Graduate Program

The MFA graduate program is an intense two-year course of study emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to art making. Students may choose to concentrate on work in the areas of Painting, Drawing, Photography, Print, Digital Media and Electronics, Visualization, Sculpture & New Forms, Theory & Criticism, or develop their own multi-disciplinary course of study. The program includes formal studio courses, graduate seminars in theory and criticism, studio critique, and independent study. The program focuses on the personal growth of students in their pursuit of careers as dedicated, professional artists.

The Department of Art two-year MFA program provides graduate students with the opportunity to explore studio production and theoretical work in a flexible structure that encourages individual development within an interdisciplinary context. The department stresses the importance of a rigorous understanding of the conditions in which art is produced. Students are exposed to methodologies of inquiry that foster innovative and problem-solving skills necessary for artistic development and creative production.

The program’s internationally accomplished faculty are actively engaged in a range of disciplines and areas that include art and cultural theory, art history, film, video, architecture, digital media, print media, photography, performative studies, painting, spatial arts and related fields in the Humanities, Sciences and Engineering. A significant number of the permanent faculty hold joint or affiliate appointments with other departments such as the Media Arts & Technology, History of Art and Architecture, Asian American Studies, Comparative Literature and Film and Media Studies.

Students are given the opportunity to work one-on-one with faculty in the areas of research. In conjunction with an intensive curriculum which includes theory, studio critique seminars, professionalism, a range of directed media research courses, and the department's visiting artist lecture symposia, the study program provides graduate students with direct exposure to visiting professional artists for individual studio critiques.

The department wishes to attract motivated students who will benefit from interaction with a diverse and challenging faculty.  The environment offers focused research in a compelling natural setting while gaining exposure to the opportunities presented in the urban centers of Los Angeles and San Francisco.