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.

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School of Art

• Graduate Programs
• 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.

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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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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)

• Fees & Scholarships

PHD in Studio Art

The phd can be taken on a full-time or part-time basis.

Full-Time Programme (4 years) A Full Time PhD is taken at Burren College of Art, with each student having their own dedicated studio space at the college and use of other campus facilities including the library and labs for 12 months each year.  Students also have use of the University of Galway library and student facilities, located an hour away on the Galway campus.

Part-Time Programme (6 years) A Part Time PhD student is required to have their own studio space away from BCA and to attend BCA for some supervision sessions and group events. Supervision also takes place virtually and by email.

PhD in Studio Art students receive training in studio and other research methods and complete a research project based on a key research question. Students are expected to:

• Identify a field of study and a research question within it;
• Pursue a defined key research question through studio research;
• Investigate cognate studio research undertaken by others internationally;
• Explore the theoretical and historical dimensions of the enquiry through scholarship;
• Collaborate with others, as appropriate, to extend the range of the enquiry;
• Produce a body of work that embodies or represents a new contribution to understanding, in response to the key research question;
• Write an account of the contribution to understanding that includes a reflective analysis of the theoretical and historical context of the research, a critical review of the process of the research, and a brief summary of the project and its outcomes;
• Successfully defend the outcomes of the research in a viva voce examination and exhibition.

Programmes of Enquiry

We welcome proposals for studio based PhDs in the following aspects of art practice:

• Drawing and painting as processes of enquiry;
• Creative methods and methodology in art;
• Public, site-specific, social and relational aspects of art;
• Performance, video and live art;
• Art and Ecology;
• Feminism in art;
• Interdisciplinary art research that promotes collaboration across academic boundaries, with potentially any college or school of University of Galway.

SUPERVISION

The frequency of supervision meetings with supervisors will normally be as follows:

Full Time Students

Meetings with the primary supervisor take place bi-weekly in semester time and monthly in the summer for Full-Time students in Year 1. For years 2 – 4 meetings with the primary supervisor take place monthly. Meetings with internal co-supervisors take place once per month in semester time, with one additional meeting during the summer. Meetings with external supervisors take place once per semester. 

No meetings take place in August (summer breaks can also take place by agreement between the student and their supervisor).

Part Time Students

Meetings with the primary supervisor take place monthly throughout the academic year and the summer. Meetings with internal co-supervisors take place bi-monthly throughout the full calendar year. Meetings with external supervisors take place once per semester. 

Other Meeting Requirements

Students meet with their supervisors as a group at least once per year to review progress and to discuss Graduate Research Committee (GRC) recommendations. Meetings for Full-Time students will be in person at Burren College of Art. Those for Part-Time students will either be in person at Burren College of Art or online, supported by email communication.

Each student meets with a Graduate Research Committee (GRC) that does not include their supervisors once a year to monitor progress and to report to the university accordingly.  These meetings take place at Burren College of Art or online, as need be.

Supervisors have discretion to vary the frequency of all meetings as appropriate.

ASSESSMENT AND EXAMINATION

There are two types of assessment: annually by the Graduate Research Committee to determine eligibility for progression; and the final examination at the end of the programme of research by at least one External and one Internal Examiner, to examine the outcome of the project.

The final examination comprises:

• the submission of a body of work that embodies the contribution to knowledge and understanding, normally by exhibition;
• a written reflective analysis of the theoretical and historical context of the research subject to a maximum word count of 20,000 words and a minimum of 10,000 words;
• a written critical review of the process of the research subject to a maximum word count of 20,000 words and a minimum of 10,000 words;
• a 500 word summary of the contribution to knowledge and understanding together with documentation of the work;
• a viva voce examination.

All elements of the examination must be passed. The submission is examined with reference to the initial aims of the research project.

Student Progression

Transferring to the mphil (fine art), award of the phd.

The PhD is awarded by the University of Galway within the regulations and terms for the PhD degree and subject to the guidelines and protocols of the University, as published in the General Calendar of the University, and other sources as may be in place from time to time.

Re-cover: PhD Symposium 2023

On January 25, 2023, 9 of our PhD candidates at different stages in the programme gave presentations on their current research in conjunction with their exhibition, Re-cover: Fadwa Bouziane, Qi Chen, Kat Cope, Kate Collyer, Katerina Gribkoff, Joseph Hendel, Kelly Klaasmeyer, Robbie Lawrence, and Ling Liu. More about the exhibition can be found here: https://www.burrencollege.ie/re-cover/

Zoom OuT: PhD Symposium 2021

On February 9, the 2022 Burren College of Art practice-based PhD Programme hosted a symposium dedicated to our current doctoral research students who presented short PechaKucha talks on their projects. The event was moderated by BCA faculty Dean Conor McGrady and Dr Áine Phillips. Digital Artist and University of Galway Lecturer, Dr. EL Putnam, was invited as discussant.

For any further information about the PhD in Studio Art or the application process, please contact:

Lisa Newman, Director of Admissions:

E: [email protected]

T: +353 65 7077200

You can also submit an enquiry through the Contact Form below:

Studio Art Program

The Studio Art program is committed to the development of contemporary artists who are not only proficient makers, but also curious and inquisitive observers, critical thinkers, and resourceful self-initiators. Students in the Studio Art program benefit from small class sizes and well-equipped facilities, the numerous offerings of a tier one research university, and active relationships with the larger arts communities in Austin and beyond.

Rather than being limited to study in a single discipline, students explore media in and across multiple areas of study. Professionally active faculty and a rotation of visiting practitioners help students draw connections between their own work and contemporary and historical themes, while the academic offerings of the wider university enrich students’ knowledge of the broader contexts in which art is made and understood.

Areas of Study

Painting & Drawing 

Photography & Media

Sculpture & Extended Media

Degrees & Minors

• Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Studio Art

• Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Studio Art

• Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Studio Art

• Studio Art Minor

• Current Graduate Students

Studio Art News

Teresa hubbard and alexander birchler’s past deposits of a future yet to come featured in glasstire.

