Degree Criteria

The MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts (MFA-IA) degree criteria are the goals toward which the student's graduate studies are aimed. Achievement of these goals is documented in a portfolio consisting of varied elements, integrating artworks and writing. This portfolio is the final product of the program, replacing the traditional culminating thesis or project of most graduate programs.

A Fully Developed Personal Practice

Evaluation of practices and works will be based on their transformative power (personal and/or social); the aesthetic quality of the imagery (understood in a very broad sense); the understanding of form; the relevance of intention; and the strategies designed for creating and conveying meaning.

Ability to Conduct Rigorous Exploration within the Context of an Art Practice

Evaluation will be based on the student’s ability to explore various forms and media and to hypothesize and assess the effects of the student’s practice and/or works and the student’s correspondence with the student’s intentions.

Practicum

The MFA-IA practicum reflects a tradition of practical education within graduate study. While this tradition is most often completed through a classroom teaching experience, in preparation for an academic career, the MFA-IA program takes a broader view. It invites students to think beyond the classroom and explore a variety of ways in which artists might live and work in the world. Evaluation will be based primarily on the student’s ability to articulate the nature of the project and to understand the issues involved in its actualization. (View examples of student practicums)

Understanding of the Nature of Art and Articulation of a Personal Theory of Art

To meet this criterion the student must be able to contextualize their theory within the current discourses in the arts; have a good acquaintance with historic and contemporary practices and with other cultures’ definitions of art, art philosophies, systems and practices.

Ability to Develop Critical Discourse on One’s Own and Other’s Practice

This implies the ability to evaluate one’s own work and articulate the issues (aesthetic, formal, social, etc.) at stake in the art practices under consideration.

Understanding of the Concept of Interdisciplinary Art

All students, including those who choose to specialize in one medium or art form, should understand the general disciplinary and interdisciplinary context in which their work is located. An understanding of the political and institutional implications of the arts’ disciplinary structure is desirable.

Understanding of the Cultural, Social, and Political Context of One’s Art Practice

Students should be able to locate themselves and their work within the larger cultural, social and political framework in which their practice is taking place, as well as to conduct a thorough reflection on their personal responsibility and the consequences of their practice on others and on the community.