The M. F. A. program in Studio Art is intended for students who are committed to becoming professional artists and who want an intensive 60-credit hour, in-residence preparation for a career in art. The program is organized to be completed in three years, with a two-year program possible under rare circumstances. The studio program allows a student to select a discipline as well as experiment in a range of other areas, using an interdisciplinary approach when desired.

Animation

The Animation discipline is tailored to meet the interests and self-directed needs of the individual students, and by its very nature is cross-disciplinary. Courses in animation emphasize contemporary production processes and principles of animation that may be applied within classical 2D, stop frame and digital media time based animation and narrative. An emphasis on experimental, non-commercial applications are central to the pursuit of animation at the graduate level.

Ceramics

The Ceramics discipline is structured so that students participate in seminars and work independently in consultation with faculty until they enter thesis. Knowledge of, and expertise in, all areas of traditional and contemporary ceramic concepts is stressed.

Digital Media: Still

Digital Media: Still engages the means, methods and practices of captured image making using digital formats. With an understanding that the computer itself is a meta-medium, students in more advanced courses are encouraged to incorporate different media into their projects. Theoretical, and historical information is presented in relation to technological advances in order for students to think about the computer as a means to an end rather than an end in itself.

Digital Media:Time-Based

Digital Media: Time- Based explores the creative possibilities of digital video and sound. Coursework focuses on a strong foundation of technical skills in relation to the histories of film and video in their larger cultural contexts. Students will be encouraged to investigate concepts of time (duration, speed, rhythm) in relation to narrative, documentary and experimental practices.

Drawing

In the 21st century, drawing has taken center stage as a means of communication and mode of expression, no longer second citizen to other formal means of art making. The immediacy of drawing combined with its broader definitions, make drawing an ideal method for artistic expression and experimentation. The drawing studio courses provide exposure to the wide variety of approaches to drawing including line, form, analysis and idea. Explored are both objective and subjective visual representations and experiments with a variety of mark-making media. The objective of the drawing curriculum is to have students broaden their visual vocabulary. while expanding or perhaps altering their method of operation within their individual practices.

Painting

The Painting discipline offers students the opportunity to develop their creative skills in the painting medium while working with professional artists. Emphasis is placed upon the independent development of the personal, expressive needs of each student.

Photography

The Photography discipline is designed to meet the needs of students who are self-directed and emphasizes the link between photography (in all its applications) and the critical issues of contemporary visual practice. Students are encouraged to develop technical expertise through work on projects that are cross-disciplinary, drawing on the wide resources of the university.

Printmaking

Students are encouraged to experiment and test the limits of both conventional and digital printmaking practices in relation to the realization of their individual ideas and interests. Students are exposed to a wide range of techniques and approaches to the multiple, with the emphasis on strategies for creating unique prints, hybrid prints and editions. Facilities and instruction is available in Intaglio, Stone and Plate Lithography, Offset Lithography, Photographic Processes,Silk Screen, Relief, archival large format pigment printing, Monotype and Book Arts. Our facilities include:
4 - 30" x 50" Brand Litho presses
4 American French intaglio presses:
24 x 48
30 x 50
20.5 x 40
30 1/2 x 50
Powered Vandercook Press
Powered Dufa Offset Press
Large Stone library
Silkscreen exposure unit : 37 x 45
Intaglio Exposure Unit: 31" X 48"
Paper making facilities including screens up to 22 x 30
Digital lab with 4 Mac computers with CS 3, Final Cut Pro 2 Suite, Epson Printers including 2200 and 7600
Flatbed, slide and film scanners

Sculpture

The Sculpture discipline is based on the self-directed needs of the individual candidates. Every effort is made to provide and provoke inquiry into the field of sculpture and to bring about artistic excellence. Facilities include wood and welding.