Will Wilson's work featured in "Remembering the Future" by Hazel V. Carby for the London Review of Books

Scherezade García's Liquid Highway acquired by LACMA

First year MFA student Nathan Anthony wins 2023 Gilbert Bayes Award for early career sculptors

Eli Durst photographs "Can a Big Village Full of Tiny Homes Ease Homelessness in Austin?" for The New York Times

"‘Somos Recuerdos’ student-led exhibit explores Latinx identities, history" for The Daily Texan

More Studio Art news

Speaker Series

Visiting Artists Program

The Visiting Artists Program invites internationally known artists each fall for visits that include public lectures and studio visits with current graduate students.

Viewpoint Series

Viewpoint is a long-running annual series that invites leading curators, critics, and scholars of the contemporary art world for a sequence of concentrated visits each spring that include public lectures and seminars, as well as private studio visits with current graduate students.

Guest Artist in Print Program

The Guest Artist in Print Program (GAPP) invites contemporary artists working in print media for a one week residency in the department's print shops to develop a new project with the assistance of print faculty and students.

Art/Figure Modeling

Interested in working as a figure model for Drawing and Painting classes?

Studio Art Graduate Programs

The primary mission of the Master of Fine Arts program at the University of North Carolina is to prepare graduate students for careers as professional artists. The secondary mission is to prepare graduate students for teaching positions. MFA students work to develop the practical skills necessary to execute their creative work while refining the intellectual content within the work.

Current MFA Students

MFA Program Overview

How to Apply/Deadlines

MFA Degree Requirements

Student Support and Funding

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An intensive program with tracks in Art Education and Art History. Students engage in intensive research and work closely with faculty mentors. They procure jobs at universities and museums and routinely secure tenure track and curatorial positions.

Degree Type: Doctoral

Degree Program Code: PHD_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 are described in detail in the Graduate Handbook. Graduate programs necessarily presume certain aptitudes on the part of applicants, based on documented results of previous study. Admission to graduate programs is very competitive. Successful applicants are mature, highly motivated individuals capable of sustained studio work or scholarly pursuit at an advanced level. Working under the guidance of a faculty of experienced, recognized professionals, students are encouraged to develop the self-discipline essential to productive independent study and self-realization as artists and/or scholars. Our graduate program in Studio Art is structured to foster stylistic diversity through individual exploration. There is no dominating opinion or aesthetic espoused by the Lamar Dodd School of Art. The wide variety of images and approaches present at the school attest to the healthy ferment of ideas among students and faculty. Scholarly publications in art education and art history reflect the same freedom of inquiry.

Candidates for the PhD in art are required to demonstrate competence in either history of art or art education. When appropriate, a candidate’s program of study may include courses in the theory and criticism of art and relevant areas of study outside the Lamar Dodd School of Art. The research skills requirement, in the history of art emphasis, is a reading knowledge of two foreign languages. In the art education emphasis, the research skills requirement may be met by completing a minimum of three of the specified research courses. Satisfactory completion of written and oral preliminary examinations, a dissertation demonstrating original research, and a final oral defense before an examining committee of the faculty are also required.

The Georgia Museum of Art is a significant resource for the Lamar Dodd School of Art. It has a major collection of American paintings and over 5000 works on paper from all periods. The museum sponsors a full schedule of in-house and traveling exhibitions each year.

Applicants are admitted for the fall semester. Funding is available.

The deadline for applications 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

Phone Number:

706-542-1636

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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.

Northern Illinois University School of Art and Design College of Visual and Performing Arts

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Ph.D. Art and Design Education

Our doctoral program in art education will help you hone your skills as a researcher and theorist. You'll be prepared to become a teacher or scholar at a college or university. You'll also be ready for leadership positions in a variety of art education settings.

The program will enable you to conduct research on teaching and learning in fine arts and other forms of visual culture. You'll have opportunities to contribute substantial knowledge and exhibit original scholarship.

You'll benefit from:

• Financial support, such as scholarships and assistantships.
• Opportunities to conduct and present research.
• Our strong local community and extended network.
• Access to rich art and design education resources.

Program Requirements

The Ph.D. in art and design education requires 60 semester hours beyond a master's degree. The program emphasizes research, theory and philosophical development. It also focuses on the application of new knowledge in the visual arts and design education.

Course Requirements

• Core courses: 15 semester hours
• Research methodology: nine semester hours
• Cognate courses: 12-15 semester hours
• Elective courses: 12-15 semester hours

Please note: Some courses are offered online. Contact the doctoral program coordinator for more information.

Other Requirements

• Successful completion of a candidacy examination.
• Completion of a dissertation of original research.
• Successful oral defense of the dissertation.

Read more about program requirements .

Program Highlights

Financial support.

You can apply for scholarships, travel funding, tuition waivers and assistantships. A teaching assistantship will give you experience working with undergraduates. A research assistantship will give you a wide range of experience, from managerial work in a higher education program to providing assistance on a faculty research project.

You can apply for an assistantship by filling out a form when you apply to the program.

Research Opportunities

You'll have many opportunities to conduct and present your research. Our art and design faculty members will mentor you along the way. They are known around the world for their excellence in scholarship, as well as teaching and service. They will also guide your learning in areas such as conference planning, editorial experience and program planning.

Strong Community

Our program has a reputation for building a sense of community among students. We're also known for our networking with potential employers. Our faculty will work with you to ensure both collegiality during the program and employment after graduation.

You'll have opportunities to build your network by attending and presenting at conferences. Some of the conferences our students have been involved with include:

• National Art Education Association Convention
• Illinois Art Education Association Conference
• Art Education Research Institute Symposium
• International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry

You'll have access to resources at NIU that support study and research in art and design education. These include extensive library facilities and the NIU Art Museum. Due to our close proximity to Chicago, you can also make use of major museums and other resources in the area.

