GENERAL INFORMATION: THE GRADUATE M.F.A. PROGAM

Students applying for acceptance into the Master of Fine Arts program must have a cumulative minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 for admission into the program.

Applicants with GPA ratings between 2.5 and below 3.0 will be considered for admission when in the judgment of the faculty, the applicant's portfolio is considered to be outstanding. The student will be required to take one or two undergraduate courses without graduate credit. In order to remove the probationary status, students must receive satisfactory report from instructors for compensatory courses and obtain a GPA average of 3.0 during their first and second semesters in the MFA program.

Failure to maintain the required grade point average(3.0) by any student will result in the denial of admission to candidacy and suspension from the MFA program.

Applicants must submit:

1. A portfolio of 20 slides with no more than two views of any one work, presented in a clear plastic slide page. The slides should be clearly marked as to title materials, size, and date.

2. A biographical essay, typed and double-spaced consisting of no more than two pages.

3. Two letters of recommendation.

Applicants who wish to specialize in ceramics, design, electronic studio, painting, photography or sculpture must complete 60 credits of graduate coursework. The required categories of coursework includes:

36 credits in Studio (24 credits in concentration area and 12 credits in elective studio courses

12 credits in Art History

6 credits in Thesis Seminar.

6 credits with the Thesis advisor and Thesis Committee.

The Master of Fine Arts Thesis is a cohesive body of creative works in studio art accompanied by a written exposition of ideas, analysis, placed in associated context. The creative visual work is considered to be of primary importance, it is required that the candidate support position and hypothesis with secondary source materials. The studio work of the candidate is expected to be stylistically cohesive and should demonstrate a mastery of studio art-making methods, materials and processes.

The thesis outline must be unanimously accepted by the committee and should bear the signature and date of the acceptance by all members. A copy is filed in the student's folder in the Art Department Office and each committee member will be provided a copy. Any subsequent adjustment or change of the document requires a simple majority approval of the committee. The thesis committee chair, a senior faculty member in the field of concentration or sub-field, will be responsible for the flow of documents, communication among the committee members, and progress reports to the Department Chair and faculty. The committee chair recommends that candidate to the faculty for approval for awarding the MFA degree.

The Program of Study

The Department of Art offers the Master of Arts degree with specialties in African American, African, African Diasporal Art History and Black Visual Culture. The program requires 36 semester hours of course work, which includes 6 hours of thesis and 3 to 6 hours in a related field such as anthropology, archeology, literature, African, African American, Caribbean, African Diaspora Studies, film and museum studies.

English Proficiency Examination

All students are required to take the Proficiency Examination in Expository Writing (PEEW) that is administered by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Students who fail this examination must enroll in a program of study in order to develop satisfactory expository writing skills.

Foreign Language Examination

The foreign language requirement will be determined by the student's area of specialization and research interests. To satisfy the foreign language requirement the student must demonstrate reading ability in French, Spanish, Portuguese, German or in an African language (e.g. Swahili) required by the nature of the student's research. The examination is administered by the Department of Languages and Literatures and is designed to test the student's ability to use a foreign language as an effective scholarly tool. The examination is read by faculty in the Language Department and is graded pass or fail. The examination is offered once each semester and the date is announced by the Language Department.

Specialization, Advisement and Thesis Colloquium

Upon deciding an area of specialization, the student (with the assistance of a faculty advisor) prepares a program of study to augment the intended research. The student's work will be guided by graduate faculty members (at least two or a majority of the committee must be members of the art history and visual culture faculty). During the first semester of enrollment or prior to the approval of a thesis topic, the student must submit a proposal (prepared with the assistance of his or her advisor) to the art history and visual culture faculty. The proposal should present (1) a clear statement of the problem to be investigated; (2) a critical review of the literature and the subject; (3) an outline that indicates how the topic will be developed; and (4) a working bibliography of one to two pages featuring pioneer and recent publications (journals) on the topic.

Once the proposal for the thesis has been approved by the major advisor, the student presents it to the advisory committee within a thesis colloquium. The Colloquium begins with a 20-minute oral presentation that illustrates the proposal using slides, photographs, books and other pertinent materials. The aim of the Colloquium is to provide an opportunity for the candidate to engage in informal discussion with his or her committee on the topic to be investigated in order to receive ideas and suggestions for undertaking the research and successfully completing the thesis.

Comprehensive Examination

The candidate for the M.A. degree must pass a written comprehensive examination. The examination will test the candidate's knowledge and understanding of principal areas and phases of art history and visual culture, as well as essential bibliography and methodology. It will include African art, African-American art, African Diaspora Art, Western art and visual culture studies. Students may petition faculty for specific area examination questions. The examination may be taken only twice and must be passed before the student will be allowed to schedule the final thesis defense.

The Master's Comprehensive examination will be in two parts. The examination will be administered one day in two sessions, Part: I (two hours) in the morning and Part II (two hours) in the afternoon. In Part I the student will be asked to identify and comment as completely as possible on slides of representative works in the history of art and visual culture. In Part II the student will respond to essay questions prepared by the art history and visual culture faculty, bringing together information and material with which he/she has become familiar through class work, readings, and research. The subjects will cut across several areas of specialization. In his/her answers, the student will document generalizations with specific details.

Once the student's graduate advisor and thesis committee agree that the thesis is complete and that the scholarship and illustrations meet departmental and graduate school requirements, the thesis defense will be scheduled and the university community will be invited to attend. The thesis defense begins with a 30 to 40 minute oral presentation that describes the research and conclusions augmented with slides, photographs, and other pertinent materials. The candidate then responds to questions posed by the thesis committee after which visitors are invited to ask questions.

Upon completing the final thesis manuscript, successfully defending the research and its conclusions, and submitting three copies of the thesis to the Department Chair, the student is recommended to the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for final clearance for graduation. In the event the student does not successfully accomplish the above requirements the candidate must register for Thesis III (1 credit) until the requirements are met.