Master of Arts in Art
      Admission Requirements
      Degree Requirements
Master of Fine Arts
      Procedures for Admission to the M.F.A. Program
      Regular Admission to the M.F.A.
      Conditional Admission
      Review and Advancement to Degree Candidacy
      Thesis Committee
      Thesis and Thesis Exhibition
      Degree Requirements 
Assistantships
Unspecified Content or Variable Credit Courses
ART Course Descriptions

Department of Art web site

Nedra Frodge, Chairperson
132 Wightman Hall, (989) 774-3025

David Bolton, M.F.A., Ceramics
Jesse Dominguez, M.F.A., Painting
Mariah Doren, M.F.A., Photography
Brian Elder, M.F.A., Painting
Lon Ferguson, M.F.A., Photography
Nedra Frodge, M.F.A., Photography
Alice Gardner, M.F.A., Graphic Design
Richard Gergel, Ph.D., Art History
Holly Hanessian, M.F.A., Ceramics
Sharon House, Ed.D., Art Education, M.F.A., Printmaking
Carolyn Loeb, Ph.D., Art History
Julia Morrisroe, M.F.A., Painting
Clark Most, M.F.A., Graphic Design
Johanna Paas, M.F.A., Printmaking
Sally Rose, M.F.A., Fibers
Jerry G. Smoke, Ed.D., Art Education
David Stairs, M.F.A., Graphic Design
Margaret Ware, M.F.A., Sculpture
Al Wildey, M.F.A., Photography

The master's degree provides students the opportunity to design a flexible program that fosters professional growth and development in the arts. The faculty, composed of nationally recognized artists, critics, art educators, and art historians, strive to give each student the individual attention necessary to stimulate creative work, while the committee system enables students to work closely with instructors from a variety of areas.

Master of Arts in Art
The Department of Art offers courses which fulfill the requirements for the Master of Arts in Art. In addition, courses are offered for an area of concentration in the Master of Arts in Secondary Education and the Master of Arts in Community College Education. For information about these programs, see the Teacher Education section of this Bulletin.

The Department of Art also offers courses which may be used as cognates or electives leading to the master’s degree in other areas.
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Admission Requirements
In addition to general university requirements for regular admission status, a minimum of 20 semester hours in art with a grade point average of 2.5 and 12 credit hours of undergraduate art history are required .

The candidate must submit 10-20 slides in the chosen area of concentration by October 1 or March 1 for the ensuing semester and a 150 word artist's statement concerning the candidate's work. Slides will be juried for admission to the program by the Graduate Faculty of the Art Department.

Once admitted, each candidate for Option 1 must select a committee composed of three graduate art faculty, develop an appropriate course of study in consultation with the committee, and apply for authorization for the Master of Arts degree, before completing 6 hours of graduate course work. A student who wishes to change the area of concentration must receive permission from an advisor or the Chairperson of the Art Department.
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Degree Requirements (30 hours) 
Required Courses in Art (20-30 hours)
12 hours in a major studio concentration
6 hours of ART 680 Graduate Exhibition and Criticism
2-12 Additional hours approved by the advisor.
Elective Courses (6-10 hours)
6-10 hours selected in consultation with the major advisor.
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Master of Fine Arts
The Department of Art offers courses which fulfill the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts. Courses are offered in the following areas of concentration: ceramics, design, drawing, fiber design, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and graphic design.
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Procedures for Admission to the M.F.A. Program
1. Applicants for admission to the M.F.A. Graduate Program must first submit their application to the College of Graduate Studies, and must meet the University's requirements for admission. All application materials must be received by October 1 for Spring admission and March 1 for Summer and Fall admission.

2. Applications must include a letter of intent, an official transcript, and a set of slides.

3. Applications for admission will be reviewed first by the faculty in the student's area of concentration and then presented to the faculty as a whole for consideration.

4. All faculty with graduate status may vote on admission of graduate students.

5. The Department chairperson will notify the College of Graduate Studies of the Department's decision. The student will then receive official notification of acceptance or rejection.
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Regular Admission to the M.F.A.
1. The applicant must have completed an undergraduate degree with at least 40 undergraduate credits in Art including 12 credits of Art History. Earned art credits must reflect a grade point average of 2.5 or better.

2. The applicant must submit 20 slides of recent work or other work representative of his/her art training. Slides must accompany the application and be received by October 1 or March 1 for admission to the ensuing semester.