You'll have many chances to interact with the extended art education community and build your professional network. For example, we offer a scholar/speaker series that brings national and international leaders in the field to campus.

You'll work closely with our accomplished faculty members. They have published widely and received major awards and grants.

Douglas Boughton Professor of art education Area of focus: Assessment and curriculum

Kerry Freedman Professor of art   education Area of focus: Visual culture and curriculum

Kelly Gross Assistant professor of art education Area of focus: Disability studies and technology

Kryssi Staikidis Professor of art education Area of Focus: Multiculturalism

Shei-Chau Wang Professor of art education Area of focus: Studio pedagogy/cross-cultural curriculum

• How to Apply

We welcome you to apply for admission. You can find admission requirements and application deadlines on the Graduate School website.

View Application Instructions

• M.A. Art (Specialization in Studio Art) / M.F.A. Art and Design
• M.A. Art (Specializations in either Art History Research or Teaching at The Two-Year College Level)
• M.S. - Art and Design Education
• M.S. - Art and Design Education (online)
• Ph.D. - Art and Design Education
• Art History Certificate
• Museum Studies Certificate
• Digital Fabrication Certificate
• School of Art and Design Graduate Programs Handbook

Request Information --> Request Information Apply for Admission Explore Campus

Request Information

Kerry Freedman , Ph.D Professor and Ph.D Advisor [email protected]

Ann Van Dijk Associate Professor and Graduate Coordinator [email protected]

School of Art and Design Jack Arends Building , room 216 815-753-1474

Connect with us on

Association for the PhD in the Visual Arts  

The question is not whether artists should get PhD's or not - the question we should be asking is -   what will happen when they do?

Prof. Dr. Malcom Quinn, Chelsea College of Art, London

Associate Dean of Research and Director of Graduate School for Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon Graduate School,

UAL and Honorary Senior Research Associate,   UCL Faculty of Laws, Bentham Project

Association for the PhD in the Visual Arts

About phdva, the association for the phd in the visual arts (phdva) aims to foster the discussion and exchange of ideas on the phd in studio art in the usa and internationally. the role and education of artists, theorists, and designer-makers at the phd level is at a time of pivotal change in education and communication worldwide.  phdva ( https://phdart.net ) is committed to fostering such an exchange in an interdisciplinary manner, attentive to new collaborative frameworks in the arts, humanities, philosophy, and sciences.                                                                                                            .

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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Photography, Video & Imaging

Photography, Video and Imaging (PVI) is a top-ranked* program with expert faculty, cutting-edge facilities and an inspiring community. Students enter with raw talent and receive the mentorship, guidance and opportunities necessary to take their work to the next level.

The program is designed to provide a broad, interdisciplinary educational experience that encourages students to expand the boundaries of their practice. Through intensive mentorship, students develop their unique voice in pursuit of expressive inquiry, maturity of vision and artistic professional development.

We offer studio courses in digital photography, traditional and non-silver darkroom techniques, video, hybrid digital/analog methods, performance, installation, and interactive and emergent image-forming technologies. Studio offerings are accompanied by coursework that provides conceptual grounding and context so students are fluent in both historical and contemporary trends.

*Ranked number 3 among public universities by U.S. News & World Report

• Resources & Facilities

First Year Experience

Student work, resources and facilities.

An R-1 research university, the University of Arizona provides many opportunities for engaging in cross-disciplinary work that pushes the boundaries of photography. Along with state-of-the-art studios and facilities, students have access to the Center for Creative Photography , a world-renowned repository and research library located on campus.

Private and communal darkrooms are equipped for working with all film formats. The Photo | Video | Imaging Program also has capacity for work in antiquarian and alternative processes.

We also offer a variety of professional equipment for checkout.  This includes mirrorless cameras, DSLRs, studio lighting, location lighting, audio equipment, and more.

Our faculty gives students an inside look into arts careers, having had direct experience and success in the professional photography world. In addition to being leaders in their fields, our faculty works closely with students to provide the kind of guidance and mentorship that turns raw talent into developed professionalism.

Sama Alshaibi

Marcos Serafim

Martina Shenal

David Taylor

Program requirements.

125 units are required to complete the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art in Photography, Video & Imaging (PVI), 42 units of which must be upper division coursework. Students must complete 24 units of upper division coursework in PVI.

Download the Photography, Video & Imaging (PVI) checklist.

Specific Program Requirements can be viewed through  UA Academic Catalogs .

Contact an  academic advisor or set up an advising appointment  to learn more about School of Art programs and admissions.

UNDERGRADUATE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

• ART  and  ARH  (Art History) and  ARE  (Art Education)

60 units are required to complete the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Studio Art degree.

Please see the Studio Art Graduate Handbook on the Graduate Advising page for specific program requirements.

GRADUATE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

All Studio Art majors at the School of Art will begin their journey with the First Year Experience. The program is an engaging variety of 8-week thematic workshop-structured art courses, designed as an experiential initiation into professional artistic practice, creative methodology and studio work ethic.

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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. 

Emerging Media (MFA) – Studio Art and Design

Program at a glance.

• In State Tuition
• Out of State Tuition

Learn more about the cost to attend UCF.

The Studio Art and Design track of the MFA in Emerging Media provides a concentrated studio experience to enhance creative approaches using 21st Century experimental practices. The Studio Art and Design MFA degree produces innovative creative, professional talent in both traditional studio and industry practices. With focused study in contemporary studio practices, such as performance art, installation, experimental time-based media, and fine arts, graduate faculty inspire students to be citizens of the arts both as contributors and professionals.

Students in the program are invited to combine their backgrounds in traditional art or computer-related disciplines within a conceptually driven, interdisciplinary environment. Courses provide exposure to time-based media, performance art, video art, sound works, kinetic sculpture, computer-based art, and art using the Internet to understand how these forms are driving 21st century artistic practice and informing our understanding of contemporary cultural identities.

