employment elsewhere and take one or two courses each semester through the completion of the degree. All courses are offered in the evenings or during the summer, with some online options. This option requires students to perform all of their commitments to the PhD on top of their regular work and personal commitments. Students should anticipate a minimum of five years (often more) to complete the degree as a part-time student.

Certificates that can be pursued in connection with the PhD Degree

Interdisciplinary Qualitative Studies Certificate

Museum Studies Certificate

Interdisciplinary Disability Studies Certificate

Certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Resources and Links

PhD Handbook

• Provides further details about requirements for the PhD degree

Recently Completed Dissertations

Application Instructions and Requirements

Tuition Rates

• Select "Tuition & Fees", then select "Academic Year", then refer to the "Graduate Tuition Standard Rate for Master & PhD Candidates".

Graduate Studies at the Lamar Dodd School of Art

Guidelines and due dates for graduate projects can be found on the University of Georgia  Graduate School website . 

For more information about graduate programs at the Lamar Dodd School of Art, contact  our Graduate Office .

PhD candidate in Art Education Kira Hegeman completing field work.

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Studio Art Graduate Programs

Studio art graduate programs at the University of South Carolina provide an opportunity for professional growth and mastery of skills in various areas of studio art practice.

M.F.A. in Studio Art

The Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Studio Art is a 60 credit, three-year program of study that allows students to pursue major and minor areas of concentration in drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, ceramics, and sculpture. Students take courses in art history and/or art education and electives.

Graduate Areas of Study

Today’s art program should provide options for individual self-development. We recognize that the artist’s role has become more complex; technology has opened new frontiers, and divisions between mediums have all but disappeared. During the graduate years, students are expected to work as maturing artists motivated by independent ideas. In the sculpture area at SVAD, students find an atmosphere of stylistic freedom, which allows the realization of their visual concepts.

Sculpture at USC occupies more than 4,000 square feet of studio and shop space. Graduate studios are in a building separate from the undergraduate area. Each graduate student has approximately 400 square feet of individual studio space with 24-hour access to their studios and studio equipment. Additionally, due to the generally mild climate, students take advantage of the large covered outdoor working area. The sculpture facilities include equipment appropriate for most sculptural techniques.

Table saws, band saws, scroll saw, radial arm saws, chop saws, drill presses, belt and disc sanders, planer, four mobile oxyacetylene rigs, mig and arc welders, plasma cutter, bench grinders, foundry and mold making area, large metal cutting horizontal band saw, various pneumatic tools, large sandblasting cabinet and mobile pressure pot, forge with treadle hammer, paved, lighted and covered outdoor work area, fork lift, and most major hand and power tools.

The sculpture faculty is committed to an ongoing program of visiting artists. This policy gives our students exposure to the realities of the professional art world along with a chance to exchange ideas with some of today’s top artists. Visiting artists have included: James Surls, Greg Elliott, William Martin, Nam June Paik, Leo Castelli, William Wegman, Gregory Armanoff, Alfred Leslie, Shaun Cassidy, Robert and Paula Winokur, Norwood Viviano, Bernadette Vielbig, James Alexander, John Douglas Powers, and Jason Ferguson, to name a few.

MFA students' personal interests vary from a strong vessel orientation to sculptural and conceptual art forms in clay. Students are encouraged to develop a sense of ceramic history and contemporary art issues through graduate seminars, guest speakers, and art history classes. The size of our program allows for considerable interaction between students and faculty. 

The drawing program is designed to provide a wide range of drawing experiences and approaches. Class enrollments are limited to ensure one-on-one instruction. USC has  three dedicated drawing studio classrooms (two for general drawing and one for figure drawing) that are available for students both during classes and during off class hours. Each studio has a high ceiling,  windows, and overhead specialty lighting.  The drawing faculty are all exhibiting professional artists and excellent teachers who look forward to working with you to achieve your creative potential. Numerous visiting and adjunct faculty also teach in the drawing area.

The painting program's focus is to create a community in which students can develop as serious committed artists who express themselves through painting. Our objective is to expose students to the history and aesthetic breadth of the medium, to challenge them to develop their own initiatives and to pursue excellence. Our focus is broad and interdisciplinary, it follows no ideological agenda, yet remains centered in a celebration of the medium of painting.

The photography program at USC is run by Professor Kathleen Robbins. We offer a classroom with print finishing and display areas, two black and white darkrooms with a total of 20 enlargers (including 3 new Saunders 4x5 VCCE's), a film developing area, and a fully equipped lighting studio. Digital facilities include: film and flatbed scanners, large-format inkjet printers, piezography and archival inkjet output, a comprehensive ICC profile library, and 20 calibrated E-Mac workstations. A selection of cameras and equipment are available for check-out through Media Services. 

