Master of Fine Arts Program Overview
Many art schools are engaged in a national debate on how best to educate emerging artists. Many have devised programs that take certain positions relative to current innovations in the field, or in anticipation of future trends.
At the University of Houston School of Art, we reframed that discussion by focusing not on the contextual fields of practice, but rather on you – the practitioner. You are the only stable and absolutely central component in the equation. The only question worth asking is not how you might fit into our program, but rather how we might fit into yours. This question needs asking of each student who enters our MFA program, and each answer will necessarily be as unique as each individual.
The way we fit into “your program” is by creating the mechanisms to hybridize research; by maintaining an institutional agility; by devising programs that are flexible and dynamic; and by creating the environments that help you to broaden and deepen your investigations.
At the UH School of Art, we have solid MFA concentrations in Painting, Sculpture, Photography/Digital Media, and Graphic Communications. We are adding an MFA concentration in Interdisciplinary Practice and Emerging Forms (anticipated Fall 09). Built into each of these concentrations is the ability to extend outward and into the vast resources of a premier research institution. Our MFA program integrates the university and the city of Houston as an extended classroom, in a fundamentally multidisciplinary platform.
Freedom, flexibility and intensive studio practice is supported by a rigorously intellectual environment that recognizes that artists working within the tradition of painting or at the frontier of emerging media need the intellectual, theoretical, conceptual and analytical tools to contextualize their production within larger social contexts.
Critical Studies programs provide a structure for that inquiry. Raphael Rubinstein joins our faculty this year as Professor of Critical Studies, crafting a program that will bridge theory and practice, and function as a conceptual center for contemporary art discourse within the School of Art.
Our outstanding faculty and extensive visiting artist/critic program is supported by a vast expansion of scholarship through our faculty affiliate network. Colleagues from across the University will mentor our graduate students with research interests that extend outside of the atelier and into fields as diverse as biology and physics. And our School is deeply embedded in Houston’s dynamic and established visual arts community - artists, designers, curators, and other professionals provide our students with expertise and a range of unique opportunities. We are rich in human assets.
We are not only looking for candidates who fit neatly within a particular discipline or on a linear academic trajectory. We are looking for students who may be returning to an academic environment after time away. We are looking for students whose undergraduate study was not in the visual arts, or whose work is in transition, or not easily classified. We are looking for students whose practice is idea and project based, and is expressed in forms that necessarily vary.
We are looking for MFA candidates who are highly self-motivated, and would be well served by a program that encourages exploration and risk supported by an innovative curriculum, a critical environment, generous facilities, a renowned faculty, and a world-class city.
Please contact us if this interests you.
Master of Fine Arts Degree
The graduate program leading to the M.F.A. degree is a 60 semester-hour degree program comprised of 18 hours in the major, 12 hours in art history, 24 hours of related arts, and six hours of graduate seminar. Candidates for the Master of Fine Arts degree are encouraged to complete all course work for the degree within three years to ensure the sustained concentration requisite to the achievement of quality work at the graduate level. Students must complete the degree program within five years. Additionally, students are required to complete one academic year in residence during the course of their degree program. This residency is defined as 18 semester hours comprising a minimum of nine semester hours taken in two consecutive semesters.
Throughout the program of study, student will be evaluated on a regular basis. A progress review is required during each semester of enrollment in the graduate program.
Upon completion of all course work for the degree, all graduate students present their work in a thesis exhibition at the Blaffer Gallery, with accompanying photographic documentation. The creative work and supporting documentation will represent the visual thesis. In addition, students must produce a written thesis, normally in the first semester of the final year of work for the degree, and pass a comprehensive oral examination conducted at the time of the Thesis Exhibition. The examination will cover students' knowledge of their major discipline, of art history, and of related areas of art.
MFA Degree Programs
Graphic Communication
Painting
Photography and Digital Media
Sculpture
General Course Requirements
Three years of study
Major area: 18 hours
Art History: 12 hours
Related Arts: 24 hours
Graduate Seminar: 6 hours
Written Thesis, Thesis Exhibition and Oral Exam
Teaching Fellowships are available on a selective basis after 18 hours have been completed at the graduate level. Incoming graduate students are eligible for paid positions as Instructional Assistants and Teaching Assistants, positions in studio maintenance and grading in Art History. Scholarships and awards are also available through the School of Art and the University.
Fellowships and Assistantships
Teaching fellowships and assistantships are available on a selective basis each semester. Only those graduate students who have completed 18 hours toward their degree can be considered for Teaching Fellowships. Fellows are assigned to teach classes at the fundamental and intermediate levels. Assistantships are non-teaching positions for which all graduate students are eligible.
Financial Aid
The University of Houston offers a program of scholarships, grants, loans and employment to assist students who would otherwise be unable to attend the University as well as to encourage students of above average academic ability.
For further University financial aid information, call or write to:
- University of Houston
Scholarships and Financial Aid
31 E. Cullen Building
Houston, Texas, 77204-2010
713-743-1010
Graduate students who are employed half-time (50% FTE) as a Teaching Fellow, Teaching Assistant and/or Instructional Assistant are eligible for the Graduate Assistant Tuition Fellowship (GATF). This fellowship covers the tuition costs for 9 credit hours per semester.
In addition, the School of Art and the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences also offer scholarships such as George Bunker Graduate Fellowships and Delores Welder Mitchell Scholarships. These are awarded to both current and incoming students based on academic and artistic excellence.
Contact Cathy Hunt, Graduate Advisor, for further information regarding the scholarships and fellowships available for graduate students.
Nomination for University of Houston Presidential Fellowships
The Graduate Studies Committee of the School of Art nominates applicants to our programs for the competitive University of Houston Presidential Fellowships. The School of Art considers various factors in nominating students for these fellowships. Among these factors are:
- Applicant’s portfolio
- Applicant’s academic record at the previous undergraduate and/or graduate institutions
- Applicant’s letters of recommendation and the qualifications of the recommenders
- Applicant’s demonstrated interest in obtaining an advanced degree as evidenced by the statement of intent
- Applicant’s demonstrated interest in obtaining an advanced degree as evidenced by participation in professional activities related to art (These activities may include, but are not exclusive to, participation in exhibitions and installations, publication of art criticism or other writing about art, and receipt of awards or grants for art work.)
- Other relevant qualifications
The School of Art initiates the nomination for the Presidential Fellowships. All applicants are considered candidates for this nomination and no additional application materials are required for consideration for a Presidential Fellowship.
Graduate Tuition
For the current University of Houston tuition and fee schedule, consult the UH website (ww.uh.edu). School of Art courses carry course fees, which are added to the tuition and fees charged by the University.
Questions?
For further information on the graduate programs at the School of Art contact:
- Cathy Hunt, Graduate Advisor
chunt@uh.edu
713-743-2830
School of Art Contact Information
University of Houston, School of Art
100 Fine Arts Building
Houston, Texas 77204-4019
713-743-3001