The Studio Art and Design MFA track is composed of a minimum of 60 credit hours, to be acquired in three years (six full-time semesters excluding summers). Degree credit is obtained in theory courses, studio art courses, electives, and supervised research. All courses must be approved by the Graduate Program Director. The thesis consists of a body of artistic work accompanied by electronic (Internet) documentation and a culminating exhibition and Thesis Defense.

Total Credit Hours Required: 60 Credit Hours Minimum beyond the Bachelor's Degree

Graduate students must maintain a 3.0 or better GPA in all course work to complete the program. Continuation in the MFA program requires a positive annual evaluation by the Program Director of the School of Visual Arts and Design and by the Graduate Committee of the School of Visual Arts and Design.

Application Deadlines

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Career opportunities.

• Art Faculty / Professor
• Art Gallery Director
• Digital Artist
• Performance Artist
• Sculptor / Kinetic Sculptor
• Studio Artist

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Enter your information below to receive more information about the Emerging Media (MFA) – Studio Art and Design program offered at UCF.

Track Prerequisites

Applicants to the MFA program normally must hold an earned BFA degree in Visual Art from an accredited institution recognized by UCF. Applicants who hold an earned BA, BS, or other baccalaureate degree in Visual Art or a related discipline from an accredited university may also apply.

Degree Requirements

Required courses.

• ARH5897 - Advanced Seminar in Art History (3)
• ART6687 - Research Concentration (3)
• Earn at least 12 credits from the following types of courses: ART 6911C - Studio Concentration 3 Credit Hours Should be taken 4 times for a total of 12 credit hours.
• Earn at least 6 credits from the following types of courses: ART 6930 - Graduate Seminar 1 Credit Hours Should be taken 6 times for a total of 6 credit hours.

Elective Courses

• Students should choose from graduate level courses within the School of Visual Arts & Design that are not already required for their program. These courses included those with the following prefixes: ARH, ART, GRA, and PGY. If approved by the Graduate Program Director, there are many graduate-level courses in the College of Arts and Humanities that can be used as electives in addition to other graduate courses. These courses must be selected to ensure that at least one-half of the courses in the student's plan of study are taken at the 6000 level. Normally, at least half of the selected electives should be taken within the School of Visual Arts and Design.
• Earn at least 18 credits from the following types of courses: Graduate students should enroll in either graduate ART/ARH/GRA/PGY split-level courses (graduate courses stacked with corresponding undergraduate courses) in which the graduate level syllabus distinctly highlights the increased research, production, and evaluative criteria or the occasionally offered ART5280 Serial Content (3), ART5284 Design Theory and Methods (3), or ART6683 Time Arts (3) for a total of eighteen (18) graduate credits.
• Earn at least 18 credits from the following types of courses: ART 6971 - Thesis 18 Credit Hours The thesis consists of a body of artistic work accompanied by electronic (Internet) documentation and a culminating exhibition. The final oral review before the supervisory thesis committee occurs at the end of the sixth semester. At the same time, the graduate student presents a thesis exhibition of selected works from the cumulative body of works produced during his/her three years of residency. In addition, the thesis requires an artist's statement and documentation. The thesis will contain research intentions, results, and the body of the creative works produced. Students are required to submit an electronic version of the thesis to the UCF College of Graduate Studies. After approval by the UCF College of Graduate Studies, the UCF Library will add it to its archives and make the electronic version of the thesis accessible on the web. The required thesis is the independent learning experience in the degree program.

Grand Total Credits: 60

Application requirements, financial information.

Graduate students may receive financial assistance through fellowships, assistantships, tuition support, or loans. For more information, see the College of Graduate Studies Funding website, which describes the types of financial assistance available at UCF and provides general guidance in planning your graduate finances. The Financial Information section of the Graduate Catalog is another key resource.

Fellowship Information

Fellowships are awarded based on academic merit to highly qualified students. They are paid to students through the Office of Student Financial Assistance, based on instructions provided by the College of Graduate Studies. Fellowships are given to support a student's graduate study and do not have a work obligation. For more information, see UCF Graduate Fellowships, which includes descriptions of university fellowships and what you should do to be considered for a fellowship.

Equipment Fees

• Full-time Student: $90 per term

Course Schedule

The Emerging Media MFA is a full-time 3-year cohort program that requires students to abide by the following course sequence. Students must remain with their cohort to remain in good academic standing and graduate.

Fall: 10 Credit Hours

• ARH 5897 - Advanced Seminar in Art History 3 Credit Hours
• ART 6911C - Studio Concentration 3 Credit Hours
• ART 6930 - Graduate Seminar 1 Credit Hours
• Unrestricted Elective: 3 Credit Hours

Spring: 10 Credit Hours

• Unrestricted Electives: 6 Credit Hours
• ART 6687 - Research Concentration 3 Credit Hours
• ART 6971 - Thesis 9 Credit Hours

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Who has a phd?

I’ve got my Mfa in painting and drawing … well tryna make money has been hard, so why not get a phd maybe take out some loans :-)

Anyone go from mfa to phd in something art related ? Art history? Are there any phd programs in USA with a studio component?

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Home » Academics » Fashion (MFA)

Fashion (MFA)

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Graduate programs in the School of Fashion refine and focus your individual artistic vision with degree options in Fashion, Knitwear Design, Textile Design, Costume Design, Footwear & Accessory Design, Fashion Product Development, Fashion Merchandising & Management, and Fashion Marketing & Brand Management. Studio courses hone your knowledge of industry standards, combining design excellence with the mastery of the latest digital tools. Graduate candidates are guided through Directed Study which culminates in the production of a final collection, portfolio, or project.

Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Degree

Available Online

Major Classes

You will study alongside students from different disciplines to explore various approaches to design and illustration.

Build a foundation in 3D design and garment development. You will be introduced to pattern shape manipulation and learn core principles of pattern drafting and garment construction to meet commercial fashion standards.