In the photography program, emphasis is on personal exploration of ideas within the context of contemporary art and critical theory. B.F.A. photography students will explore a variety of techniques & concepts including: advanced black & white printing, medium & large-format, studio lighting, digital imaging, non-silver, early processes, critical theory, and career practices. At the 400-level, students pursue individual projects in depth and work to create a course web gallery and an editioned portfolio project. Additionally, 400-level students complete an individual portfolio and group exhibition. The photography concentration in Studio Art prepares students for a variety of careers including: fine art photographer, educator, curator, critic, gallery owner, and arts administrator.

The M.F.A. degree in photography consists of a 60 hour program of study, which typically takes three years to complete. Successful completion of the program requires an understanding of one's work within the context of critical theory and contemporary art. Upon completion of the degree requirements, students are expected to demonstrate expertise within the field of photography through the exhibition of a substantial body of work.

Our facilities are equipped for all the major printmaking processes: relief, intaglio, serigraphy, lithography, and digital imaging. There are two hand-driven lithograph presses (and many stones to go with them), three hand-driven etching presses, a large vacuum table for screen printing, an exposure unit for large-format screen printing, and a photographic plate maker. There is also a well-equipped computer lab with a large plotter printer.

  In addition to the facilities in McMaster College, there is a variety of letterpress and papermaking equipment in the new USC Studio for Book Arts. Along with the presses, there is another large vacuum table for screen printing and a motorized fiber beater for papermaking. The creative atmosphere is one of tradition, experimentation, and variety in terms of format and technique. In addition to creating prints in traditional methods, many students create installations and combine printmaking processes with photography, drawing, painting, or three-dimensional work. There is a strong communal aspect among students and faculty, and a great deal of interaction with the other areas and programs in the School of Visual Art and Design.

Core Faculty

• Catherine Chi, M.F.A. / Graphic Design + Illustration
• Brent Dedas, M.F.A.   / Drawing and Graphic Design + Illustration
• Naomi Falk, M.F.A.   / 3D Studies
• Dawn Hunter, M.F.A.   / Foundations Studies
• Meena Khalili, M.F.A.   / Graphic Design + Illustration
• Stephanie Nace, M.F.A.   / Graphic Design + Illustration
• Jess Peri, M.F.A. / Photography
• Kathleen Robbins,  M.F.A.   / Photography
• Sara Schneckloth, M.F.A.   / Drawing
• Virginia Scotchie, M.F.A.   / Ceramics
• Jordan Sheridan, M.F.A. / 2D Studies/Painting
• Marius Valdes, M.F.A.   / Graphic Design + Illustration

Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.

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UCLA Graduate Programs

Graduate Program: Art

UCLA's Graduate Program in Art offers the following degree(s):

Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)

With questions not answered here or on the program’s site (above), please contact the program directly.

Art Graduate Program at UCLA Broad Art Center, Rm. 2275 240 Charles E. Young Drive Box 951615 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1615

Visit the Art’s faculty roster

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Visit the registrar's site for the Art’s course descriptions

• Admission Requirements
• Program Statistics

(310) 206-7363

[email protected]

MAJOR CODE: ART

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A rigorous, three-year program that train students for careers in the fields of art, design, and education. Students work closely with talented faculty and benefit from ample studios, generous funding, and state-of-the-art facilities.

Degree Type: Masters

Degree Program Code: MFA_ARTS

Degree Program Summary:

The Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia offers graduate study in art education, art history, and studio art. The programs, leading to the M.A., M.A.Ed., M.F.A., Ed.S., and Ph.D. degrees, prepare students for a variety of careers within the arts and are described in detail in the Graduate Handbook.

The MFA program has a flexible, forward-thinking curriculum that allows students to concentrate in one area or cross-pollinate and experiment. Students work closely with faculty mentors in the School of Art and benefit from access to leading researchers in a variety of extra-aesthetic fields at the University. MFA students make objects and ephemera, performances and paintings, photographs and installations, lens-based work and jewelry, textiles and interiors, soundscapes and relational situations.

Students are required to pass periodic reviews and participate in a public exhibition of creative studio work during the final semester of residence. The exhibition will be evaluated by faculty, who will determine if the exhibited work represents a satisfactory level of professional accomplishment by the candidate. Faculty approval of the exhibition is a requirement for graduation.

Applicants are admitted in the fall semester. The application deadline is January 1.

Locations Offered:

Athens (Main Campus)

College / School:

Franklin College of Arts & Sciences

346 Brooks Hall Athens, GA 30602

706-542-8776

Department:

Lamar Dodd School of Art

Graduate Coordinator(s):

Isabelle Wallace

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MFA Art Practice

The MFA program provides a rigorous and demanding educational environment appropriate to the needs of strongly motivated students.

Participants are chosen for the program on the basis of work that indicates high artistic individuality, achievement, and promise. Candidates should embody the intellectual curiosity and broad interests appropriate to, and best served by, work and study within the University context.

