Studio Art
Our Approach
SVMA offers both an MA and an MFA in Art. At the core of our graduate program is a close one-on-one mentorship with professors, and regular critiques with fellow students. Students investigate ideas and process deeply, and develop their understanding through studio work, research, writing, presentation and critical analysis.
Instruction includes individual research with professors; group seminars, where students share feedback about artwork; training in college teaching; professional development; critical theory; and related topics in other UM departments.
Learning Environment
Each Graduate Student in Studio art has a semi private studio space, located by their needed equipment and facilities. Graduate students have 24 access to their studios in the school year and summer. Students meet weekly with their Graduate faculty mentors as well as a with their graduate cohorts I Graduate Critique Seminar. Each semester is structured to best support the student export their ideas, medium, community and intensive research.
Studio Art has an inspiring and active Visiting Artist / Visiting Critic program. Students receive a wide variety of critiques and networking opportunities.
Course Requirements
6-9 credits of Art History, Theory and Criticism
24 credits of Independent Graduate Research with a Faculty mentor
10 credits of Professional Development type classes including Pre-Candidacy, Pedagogy, Professional Practices and Thesis
Find detailed information about .
Graduate Handbook
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Weekly meeting to critique graduate student work. Offered fall and spring semesters. Graduate students take this class five-six times for a total of 10-12 credits.
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Lecture-style course discussing current pedagogical practices in college level art education. Includes development of a syllabus and teaching philosophy, as well as the more routine elements of teaching their first course at UM. This course will prepare graduate students for TA application and must be taken during their first semester of graduate study. Also includes a semester of course shadowing. This entails working closely with an assigned instructor from the beginning of the assigned course until finals. Should assist the assigned faculty member with all activities pertaining to curricular delivery.
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Seminar on the history of art criticism as a particular type of discourse about art. Contemporary theories of Modernism including Formalism, Abstraction, Marxism, and Social Realism; and Postmodernism including Deconstruction, Revisionism, and Feminism. Offered each Fall semester only, MFA required to take this course in the first semester of their first year.
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Lecture-based Critical Theory course for graduates only, to be in sequence with the current Critical Theories in Visual Arts course, which will be the first in the paired sequence and have a name change to Critical Theories in Visual Arts l. Should take readings up where Critical Theories in Visual Art l leaves off and work towards application of these ideas through writing. Offered Spring Semester only. MFA requires this course in the second semester of the first year.
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Course emphasizes one-on-one instruction with faculty from the student's area of concentration in preparation for the student's all-faculty review prior to thesis work. Offered Spring or Fall semester.
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(R 24) Independent study graduate course focusing on personal research and/or studio development. Meeting times independently scheduled. Graduate students take this class four to six times for a total of twenty-one to twenty-six credits. All faculty teach this course over the course of a year, but not every faculty member is available each semester.
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Lecture-Style course discussing the transition and progression from graduate study into the workforce. Should involve the preparation of a job application and all the materials therein, as well as the development of a post-institution art practice. This could include nurturing a web presence, prioritizing juried opportunities, and how to solicit or seek representation. An additional facet could delve into grant writing and/or a tour of regional residencies.
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Guided one-on-one instruction with the chair of the thesis committee working toward researching and writing the thesis paper. Offered Fall and Spring semesters.
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Investigation of the discipline of art history, its elements, boundaries, historiography, and practitioners. Offered Spring Semester or as needed.
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Graduate Students enroll in 3-6 Open Elective credits. Generally, students take these courses within the CVPA or the larger UM campus to help research their thesis. Only courses at a 400 level or above will count towards their degree. Not more than six credits at the 400 level can be put towards the degree requirements.