You will build up your core design knowledge, gain an increased awareness of market place relevance, and increase your technical abilities.

Master the art of tailoring. You will draft and construct tailored garments to meet industry standards using advanced pattern making, construction, and sewing techniques. Get professional instruction on handling fashion fabrics and using industrial sewing equipment.

Take your design skills to the next level. You will collaborate on a project to expand your knowledge of target markets, apply sustainable practice in your design process, and develop a body of work that represents your ideal future in the fashion industry and showcases your design philosophy and strengths.

Put your knowledge to work. Learn to make raglan-style garments and use your newfound skills to create a customized raglan trench coat. You will also work with your peers to produce a group collection using looks from your design class.

You will consult with your tutors to select a project that will increase your knowledge in a specific area.

Consult with your tutors and choose projects that prepare patterns for the Final Project.

Use Adobe software to create technical flats and garment presentations in a digital format. (This course is cross-listed with FSH 266.)

Explore and prepare for your career in fashion. You will develop professional personal branding, job search materials, digital and physical portfolios, and prepare for job interviews.

FOR YOUR INDIVIDUALIZED ENROLLMENT PLAN, CONTACT YOUR ADVISOR

Unit requirements.

Degree Requirements

MFA FASHION DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

• Successful completion of Final Thesis Project.
• Minimum grade of C in all required 63 units.
• Minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA and the following Academic Study requirements: 1 Art Historical Awareness & Aesthetic Sensitivity course 1 Cross Cultural Understanding course

Additional Information

• Graduate Liberal Arts

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduate students will meet the following student performance criteria:

MFA Thesis Project

• Present an original thesis concept worthy of the MFA degree
• Demonstrate the feasibility of their thesis project

Specialty Skills: Design

• Design Thesis: Create a body of work that will be built into a portfolio, representing an advanced level of achievement and targeted to a specific market segment
• Conduct research to develop their creative concept and build a visual story
• Demonstrate good understanding of their market
• Communicate their design ideas 2-dimensionally using traditional and/or digital media
• Create advanced flat technical specification drawings by hand and by computer
• Design collections demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of fashion design and advanced technical skills

Specialty Skills: 3-Dimensional Design/Technical Design/CDFP

• Thesis: Create a body of work that will be built into a portfolio, representing an advanced level of achievement and targeted to a specific market segment
• Apply advanced 3D design techniques to create clothing to a professional standard

Collaborative Skills

• Collaborate effectively to produce creative projects

Professional Practices

• Create a relevant and original portfolio and collateral materials which can be used to market themselves to the industry

Academy of Art University Learning Outcomes Graduates of the Academy of Art University will demonstrate the ability to:

• Produce a body of work suitable for seeking professional opportunities in their chosen field of art and design.
• Solve creative problems within their field of art and design, including research and synthesis of technical, aesthetic, and conceptual knowledge.
• Communicate their ideas professionally and connect with their intended audience using visual, oral, and written presentation skills relevant to their field.
• Execute technical, aesthetic, and conceptual decisions based on an understanding of art and design principles.
• Evaluate work in their field, including their own work, using professional terminology.
• Recognize the influence of major cultural and aesthetic trends, both historical and contemporary, on art and design products.
• Learn the professional skills and behaviors necessary to compete in the global marketplace for art and design.
• Engage with a variety of communities beyond the classroom through internship opportunities, study abroad programs, athletics, student interest clubs as well as collaborative, civic and pro bono projects.

*Semester plans are subject to change at any time. Semester breakdowns displayed are suggested and additional options are available to help customize your educational experience. Speak to an admissions or student services representative for more information. Please see our catalog for more details at: https://catalog.academyart.edu

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Visual Arts

Students who are accepted into the Department of Art are enrolled in the Bachelor of Science (BS) in Visual Arts degree program. This degree allows great flexibility in the studio arts because the student may choose to concentrate their studies in one particular studio or pursue an interdisciplinary path. The BS degree, which requires an academic minor, provides an abundant breadth of knowledge while allowing the student to develop skills in multiple mediums. The balance of art classes to liberal art classes provides a well-rounded undergraduate education.

The Department of Art also offers a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Visual Arts degree that is frequently used by those with a double major (e.g., psychology and art, art history and art). In addition to the Foundations core courses, students in the BA degree complete five studio classes and requisite art history classes. The student may concentrate in an individual discipline or take a range of studio classes. The objective of this curriculum is to provide broad-based liberal arts education with a fundamental understanding of studio art practice.

» Visual Arts Major Plan

Upon completion of the art foundation core and basic studio classes in a particular medium, students in the BA or BS program may choose to apply to one of the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree programs. Entrance into a BFA program is by portfolio and interview; the student applies directly to the specific program of interest. Programs include the following:

Ceramics The ceramics program provides a dynamic environment for the artistic growth and development of the student through a thoughtful and challenging inquiry of both materials and meaning. Faculty are distinguished studio professionals who offer an extensive curriculum in all aspects of ceramics and work with students to help inspire their own unique expression. Spacious, well-equipped studios provide excellent facilities for fabrication, glazing, and all methods of firing. Frequent trips to museums, artists' studios, historical and industrial sites complement the curriculum.

Graphic Design 1

The graphic design option offers courses that range from the historically based to the technologically advanced. Emphasis is placed on the exploration of how visual communications are accomplished, through discussions of communication theory and contemporary practice. Facilities include state-of-the art computer labs, with high-resolution printers, scanners, and a high-speed Internet connection, as well as a letterpress type lab and generous studio space for majors. Graduates go on to successful careers in many areas of design, including web design, multimedia interactive design, and publishing.

Metal An outstanding faculty of metal artists train future practitioners in an extremely comprehensive program of study. Specific courses are offered in construction and fabrication, enameling, and metal forming as well as contemporary issues in metalwork. Unusually well-equipped studios provide complete facilities for practice in most techniques and formats associated with the discipline. Instruction is supplemented by frequent trips to galleries, museums, artists' studios and workshops. Emphasis in each class is placed on the balance of creative exploration and technical control.

