Painting, MFA

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.

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

Painting is not defined purely by its materiality, but, more importantly, by the issues and ideas that surround it both historically and contemporaneously. 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.

Painting MFA

The Master of Fine Arts is the accepted terminal degree for studio artists. It is the purpose of the M.F.A. program to develop students who have superior competence in their studio area, knowledge of a spectrum of studio procedures, proficiency in the history of art and an understanding of the responsibilities of the artist or the artist-teacher.

The program is designed for students of high qualifications who wish to prepare themselves as professional artists and for positions in senior institutions. It requires the completion of the Master of Arts program from the university or other colleges and acceptance by the full graduate art faculty.

The program requires a minimum of thirty hours beyond the Master of Arts. The following courses are required: two consecutive semesters of M.F.A. Seminar, two graduate courses in art history and the M.F.A. Exhibition course. All other courses are selected with the approval of the major professor. At ten credit hours per semester, completion of the program normally takes three semesters as well as two summers of independent study. It is completed by the M.F.A. Exhibition, a professional exhibition on or off campus and by an oral examination by the full graduate art faculty. Students entering the program with an M.A. from another institution have their work and knowledge examined by the faculty after completion of nine to fifteen hours of study. Presentation of full documentation of the exhibition including an artist statement is required for the granting of the degree.