Work of the Program

The low residency MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts program combines the energizing and enriching potential of intense community and peer learning, with the freedom and flexibility of distance education through an eight day residency and a fifteen 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 focus of the low residency MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts program is on providing the conditions for each individual artist to clarify their intentions and develop their own unique voice. Each student works one-on-one with faculty advisors to design their individual program of studies based on their own interests, their personal learning style, and their aspirations as professional artists. Students begin by designing an individualized study plan tailored to their specific goals for the program. At the beginning of each of the five semesters, students meet with their faculty advisor during the week-long residency to define the work they will pursue during the semester.

Each semester’s combination of creative and critical work is carried out in the student’s home community and supported by one-on-one mentoring by a faculty advisor. In addition to the goals of their individual study plans, low residency MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts students complete a community-based practicum and produce a final portfolio synthesizing and articulating their work in the program and their art practice.