Master of Art in Art History, M.A.
专业介绍
The master of fine arts degree at UNC–Chapel Hill is a two-year, 60-hour program. Credits are earned through studio practice, formal critique, professional development, and academic electives. Additionally, a teaching foundation and professional development course that supports the practical aspects of an art career (grant writing, professional presentation, studio visits, relationships with galleries and museums, etc.) is available for students who wish to prepare for an academic career. While this class is optional, it is required for students who wish to apply for teaching fellowships in the M.F.A. program. Because the majority of our funding is offered through teaching fellowships we strongly urge students to take advantage of this opportunity.
Credits for studio practice constitute the majority of credits. These are earned through independent study and critique. All M.F.A. students have individual studio space to support their creative research. With the department’s interdisciplinary approach, students need not choose a particular medium for specialization. They may use different media to express a variety of aesthetic and conceptual goals. This, however, does not preclude a media focus but does mean that media choices are integral to students’ intellectual and aesthetic explorations.
The structure for feedback in the program is through weekly critiques when students interact with the studio faculty over the course of the semester. A formal review brings the entire faculty together to evaluate each student’s progress at the end of the first semester, and the student’s committee members evaluate that progress at the end of the second and fourth semester. The academic component of the M.F.A. program is designed to complement the art-making process. The program strongly believes that the decision to pursue the making of fine art in an academic context carries an attendant responsibility to develop the verbal and written articulation of the visual. To help achieve this goal, students participate in two graduate seminars (three credit hours each). Other academic credits are satisfied by a requisite six hours of additional coursework in art history. Usually, students are urged to take one of these courses in the area of contemporary art history. Students also take six hours in electives in which the students are able to take advantage of upper-division and graduate-level courses in fields related to their studio practice or studio courses that help them advance or expand their technical and material skills. Students select these courses depending on the focus of their studio explorations, thus stretching the capacity of their creative work.
The remaining academic credits are earned through the master’s thesis. This includes mounting a group exhibition of the thesis work, curated by and at the Ackland Art Museums, as well as a solo show in the Department of Art’s Allcott Gallery; writing a thesis statement to accompany the thesis work; and presenting a visual lecture as the M.F.A. thesis defense that is then submitted to the Carolina Digital Repository.
In addition to the core curriculum, the UNC–Chapel Hill master of fine arts program supports students by bringing artists and critics to UNC–Chapel Hill throughout the year. For the Hanes Visiting Artist Lecture Series, artists are typically invited to campus for a two-day visit, during which time they give a public lecture and provide private critiques for the department’s graduate students. This program has proved to be a vital conduit for graduate students to see the work of, and interact with, a large and diverse number of professional artists. Additionally, the Visiting Arts Professionals Program brings visiting critics, gallerists, curators, or other art professionals to campus 4–5 times per year to further introduce students to the professional art world, furthering knowledge and fostering mutually beneficial practical and professional connections and relationships. These guests participate in a moderated, informal conversation with students and also conduct studio visits.
