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Graduate Degree Programs

Art (ART)

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ANN TARANTINO, Interim Studio Graduate Programs Coordinator for the M.F.A. in Art Program
210 Patterson Building
814-865-0444
adt116@psu.edu

Degrees Conferred:

M.F.A.

The Graduate Faculty

  • Micaela Amato, M.F.A. (Colorado) Professor of Art and Women's Studies
  • Irina Aristarkhova, Ph.D. (Russian Academy of Sciences) Associate Professor of Women's Studies and Visual Arts
  • John Bowman, B.F.A. (Rutgers) Associate Professor of Art
  • Paul Chidester, M.F.A. (Art Institute, Chicago) Associate Professor of Art
  • Bonnie Collura, M.F.A. (Yale) Assistant Professor of Art
  • David M. Ebitz, Ph.D. (Harvard) Associate Professor of Art and Art Education
  • Charles R. Garoian, Ph.D. (Stanford) Professor of Art Education; Director, School of Visual Arts
  • Robin L. Gibson, M.F.A. (Wisconsin, Madison) Associate Professor of Art
  • Lonnie Graham, M.F.A. (San Francisco Art Inst) Assistant Professor of Art
  • Matthew Kenyon, M.F.A. (Virginia Commonwealth) Assistant Professor of Art
  • Jerrold Maddox, M.F.A. (Indiana) Professor of Art
  • Cristin Millett, M.F.A. (Arizona State) Associate Professor of Art
  • Helen O'Leary, M.F.A. (Art Institute, Chicago) Associate Professor of Art
  • Simone Ostoff, M.F.A. (Maryland) Associate Professor of Art
  • Elizabeth Quackenbush, M.F.A. (Rochester Inst of Technology) Associate Professor of Art
  • Carlos Rosas, M.F.A. (Cranbrook Academy of Art) Associate Professor of Art
  • Steven Rubin, M.F.A. (California, San Diego) Assistant Professor of Photography
  • Jean Sanders, M.F.A. (Wisconsin, Madison) Associate Professor of Art
  • Keith Shapiro, M.F.A. (Penn State) Assistant Professor of Integrative Arts and Art
  • Christopher P. Staley, M.F.A. (Alfred) Professor of Art
  • James Thurman, M.F.A. (Cranbrook Acad of Art) Assistant Professor of Art
  • Robert Yarber, M.F.A. (Louisiana State) Distinguished Professor of Art

M.F.A. program is planned to provide professional emphasis in a specific area of art.

Admission Requirements

Requirements listed here are in addition to general Graduate School requirements stated in the GENERAL INFORMATION section of the Graduate Bulletin.

The Master of Fine Arts program in art, with its emphasis on professional study, is designed for the mature individual who by previous training and study has sufficiently prepared for the undertaking. It is strongly suggested that applicants have a minimum of 12 credits of art history at the undergraduate level. Any qualified student who has graduated from an accredited college that offers a bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, or bachelor of fine arts in the area of art of the equivalent may seek admission. The School of Visual Arts requires a minimum of 3.00 junior/senior grade-point average (on a 4.00 scale) for admission to the master of fine arts program. Exceptions to the minimum 3.00 average may be made for students with special backgrounds, abilities, and interests.

In addition to the previous requirements, all applicants must submit:

  1. A portfolio of his/her work to illustrate his/her preparation for graduate study. A portfolio of slides, rather than actual work, is required. A selection of no fewer than twenty examples should be presented. The majority should be in the area of the applicant's interest.
  2. A statement of professional aims. This statement should include the applicant's intentions for his/her proposed study. Some indications of his/her philosophy, beliefs, and goals in regard to education and art should give evidence that he/she is prepared to undertake the work outlined for the Master of Fine Arts program.
  3. Three letters of reference attesting to the applicant's scholarship and ability to work independently.

Degree Requirements

The School of Visual Arts requires a minimum total of 60 credits for the Master of Fine Arts degree. Not more than 10 credits may be transferred from other accredited graduate institutions. Of the 60 credits required for graduation, candidates are expected to complete the following distribution of credits: 30 credits in a major area of concentration, 12 credits in art history and critical studies, 10 credits in related areas, and 8 credits in graduate seminar.

Additional M.F.A. Requirements

For M.F.A. candidates, at least 24 credits of the required 60 credits must be at the 500 level. In addition to course work, M.F.A. candidates must pass a candidacy review, which is usually held at the end of the second semester of study, submit an artist's statement, pass the M.F.A. comprehensive oral examination and produce an M.F.A. exhibition.

Student Aid

Graduate assistantships and other forms of student aid are described in the STUDENT AID section of the Graduate Bulletin.

Courses

Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 599 and 800 to 899. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.

ART (ART) course list

 

 

Last Revised by the Department: Spring Semester 2005

Blue Sheet Item #: 33-03-308

Review Date: 11/23/04

Date last updated by Publications: 6/27/08

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