Painting Courses

Method and Theory in Art History

ARH 500 three credits
An introduction to art historical methodology with application to studio problems. Oral reports and research papers are required.

Graduate Seminar I

ART 505 three credits
Forum for exploring contemporary art and design issues and for learning from peers about developments in a variety of art fields. A broad range of critical writings are discussed.

Graduate Seminar II

ART 506 three credits
Continuation of ART 505.

Fine Arts Symposium

ART 507 three credits
Integrates the beginning Fine Arts graduate student into the studio program, deepens and enriches the student's awareness of personal direction, and introduces the student to the greater art community and issues of the professional artist. Students periodically present and discuss their work among each other, guest critics discuss and evaluate their work, and professional artists make presentations in their studios. The course also presents professional topics such as grant writing, studio space, business, and bookkeeping. Required of Fine Arts MFA students; takes the place of an elective.

Graduate Painting Studio

ART 541, 542, 641 up to twenty-seven credits
An advanced course in painting and other 2 D media designed specifically for MFA Painting students, with the student's aesthetic goals in mind. Students work one-on-one with an advisor assigned to them upon acceptance into the MFA program.

The Fine Arts Painting MFA Program provides an educational context where motivated and creative artists can pursue their own goals, hone technical skills, and advance personal vision through intense, focused individual studio activity. Students develop advanced quality artwork in preparation for a thesis exhibition.

Graduate academic/studio electives

XXX nine credits
As decided in individual study plans in consultation with primary advisor.

Visual Thesis

ART 512 six credits
The preparation of a body of conceptually focused, original, and innovative visual work for exhibition or presentation. Graded A-F.

Writing Seminar

ART 515 three credits
Organizational tools for thesis preparation, with analysis of content and style of theses of recent graduates and other writings. Writing begins with a revision of the thesis proposal as the introduction to the thesis. A preliminary draft of the thesis is prepared by the end of the semester. Significant class time is devoted to group critiques of student writing.

Written Thesis

ART 516 three credits
The completion of the written thesis, a verbal explanation of the visual thesis which includes research of sources and a discussion of pertinent aesthetic issues, materials, and processes. Graded A-F.

Philosophy of Art

ART 520 three credits
Themes to be discussed include the nature of form and expression in art, the similarities and differences between the artist's relation to the work of art and the spectator's, the difference between linguistic and visual arts, and the social function of art. The works of a few major philosophers will be compared to demonstrate alternative points of view.

Instructional Development

ART 590 three credits (required only for Teaching Assistants)
Provides the fundamental knowledge needed to develop course content, curriculum development, and project planning for studio classes taught in the foundation program.