Studio Art

The M.F.A. Studio Art program currently offers the following areas of concentration:

In the Department of Art and Design, you are the driver of your education – and your future. With personal guidance from your faculty mentor, you will define a path that is in line with your interests, talents and values. We encourage you to find your own way: to create what you want to create, study what you want to learn and research what you want to explore. You will also have flexibility to experiment with and work across disciplines, further enhancing your artistic versatility.

The M.F.A Studio Art gives you a deeper, more meaningful understanding of your work through focused research and interactive seminars. Independent studio practice is at the core of the program. You will work alongside leading faculty to master your skills and further develop your unique artistic style. You will also have private studio space in our Graduate Art Studios (GAS House), a feature not often found at other universities.

Prepare for Success

Most students pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art want to more deeply explore current concepts and practices in the art and design professions. A related undergraduate degree, such as the University of Idaho's Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art, is excellent preparation for the graduate degree. Your success in the self-directed program relies on your ability to work independently and to self-initiate studio projects and research.

Your First Year

Potential students should apply for the 60-credit program through the University of Idaho College of Graduate Studies. You will also submit supporting application materials, including a portfolio of your personal work, to the Department of Art and Design for review. Once you are admitted to the program, you will meet with the graduate coordinator to develop your initial study plan, a list of the courses required to complete the degree. When you complete the 18-24 credit probationary period, you will select a major professor and a graduate committee and develop a master study plan. Degree requirements include:

• Seminar, history, criticism and philosophy
• Practicum and gallery
• Studio
• Research and thesis exhibition
• Approved electives

All candidates for the terminal degree in studio art must present a thesis, including a one-person exhibition of professional quality work supported by a written statement and public defense on the nature of the work.

Art and Design Graduate Policies and Procedures

What You Can Do

The graduate degree in studio art prepares you for a career as a professional artist or art teacher at the college and university level. With a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art (M.F.A. Studio Art), you may become a:

• Professional artist or designer
• Art teacher in higher education
• Manager/Administrator of museums and/or galleries
• Art buyer or curator for corporations/collectors
• Director of nonprofit art organizations

Opportunities

Thousands of University of Idaho alumni credit their experiences in the Department of Art and Design as pivotal to their success. The M.F.A Studio Art positions you to join them. You will be prepared for exciting and challenging teaching careers in colleges and universities, and have the high-level skill and perspectives to pursue a rewarding career as a professional artist. Many of our graduates have gone on as teachers in higher education or work in art organizations or in museum/galleries as curators and directors.

Current Research

Our faculty members are internationally and nationally recognized for their expertise, with work featured at group and solo exhibitions throughout the world. Faculty research interests and activities include:

• International student and faculty exchange in information design (federally funded)
• Application and nurturing of design thinking in an interdisciplinary project
• Massive concrete laminated and mold-formed depictions of ruins from the “Villa Bitricci”
• Interface between new and traditional media
• Mixed media painting and collage
• Free culture, online design communities and new media narrative
• Panoramic landscapes created by the Glacial Lake Missoula Floods and design of 3D presentation techniques

Hands-On Experience

Graduate students have excellent opportunities for firsthand experience (and financial assistance) as a paid teaching, instructional, graduate or research assistant. You will also learn about gallery practices and management through the College of Art and Architecture’s Prichard Art Gallery, which hosts exhibitions of work from regional and national artisans. Your hands-on and research experiences may include:

• Studios: Studio experiences are at the core of the Department of Art and Design. As a graduate student, you’ll work independently in your private studio space and also have opportunities to collaborate with leading faculty and peers from all art and design areas.
• Assistantships: Gain firsthand experience teaching or researching at the university level as a teaching, instructional, graduate, or research assistant.
• Research: Graduate students have opportunities to work alongside leading faculty on field research. Students are encouraged to pursue focused research in their personal interests. Below is a list of recent graduate research titles:
• Between Concealing and Revealing
• On The Spiral Path
• Minutia: The Great Impact of Small Things
• The Shim Defines Me
• Apparatus: The Aesthetic of Mechanical Function
• The Book Undone: Reterritorialization and the Process of the Restoration Narrative
• A Skin’s Edge
• International Study: Immerse yourself in another culture to learn about art on a global scale.
• Prichard Art Gallery: A University of Idaho College of Art and Architecture outreach facility located in downtown Moscow. Gain gallery practice and management experience. You’ll critique and study work of regional artisans and art and design students.

Facilities

Graduate Art Studios (GAS House): Graduate students are assigned private studio space in the GAS House. The on-campus building houses 21 private studios, faculty space, and a small wood shop.

Technical Laboratories and Workshops: Tools and materials in our advanced technical labs and workshops will give you the resources (and expertise from the laboratory manager) you need to create.