MFA in Interdisciplinary ArtsMFA in Interdisciplinary ArtsThe low-residency MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts Program is a five-semester, 60-credit terminal degree program designed to facilitate students in articulating an original vision, refining expressive and technical skills, and experimenting in new directions. The low-residency MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts Program welcome students of all art practices, especially those that advance a collective understanding of what art is and what art can be. The program also welcomes students of practices that are not traditionally part of the Western art tradition. Students and faculty members in the program form a vibrant community of artists in an egalitarian, cooperative, and inquiring learning environment.
The MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts Program combines the energizing and enriching potential of intense community- and peer-based learning, with the freedom and flexibility of distance education, through an eight-day residency and a 15-week semester of independent study. This format is ideal for artists who wish to attend graduate school without suspending their professional and personal commitments. The program is one of the few interdisciplinary arts programs in the world committed to reaching across the visual, conceptual, and performing arts. Studies in the program take into equal consideration all aspects related to art practices, including emotional, procedural, cultural, political, philosophical, and spiritual dimensions, as well as questions of the artist’s role in community and society.
The focus of the MFA Interdisciplinary Arts Program is holistic, encouraging students to become the kind of artist they want to be, without trying to socialize them into any preconception of what an artist should be or should do. Students design their individual program of study based on their own interests and professional goals, with one-on-one mentoring from faculty advisors who are also working artists. Faculty members in the MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts Program are active in their fields, working as artists, community builders, educators, writers, and thinkers. They bring a rich diversity of experience and philosophy to their role as advisors, mentors, and colleagues.
Each semester in the program begins with an eight-day residency for students and faculty. Students spend intensive time with their advisors, both one-on-one and in small groups. Students of all disciplines have a variety of opportunities to present their current projects, works in progress, and examples of hands-on experimentation. Residencies are a rich opportunity to develop a strong sense of community and establish lasting friendships and creative collaborations. Students entering the program choose one of two low residency site options for the duration of their studies: the Plainfield, Vermont, residency option on the campus of Goddard College in beautiful central Vermont or the Port Townsend, Washington, residency option at the Fort Worden site, located within a vibrant arts community on the Pacific Coast.*
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