Painting Professional painters, representing varied stylistic approaches, work closely with students in encouraging them to explore the many possibilities for image development offered by different media techniques and conceptual processes. Students work with oils, acrylics, and watercolor as well as a full range of drawing media. Senior BFA students are provided with private studio spaces. The proximity of New York City affords ready access to galleries, museums, and artists' studios.

Photography Professional skilled fine arts photographers help students to explore various aspects of this popular discipline, including manipulative, experimental, mixed media, and digital photographic techniques. Students are encouraged to develop a personally expressive imagery within the context of technical proficiency and control. Laboratories for general developing, printing, color printing, and mixed media processes are provided. The program is oriented toward photography as a fine art, as well as commercial applications of photography.

Printmaking Spacious studios, equipped with lithograph and etching presses, silk screens, copy camera, enlarger, and computers offer printmaking students excellent facilities for the development of artistic and technical skills. Highly respected artist-teachers work closely with students, encouraging them to evolve mature styles within the context of professional practice. Specific courses involve experience in lithography, serigraphy, intaglio, and relief. Advanced students may study full-color printing and photo printing as well as mixed media and interdisciplinary projects.

Sculpture Practicing sculptors assist students in learning to master the skills, techniques, and creative approaches essential in the training of sculptors. Studio practice includes experience with clay, steel, stone, wood, bronze, and other materials. Students are provided with large and well-equipped work spaces necessary for creating sculpture in a broad range of sizes. The instructional program is supplemented by trips to galleries, museums, and stone yards.

» Fine Arts Major Plans

1 In summer 2023, a new Department of Design was created and is currently being implemented. During this transition period, the Graphic Design curricula will continue to appear here, with the Department of Art's B.F.A. programs.

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Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writingm, Distance Education (MFA)

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Creative Writers are at the heart of our cultural industries. Poets, novelists, screenwriters, playwrights, graphic novelists, magazine writers: they entertain, inform and inspire. For more than 15 years, UBC's Creative Writing program has been educating writers through distance education in a program which complements our long-standing on-campus MFA program.

A studio program with the writing workshop at its heart, the distance MFA focuses on the work created by students as the primary text. Through intensive peer critique and craft discussion, faculty and students work together with the same goal: literary excellence.

The MFA granted to distance students is the same degree as granted to on-campus students, and the same criteria of excellence in multiple genres of study apply.

For specific program requirements, please refer to the departmental program website

What makes the program unique?

UBC's Optional-Residency (Distance) MFA was the first distance education MFA program in Canada and remains the only full MFA which can be taken completely online. It is designed to be uniquely flexible, allowing students across Canada and around the world to study writing at the graduate level while still living in their local communities and fulfilling career and family obligations.

The program is unique globally for its multi-genre approach to writing instruction: students are required to work in multiple genres during the course of the degree. As a fine arts program rather than an English program, students focus on the practice of writing rather than the study of literature. Students may work on a part-time basis, taking up to five years to complete the degree.

My time in the Creative writing grad program at UBC has given me the discipline and focus I need to complete long-form writing pieces and larger poetry projects.

Kwaku Darko-Mensah Jnr.

Quick Facts

Program enquiries, admission information & requirements, program instructions.

The optional residency MFA (distance) program only has a July intake.

1) Check Eligibility

Minimum academic requirements.

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:

• Canada or the United States
• International countries other than the United States

Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the program website carefully to understand the program requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitive process.

English Language Test

Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

Overall score requirement : 90

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Overall score requirement : 6.5

Other Test Scores

Some programs require additional test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Test (GMAT). The requirements for this program are:

The GRE is not required.

2) Meet Deadlines

3) prepare application, transcripts.

All applicants have to submit transcripts from all past post-secondary study. Document submission requirements depend on whether your institution of study is within Canada or outside of Canada.

Letters of Reference

A minimum of three references are required for application to graduate programs at UBC. References should be requested from individuals who are prepared to provide a report on your academic ability and qualifications.

Statement of Interest

Many programs require a statement of interest , sometimes called a "statement of intent", "description of research interests" or something similar.

• Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writingm, Distance Education (MFA)

Citizenship verification.

Permanent Residents of Canada must provide a clear photocopy of both sides of the Permanent Resident card.

4) Apply Online

All applicants must complete an online application form and pay the application fee to be considered for admission to UBC.

Tuition & Financial Support

Financial Support

Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their supervision. The duties constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is considered a form of fellowship for a period of graduate study and is therefore not covered by a collective agreement. Stipends vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the Teaching Assistants' Union .

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Academic Assistantships are employment opportunities to perform work that is relevant to the university or to an individual faculty member, but not to support the student’s graduate research and thesis. Wages are considered regular earnings and when paid monthly, include vacation pay.

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans .

All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.

Foreign government scholarships

Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.

Working while studying

The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.

International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 20 hours a week.

A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement .

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.

Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.

Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.

Cost Estimator

Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.

Career Options

Graduates of the MFA program have found success in varied fields related to writing and communication. The MFA qualifies graduates for teaching at the university level and many graduates have gone on to teach at colleges and universities in Canada, the United States and overseas as well as holding writing residencies. Many publish books and win literary awards. Others go on to work in publishing, and graduates have become book and magazine editors.

Although the MFA is a terminal degree, some graduates go on to further study in PhD programs in the US, UK and Australia.

The Optional-Residency MFA is particularly well suited to teachers: our teacher-students have been able to gain an advanced degree while continuing their careers.

• Research Supervisors

This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.

