Degree Program: Master of Fine Arts

Chair, Department of Art and Design: Gerry Beegan, Associate Professor

Director, Graduate Program in Visual Arts in the Department of Art and Design: Natalie Bookchin, Associate Professor

The master of fine arts (M.F.A.) in visual arts is a 60-credit degree program that normally is completed within two academic years. The M.F.A. encompasses a wide range of perspectives and several fields of study. The program offers courses in painting, sculpture, photography, media, printmaking, and art theory. These seminars and workshops are focused around readings, critiques, studio visits, and studio assignments that examine critical, social, and aesthetic issues intended to complement and cultivate graduate students' studio practices.

The university's proximity to New York and Philadelphia provides students with access to major galleries and museums. Each semester, the school invites a wide range of artists, critics, and curators to visit, providing students with opportunities to explore current ideas and developments. Among the guests who have visited the school are El Arakawa, Fia Backstrom, Yevgeniya Baras, Cara Benedetto, Anna Betbeze, Meriem Bennani, Michael Berryhill, Huma Bhabha, Hannah Black, Bayland Blake, Katherine Bradford, A.K. Burns, Bruno Ceschel, Mike Cloud, Torkwase Dyson, Jarrett Earnest, Nicole Eisenman, Peter Fend, Deana Haggag, Molly Zuckerman-Hartung, Gordon Hall, Sharon Hayes, EJ Hill, Alfredo Jaar, Jennie C. Jones, Ruba Katrib, Jutta Koether, Troy Michie, Laura Morrison, Sondra Perry, Paul Pfeiffer, Sara Greenberger Rafferty, Charles Ray, Mika Rottenberg, Park McArthur and Cameron Rowland, Sable Elyse Smith, Anna Shteynshleyger, A.L. Steiner, Mimi Smith, Lumi Tan, Stewart Uoo, Geo Wyeth, and Layqa Nuna Yawar.

The M.F.A. program provides a supportive community in which students can expand their concepts, formulate ways to express them formally and critically, and develop a pertinent and personal artistic practice.