Program Overview

The non medium-specific program provides a demanding curriculum and encourages experimental and innovative integration of media and interdisciplinary approach to art-making informed by contemporary theory, criticism and broader culture. The small program facilitates intimate interaction between peers and with the faculty in an intellectual community, and affords a wealth of professional experience in teaching art at the highest academic level via teaching assistantships and solo teaching of undergraduate courses.

Size of the Program

The Department typically admits up to 5 students each year to this program.

Time to Completion

Two years; students are required to be in residence at Stanford for the full two years of the program.

Financial Aid

Through a combination of fellowship funds and teaching assistantships, each Art Practice graduate student normally receives an aid package that includes tuition and salary, as well as small materials grants. Additional information about graduate financial aid, including a student budget and tuition calculator, is available at  financialaid.stanford.edu/grad . 

Stanford Studios

Graduate students in the MFA Art Practice program have individual studio space provided at the Bleeker site, three buildings located in a remote and quiet section of the campus. The studios vary in size from 300 to 800 square feet. Students also have access to woodworking and machine shops, and the photo and digital labs.  Many of our students also utilize the Product Realization Lab in the School of Mechanical Engineering.

Paris Studio

Stanford University maintains a Paris studio apartment. The Departments of Art & Art History, Music, Drama, Film, Dance, and Creative Writing may nominate one student each for this studio residency. The Associate Dean of Humanities and Sciences then makes the final selection of two students for six-month residencies. The residency takes place following graduation from the MFA Program. 

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Master of Fine Arts Studio Art

Earn your mfa in nyc.

Study with accomplished artists and scholars within an interdisciplinary setting. This two-year degree provides you with private studios and access to facilities in painting, printmaking, ceramics, photography, digital media, and sculpture.

Degree Details

Official degree title.

Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art

Information Sessions

MFA Studio Art On-Campus Info Session

This information session will cover the nature of NYU's MFA program in Studio Art including faculty, coursework, facilities, scholarships, and admissions process. Join us!

MFA Studio Art Online Info Session

This information session will cover the nature of NYU's MFA program in Studio Art including faculty, coursework, facilities, scholarships, and admissions process.

Degree Overview

Your academic experience.

Our MFA is dedicated to assisting artists in developing their work through an approach that is intensely introspective while collectively open to the challenges and issues of the larger world. We ask you to consider, both critically and irreverently, your own practices and assumptions, as well as those of the contemporary art world. Designed to be small, the degree provides ample opportunity for individual attention and critique. We are nonrestrictive and encourage you to work with whatever media or formal means best suit your ideas.

Student Learning Outcomes

Analyze and examine the process of artistic production through guidance and critique with faculty, visiting artists, curators and critics.

Develop critical thinking as it applies to the conceptual and aesthetic foundation of individual studio practice. 

Communicate clearly and effectively both verbally and in writing the link between theory and individual artistic practice with specific attention to historical and cultural contexts.

Synthesize critique and intellectual reflection into individual artistic production, culminating in a thesis exhibition of contemporary and critical relevance.

During the course of study, you will engage in a team-taught interdisciplinary critique class each semester, as well as one full afternoon each week of individual studio meetings with visiting artists, full-time faculty, and visiting faculty.

Students study with faculty who are acclaimed artists, critics, and writers with diverse interests and disciplines who see teaching as an integral part of an ongoing and influential creative practice. We draw our faculty from the surrounding New York art world, and the deeply engaged relationship between them and our students represents the core of our MFA community.  

MFA studios and facilities are located in the Department of Art and Art Professions' six-story Beaux-Arts Building at 34 Stuyvesant Street in the East Village. Students have the opportunity to exhibit their work during Open Studios as well as in solo installations and group shows at the Art Department’s 80WSE Gallery .

MFAs have private studios and access to facilities for sculpture, printmaking, painting, drawing, ceramics, metalsmithing, sewing, photography, fabrication, and digital printing.

Learn more about NYU studio facilities .

If you have any additional questions about our degree, please feel free to contact [email protected] .

MFA Exhibitions

Students have the opportunity to exhibit their work during Open Studios as well as in solo installations and group shows at the Art Department’s  80WSE Gallery .

View a full list of department exhibitions and events.

Visiting Artist Lectures

Every year, our MFA students organize a series of Visiting Artist Lectures.

2023–24 artists include  Matt Jones, Jack Pierson, Jason Fox, Tschabalala Self, Oscar yi Hou, Keltie Ferris, Kathy Ruttenberg, Virginia Lee Montgomery, Farah Al Qasimi, and Anne Libby .

Art and Art Professions

Barney Building 34 Stuyvesant Street, New York, NY 10003 212-998-5700 [email protected]

Take the Next Step

Advance your personal and professional journey – apply to join our community of students.