• Belcourt, Billy-Ray (Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry)
• French, Whitney (memory, loss, technology, and nature)
• Hopkinson, Nalo (Creative writing, n.e.c.; Humanities and the arts; Creative Writing: Speculative Ficton, Fantasy, Science Fiction, especially Other Voices)
• Irani, Anosh
• Koncan, Frances
• Leavitt, Sarah (Autobiographical comics; Formal experimentation in comics; Comics pedagogy)
• Lee, Nancy (Fiction; Creative Writing)
• Lyon, Annabel (Novels, stories and news)
• Maillard, Keith (Fiction, poetry)
• Marzano-Lesnevich, Alex (Nonfiction)
• McGowan, Sharon (Planning of film productions from concept to completion)
• Medved, Maureen (Fiction, writing for screen)
• Nicholson, Cecily (Languages and literature; Poetry)
• Ohlin, Alix (Fiction; Screenwriting; Environmental writing)
• Pohl-Weary, Emily (Fiction; Writing for Youth)
• Svendsen, Linda (Script development; Novels, stories and news; Writing for Television; Fiction)
• Taylor, Timothy (fiction and nonfiction)
• Vigna, John (Novels, stories and news; Fiction, Literary Non-Fiction, Creative Writing)

Related Programs

Same specialization.

• Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (MFA)

Same Academic Unit

• Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Theatre (MFA)
• Master of Fine Arts in Film Production and Creative Writing (MFA)

At the UBC Okanagan Campus

• Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Further Information

Specialization.

Creative Writing combines the best of traditional workshop and leading-edge pedagogy. Literary cross-training offers opportunities in a broad range of genres including fiction, poetry, screenplay, podcasting, video game writing and graphic novel.

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Admission Steps

English and literary arts - creative writing - phd, admission requirements.

Terms and Deadlines

Degree and GPA Requirements

Additional Standards for Non-Native English Speakers

Additional standards for international applicants.

For the 2025-2026 academic year

See 2024-2025 requirements instead

Fall 2025 quarter (beginning in September)

Final submission deadline: December 16, 2024

Final submission deadline: Applicants cannot submit applications after the final submission deadline.

Degrees and GPA Requirements

Bachelors degree: All graduate applicants must hold an earned baccalaureate from a regionally accredited college or university or the recognized equivalent from an international institution.

Masters degree: This program requires a masters degree as well as the baccalaureate.

University GPA requirement: The minimum grade point average for admission consideration for graduate study at the University of Denver must meet one of the following criteria:

A cumulative 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for the baccalaureate degree.

A cumulative 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for the last 60 semester credits or 90 quarter credits (approximately two years of work) for the baccalaureate degree.

An earned master’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution or the recognized equivalent from an international institution supersedes the minimum GPA requirement for the baccalaureate.

A cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all graduate coursework completed for applicants who have not earned a master’s degree or higher.

Official scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), C1 Advanced or Duolingo English Test are required of all graduate applicants, regardless of citizenship status, whose native language is not English or who have been educated in countries where English is not the native language. Your TOEFL/IELTS/C1 Advanced/Duolingo English Test scores are valid for two years from the test date.

The minimum TOEFL/IELTS/C1 Advanced/Duolingo English Test score requirements for this degree program are:

Minimum TOEFL Score (Internet-based test): 80

Minimum IELTS Score: 6.5

Minimum C1 Advanced Score: 176

Minimum Duolingo English Test Score: 115

Additional Information:

Read the English Language Proficiency policy for more details.

Read the Required Tests for GTA Eligibility policy for more details.

Per Student & Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) regulation, international applicants must meet all standards for admission before an I-20 or DS-2019 is issued, [per U.S. Federal Register: 8 CFR § 214.3(k)] or is academically eligible for admission and is admitted [per 22 C.F.R. §62]. Read the Additional Standards For International Applicants policy for more details.

Application Materials

Transcripts, letters of recommendation.

Required Essays and Statements

Writing Sample

We require a scanned copy of your transcripts from every college or university you have attended. Scanned copies must be clearly legible and sized to print on standard 8½-by-11-inch paper. Transcripts that do not show degrees awarded must also be accompanied by a scanned copy of the diploma or degree certificate. If your academic transcripts were issued in a language other than English, both the original documents and certified English translations are required.

Transcripts and proof of degree documents for postsecondary degrees earned from institutions outside of the United States will be released to a third-party international credential evaluator to assess U.S. education system equivalencies. Beginning July 2023, a non-refundable fee for this service will be required before the application is processed.

Upon admission to the University of Denver, official transcripts will be required from each institution attended.

Three (3) letters of recommendation are required.  Academic recommendations preferred.  Letters should be submitted by recommenders through the online application.

Essays and Statements

Essay instructions.

Applicants should submit a sample of critical prose (e.g., a seminar paper, scholarly publication, or excerpt from thesis or other longer work demonstrating familiarity with the conventions of academic research and writing) not to exceed 20 pages.

Personal Statement Instructions

Personal statements should be 2 pages maximum and should address the applicant's past academic experience, future scholarly goals, and their suitability for graduate study and research in our program.

Résumé Instructions

The résumé (or C.V.) should minimally include the applicant's educational history, work experience, academic experience (including research opportunities or presentations), selected publications, and/or volunteer work.

Writing Sample Instructions

Applicants must submit representative samples of creative work (for Prose, no more than 30 pages; for Poetry, 5 - 10 poems).

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Online Application

Financial Aid Information

Start your application.

Your submitted materials will be reviewed once all materials and application fees have been received.

Our program can only consider your application for admission if our Office of Graduate Education has received all your online materials and supplemental materials by our application deadline.

Application Fee: $65.00 Application Fee

International Degree Evaluation Fee: $50.00 Evaluation Fee for degrees (bachelor's or higher) earned from institutions outside the United States.

Applicants should complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by February 15. Visit the Office of Financial Aid for additional information.

