Painting, MA

The painting program offers students the opportunity to engage in contemporary practices and directions in painting through intensive studio experience. Skills are developed in various painting techniques and materials to address the relationship between form and content.

The graduate program in painting requires that the artist possess a strong sense of direction in his or her work. The image, idea, method or process is a concerted pursuit of form in service of content. Whether representational, abstract, dimensional or digital, the key is to find the best means for realizing one’s vision. Graduate painters forge connections to creative communities beyond the university through department exhibition programming, visiting artist lectures and critiques, and trips to area art institutions.

Master of Arts in Painting

Ask yourself not only what personally motivates you, but also how your work potentially engages a larger audience and art world.

The graduate program in painting requires that the student/artist possess a strong sense of direction in their work. The image, idea, method or process is a concerted pursuit of form in service of content. I strongly believe that painting is not defined purely by its materiality but more importantly by the issues and ideas that surround it both historically and contemporaneously. Whether representational, abstract, dimensional, or digital, the key is to find the best means for realizing one's vision.

Graduate painters forge connections to creative communities beyond the University through department exhibition programming, visiting artist lectures and critiques, and trips to area art institutions. The Dallas/Fort Worth area offers a vast and vibrant art community providing a continual stream of world-class events and exhibitions.

The MA and MFA program in Studio Art draws students involved in a multiplicity of practices, interests, and professional aspirations. Through the programs emphasis on studio and professional practices these students evolve into practicing artists exhibiting their work, engaging in residencies, curating exhibitions, and teaching art.

The Master of Arts in Art is the intermediate level graduate program for students, who may specialize in painting, printmaking, ceramics and sculpture. It allows for concentrated study over an extended period of time under personal and intensive guidance of the graduate Art faculty and with an assigned major professor. Students and faculty members are engaged in critical interaction through studio critiques and a formal review. The purpose of the program is to present students with theoretical and practical knowledge to make art approaching professional quality.

The M.A. in Art is offered for students who are intent on pursuing a terminal degree in art such as the M.F.A. It also aims to meet the needs of art teachers in secondary schools who wish to deepen their knowledge of their field.

The M.A. requires a minimum of thirty credits, of which fourteen credits must be earned in the following: two consecutive semesters of the M.A. Seminar, a course in both modern and contemporary art and the M.A. Exhibition course. Studio courses can be selected by the student with the approval of the major professor. After the completion of nine to fifteen hours of course work students must apply for candidacy. In the candidacy review the full graduate art faculty examines the student’s work and knowledge and grants or denies candidacy. The examination may be repeated only once, within the period of one semester. At ten credits per semester, completion of the program normally takes three semesters (including independent study during the summer). The program culminates in a thesis exhibition and an oral defense of the exhibition. The thesis exhibition is presented on campus. Full documentation of the exhibition is required before the degree is granted.