Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking

The School of Art at Illinois State University offers full tuition waivers and graduate assistantships for candidates in the MFA program. The School of Art has approximately twenty-five students working in a multi-disciplinary program within a large university setting. Students emphasize one studio discipline, and are encouraged to explore others, including video, digital, and web-based work. The Master of Fine Art in Printmaking at Illinois State University is a professional degree program emphasizing both theory and practice in the production, history, and teaching of the visual arts. Required printmaking classes include upper level courses in Intaglio (Art 345), Lithography (Art 346), Advanced Printmaking (Art 347), and independent studies (Art 444). The program culminates in a comprehensive exhibition, an oral examination, and a written thesis. The Printmaking area occupies two classroom/workshop spaces of approximately 2,500 square feet each. Some of the available resources include: five etching presses of different sizes, three lithography presses with mobile ventilation units, vented copper etching facilities, and multiple exposure units for photo-lithographic and intaglio applications, a scanner and large-scale digital printer, vented u-v free room, and a letterpress facility which houses an electric Vandercook press. Private studio space is provided for printmaking graduate students in the Graduate House, an off-campus facility with shared critique/installation spaces and a small woodshop. Graduate students have 24-hour access to the Graduate House and the Center for Visual Arts.