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PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP with Torchlight Media + Waterfall Arts

PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP with Torchlight Media + Waterfall Arts August 30 @ 9:00 am - 3:00 pm $75.00 – $125.00

“A camera is a machine which requires some basic know-how, but it has no heart. Good technical skills are important in photography, as is understanding the light and knowing where to stand and how to compose. One can make technically sound photographs of buildings or other inanimate objects, but when the subject is a person, a special skillset is required.” —poster copy, McKenna and Her Camera: The Midcoast Maine Art Scene 1987-2002.

In this full-day photography workshop with Torchlight Media, we’ll spend time with the exhibition “McKenna and Her Camera” and begin to better understand Peggy McKenna’s particular brand of portraiture: the UNpotrait. We’ll discuss her career in journalism and the book of her photography alongside conversations with her Montville neighbors, Fireside Chats. We’ll discuss the storytelling aspect of working with human subjects, how to entice subjects to reveal themselves candidly, and how to create an honest image. Participants will then take to the streets and visit the studios of area artists to practice their artist studio portraiture and come away from the workshop with images to build or add to their portfolios.

Class Materials/Equipment: “The best camera is the one you have on you,” might apply to you and refer to your: smartphone, point-and-shoot digital camera, (Digital) SLR, or whatever you use to make images. Torchlight has a handful of digital cameras, SD cards, and tripods for participants to use. Participants are encouraged to bring their own camera, memory card, as well as laptops/tablets/hard drive (optional) for processing and editing images during the second half of the workshop.

About the Instructors: Erin Tokarz is a fine art and editorial photographer making images of builders and makers, artists and growers in and around Midcoast Maine. Her passion is photographing people doing their work. Inspired by 19th century photography and time working in the Photo Archives at the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, Maine, Erin captures the kind of images she would love to find in her own family’s archives: She captures a lyric record of the skill, passion and spirit of those she photographs. Erin is a graduate of Maine Media’s professional Certificate in Visual Storytelling. Her images have appeared in American Craft Magazine, Black and White Magazine, Wooden Boat, Cape Air Magazine, Maine Biz Magazine and The Hand. Her work has been exhibited locally and nationally. Erin Lives in South Thomaston, Maine.

Photographer and multidisciplinary artist Chris Battaglia has been making photographs professionally for more than a decade. From corporate portraiture and headshots in New York to documentary travel and lifestyle work, his photographs have been published by Sierra Magazine, Canoe & Kayak, Taunton Press, with clients including Patagonia, King Arthur Baking Company, Island Institute, Maine Farmland Trust, and the Belfast Community Co-Op. Currently he runs the Youth Multimedia Mentorship program at Torchlight Media, a new community-based studio provides access to production tools and skills, builds long-term sustainability for local public media outlets, creates education and mentorship opportunities, and improves community connection through storytelling and events.

https://chrisbattaglia.info

Waterfall Arts 256 High Street Belfast, ME 04915 (207)338-2222 waterfallarts.org

Event Supported By

• University of North Texas
• Wednesday, September 4

Kokedama Plant Hangers with Savvie Studio

Wednesday, September 4, 2024 11am to 12pm

• Wednesday, September 4, 2024 12pm to 1pm
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About this Event

1155 Union Circle, Denton, TX 76201

Learn the Japanese art of Kokedama, the growing of plants in moss, with Savvie Studio. Each one-hour session is limited to 24 students - first come, first serve.

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Active Campus Alert

For more information visit: emergency.wvu.edu

WVU Music Industry student receives award from top jazz magazine

Thursday, May 30, 2024

DownBeat magazine recently awarded CJ Rhen, a student in the WVU Music Business and Industry master’s degree program, the Best Engineered Studio Recording from a graduate-level student.  

More than 50,000 jazz professionals, students and fans subscribe to DownBeat, which is considered the go-to resource for "jazz, blues and beyond,” and features a variety of content ranging from critic reviews to the latest performance techniques. Each year, the magazine recognizes college students across the country who exhibit exceptional skills in performance, studio recording and more.  

“I'm extremely excited to get recognition for my hard work over the past year,” Rhen said. “There are so many talented musicians and engineers I've met and I’m grateful to be in their playing field.” 

To enter the competition, Rhen compiled a short collection of recordings he recently made in the WVU Music Business and Industry program. His final package featured WVU Jazz Program and Jazz Ensemble members and included two original works and two Christmas arrangements.   

“I didn't even think I was going to apply originally,” Rhen said. “I just looked back on the amount of recordings I put out over the last year and picked songs in varying styles that best reflected my abilities. Some songs were original compositions that were heavily engineered by me playing most of the parts. Some were live jazz combos set up in the studio where I got to act as the producer.”   

Rhen graduated from the WVU School of Music in Composition and Music Performance in 2023 and now serves as a graduate assistant, providing support for Music Business and Industry faculty leaders Darko Velichkovski and Joshua Swiger.    

“This program allows me the freedom to create the projects I want to make at my own pace, all while giving me the professional work and experience that takes my skill set to the next level,” Rhen said. “I love studio engineered recordings because of the intricacy of working in the mix. There are countless methods, skills, procedures and creativity that go into them... The music industry at WVU and West Virginia is full of unrealized opportunities. You have to take the initiative and create them yourself and the community and university will always support you.” 

                                                                                    CJ Rhen

WVU’s M.A. in Music Business and Industry is a fully online program that offers an integrated and methodical approach to understanding current music industry systems, commercial practices, regulations, income streams and business models. Velichkovski and Swiger bring a wealth of global industry experience into the classroom, and students have the opportunity to produce works through WVU’s record label Mon Hills Music Group. Alumni of the program have gone on to work for major labels including Warner Music Group and BMI.  

 In addition to the program’s resources and industry experience opportunities, recognition from DownBeat will provide a competitive advantage for Rhen when entering the music industry.  

“This award provides credibility to go with my vast portfolio. It's basically a way for a client to look at my work and know they can trust me to capture their vision,” Rhen said. “I hope to also teach at the college level and having these sorts of qualifications makes me feel confident in guiding students to start their careers.” 

To learn more about the Music Business and Industry program, visit music.wvu.edu. 

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