MFA in Studio Art 36 months Postgraduate Programme By University of Utah |TopUniversities
Programme Duration

36 monthsProgramme duration

Starting Month

AugStarting Month

Programme overview

Main Subject

Art and Design

Degree

MFA

Study Level

Masters

Study Mode

On Campus

The three-year residential MFA in Studio Art program is for those fully committed to living as artists through superior creative work, discipline, and self-motivation. In our interdisciplinary program, you can specialize in one of the following areas: Book Arts, Community-Based Art Education, Graphic Design*, Illustration, Painting and Drawing, Photography and Digital Imaging, Printmaking, and Sculpture Intermedia. However, you will be working towards an MFA in Studio Art, which is not specific to an art field, so you will be encouraged to pursue a multi-modal approach to creative research. By the end of the program, you will demonstrate a mature and intelligent conceptualization of your work and a general understanding of the different perspectives in contemporary art. You will have the opportunity to master the techniques and technologies needed to realize your career goals.

The MFA in Studio Art program welcomes applicants with an outstanding record of creative activity. We expect you to have a BFA degree in art or a cognate discipline, such as architecture or design, and a sincere commitment to graduate study demands.

The department has a broad range of excellent facilities with specialized equipment. The Art and Sculpture Buildings include a woodshop and tool room, a print shop, spray booths, digital imaging and audio computer labs, a laser cutter, 3D printers, large format printers, darkrooms, a plaster room, metal fabrication and foundry rooms, photography lighting studio, ceramic wheel and glaze rooms, and a variety of kilns, including a car kiln. The bookmaking and letterpress studio in the J. Willard Marriott Library is another resource available to our graduate students. The Gittins Gallery, located in the Film and Media Arts building, is the department’s primary exhibition venue. The D. Ray Owen Reading Room/Computer Lab, with a collection of books and magazines on contemporary art, negative, large, and small flatbed scanners, Wacom tablets, and professional inkjet printers, is open to graduates 24 hours a day. The Katherine W. Dumke Fine Arts and Architecture library, part of the Creativity & Innovations Services at the J. Willard Marriott Library, is a vast art resource available to all our graduate students. Their services include an extensive collection of artists’ books, digital labs, 3D fabrication equipment, and creative studios and spaces. The Utah Museum of Fine Arts is home to worldwide art with concentrations in Asian, American, and 20th-century and Contemporary Art.

Our graduate students benefit enormously from meeting and working with artists invited to our department as part of the Carmen M. Christensen Visiting Artist/Scholar Lecture Series and the Warnock Artist in Residence Program. For the Christensen visiting artists, the faculty selects a slate of individuals annually who contribute to their visual arts disciplines. The artists are invited to present an artist’s talk, work with classes, and do studio visits with our graduate students. The Marva and John Warnock biennial residency program is an essential catalyst for dialogue encompassing contemporary artmaking issues, pedagogy, interdisciplinary and collaborative work, art in the community, and art as activism. The program aims to expose students to new, innovative, and diverse contemporary art practices while providing an opportunity for trilateral exchange amongst students, faculty, and the public. The artist-in-residence will lead a Master Class during the Spring semester.
*The University of Utah does not currently offer an MFA in Graphic Design. The MFA in Studio Art is centered on developing a professional fine arts practice, and its cohort comprises artists working in and across various media. The MFA program is not directly associated with the Graphic Design BFA program, though graphic design faculty may serve on graduate student committees. Although we welcome graphic designers to apply to the MFA program, understand that it is best suited for those pursuing a creative agenda that explores the language and processes of graphic design as a fine art practice.

Programme overview

Main Subject

Art and Design

Degree

MFA

Study Level

Masters

Study Mode

On Campus

The three-year residential MFA in Studio Art program is for those fully committed to living as artists through superior creative work, discipline, and self-motivation. In our interdisciplinary program, you can specialize in one of the following areas: Book Arts, Community-Based Art Education, Graphic Design*, Illustration, Painting and Drawing, Photography and Digital Imaging, Printmaking, and Sculpture Intermedia. However, you will be working towards an MFA in Studio Art, which is not specific to an art field, so you will be encouraged to pursue a multi-modal approach to creative research. By the end of the program, you will demonstrate a mature and intelligent conceptualization of your work and a general understanding of the different perspectives in contemporary art. You will have the opportunity to master the techniques and technologies needed to realize your career goals.

The MFA in Studio Art program welcomes applicants with an outstanding record of creative activity. We expect you to have a BFA degree in art or a cognate discipline, such as architecture or design, and a sincere commitment to graduate study demands.

The department has a broad range of excellent facilities with specialized equipment. The Art and Sculpture Buildings include a woodshop and tool room, a print shop, spray booths, digital imaging and audio computer labs, a laser cutter, 3D printers, large format printers, darkrooms, a plaster room, metal fabrication and foundry rooms, photography lighting studio, ceramic wheel and glaze rooms, and a variety of kilns, including a car kiln. The bookmaking and letterpress studio in the J. Willard Marriott Library is another resource available to our graduate students. The Gittins Gallery, located in the Film and Media Arts building, is the department’s primary exhibition venue. The D. Ray Owen Reading Room/Computer Lab, with a collection of books and magazines on contemporary art, negative, large, and small flatbed scanners, Wacom tablets, and professional inkjet printers, is open to graduates 24 hours a day. The Katherine W. Dumke Fine Arts and Architecture library, part of the Creativity & Innovations Services at the J. Willard Marriott Library, is a vast art resource available to all our graduate students. Their services include an extensive collection of artists’ books, digital labs, 3D fabrication equipment, and creative studios and spaces. The Utah Museum of Fine Arts is home to worldwide art with concentrations in Asian, American, and 20th-century and Contemporary Art.

Our graduate students benefit enormously from meeting and working with artists invited to our department as part of the Carmen M. Christensen Visiting Artist/Scholar Lecture Series and the Warnock Artist in Residence Program. For the Christensen visiting artists, the faculty selects a slate of individuals annually who contribute to their visual arts disciplines. The artists are invited to present an artist’s talk, work with classes, and do studio visits with our graduate students. The Marva and John Warnock biennial residency program is an essential catalyst for dialogue encompassing contemporary artmaking issues, pedagogy, interdisciplinary and collaborative work, art in the community, and art as activism. The program aims to expose students to new, innovative, and diverse contemporary art practices while providing an opportunity for trilateral exchange amongst students, faculty, and the public. The artist-in-residence will lead a Master Class during the Spring semester.
*The University of Utah does not currently offer an MFA in Graphic Design. The MFA in Studio Art is centered on developing a professional fine arts practice, and its cohort comprises artists working in and across various media. The MFA program is not directly associated with the Graphic Design BFA program, though graphic design faculty may serve on graduate student committees. Although we welcome graphic designers to apply to the MFA program, understand that it is best suited for those pursuing a creative agenda that explores the language and processes of graphic design as a fine art practice.

Admission Requirements

110+
80+
6.5+

3 Years
Aug

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