3. The applicant must submit a statement covering the applicant's background, creative activities and artistic objectives.

4. The candidate's credentials must be accepted by a simple majority vote of the graduate faculty in the Art Department.

5. Upon notification of acceptance, the student is advised to meet with his/her graduate advisor and plan a program of study.
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Conditional Admission
1. If the student has insufficient art credits or any other academic deficiencies, he/she may be recommended for conditional admission. (See College of Graduate Studies requirements).

2. A student with conditional admission must satisfy deficiency requirements prior to applying for Regular admission to the program.

3. Courses taken to make up admission deficiencies may not be counted toward graduate degree requirements.
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Review and Advancement to Degree Candidacy
1. At the completion of 24 semester hours of graduate credits in the Art Department, and upon the approval of the advisor, the student must request a review by the graduate art faculty who will then determine the status of the student's candidacy toward the M.F.A. degree. Procedural guidelines are available in the Art Department office.

2. Students requesting a review must present slides of recent work and discuss their creative progress in front of the graduate art faculty. Upon reviewing the student's work the faculty will make recommendations regarding the student's continuation in the M.F.A. program. The chairperson will then notify the student of the art faculty's decision.

3. If a student is not accepted for degree candidacy toward the M.F.A., he/she will be advised of one of the following options:
a.) to discontinue participation in the M.F.A. program
b.) to apply for a second review at a later time
c.) to pursue the M.A. in Art degree

4. Students accumulating more than six (6) hours of incomplete course work at any one time during their graduate studies may be prevented from registering for further course work. Students carrying any incomplete grades will be ineligible for admission to candidacy.

5. A student who wishes to change his/her area of concentration must receive approval of the Art Department graduate faculty.
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Thesis Committee
1. During the first year of study, the candidate will initiate forming his/her M.F.A. Thesis Committee. The committee will supervise the progress of the candidate and act as his/her Thesis-Exhibition advisory committee.

2. The Thesis Committee will be composed of three graduate faculty. The chairperson of the committee must be in the student's area of concentration and will serve as the main advisor to the student.

3. The student has the obligation to meet with his/her thesis committee throughout his/her graduate studies and in preparation for his/her thesis exhibition. The student must meet with his/her committee no less than once per semester during degree candidacy, and with the advisor at least once each semester.

4. If a faculty member goes on leave, retires, or chooses to resign from a student's committee the student shall immediately select a replacement.

5. The student may request a change in his/her committee membership by stating the reasons in a letter to the chairperson of the Art Department and receiving the chairperson's approval.
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Thesis and Thesis Exhibition
1. The student preparing for a thesis exhibition will sign up for ART 798 (Thesis-Exhibition) in the last semester of the program.

2. The student is expected to work closely with his/her thesis committee and the thesis advisor.

3. The student is required to write a thesis using guidelines and format requirements of the College of Graduate Studies. The final thesis must include a set of slides and/or photos or reproductions of the student's work.

4. The thesis exhibition must be planned in advance and in coordination with the Gallery Director.

5. The student must present a thesis and an exhibition approval form signed by all his/her committee members as a requirement for graduation.
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Degree Requirements (60 hours) 
Required Courses in Art (51 hours)
36 hours in studio with a minimum of 27 hours in studio area concentration.
9 hours in art history
ART 798 (6) Thesis-Exhibition
Support Courses for Concentration (9 hours)
To be selected in consultation with the major advisor
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Assistantships
1. Applicants must submit a letter of application to the Department chairperson. Three letters of references are required--at least one of which should be from a previous instructor.

2. All assistantships will be awarded based on merit, strength of creative work, and the needs of the department.

3. Priority in awarding assistantships will be given to qualified first-time applicants. If no first-time qualified applicants are available, the awards may be given to previous recipients.

4. Graduate assistants must enroll in and maintain a minimum of five semester hours of credit each semester of appointment.

5. Graduate assistants must maintain a cumulative 3.00 GPA in all graduate work. More than six credits of incomplete (I) grade per semester is grounds for termination.

6. Graduate assistants are expected to perform departmentally assigned duties in a satisfactory manner.

7. For other policies, requirements, and benefits for graduate assistants refer to the College of Graduate Studies.
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Unspecified content or variable credit courses. Click here for additional information regarding these types of courses. The following courses offered through the department are of unspecified content or variable credit: ART 556, 557, 558, 597, 697.
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