The Department of Art two-year MFA program provides graduate students with the opportunity to explore studio production, field studies, and theoretical work in a flexible structure that encourages individual development within a multi and interdisciplinary context. The department equally stresses the importance of making along with an understanding of the conditions in which art is produced. Students are exposed to methodologies of inquiry that foster innovation and the problem-solving skills necessary for artistic development and creative production.
Students are given the opportunity to work one-on-one with our accomplished faculty who are actively engaged in a range of disciplines and areas that include art and cultural theory, video, digital media, print media, photography, performative studies, painting, spatial and public arts, and related fields in the Humanities, Sciences and Engineering including film, art history, and media arts & technology. The program provides graduate students with an intensive curriculum which includes seminars in studio, critique, theory, post-graduate concerns, a range of directed media research courses, and the department’s visiting artist lecture colloquium. Student’s final thesis work culminates in a written thesis document and an exhibition at the university’s Art, Design & Architecture Museum.
Our unique program offers direct exposure to visiting artists and scholars as well as post-grad positions on a competitive basis that may include teaching, a studio, and access to department facilities. The department wishes to attract motivated students who will benefit from interaction with a diverse and challenging faculty and peers. The environment offers focused research in a compelling natural setting while gaining exposure to the opportunities presented in nearby Los Angeles. Admitted students receive private studio spaces, tuition, fee remission, and additional financial support through campus and departmental fellowships, stipends, and/or teaching assistantships, with additional funding opportunities available.
Faculty:
Sarah Rosalena, Jane Callister, Iman Djouini, Kip Fulbeck, Lisa Jevbratt, Alex Lukas, Shana Moulton. Lecturers: Eric Beltz and Helen Taschian.
Recent Visiting Artists and Curators:
Rosha Yaghmai, Jennifer West, Vishal Jugdeo, Rita McBride, Aryana Minai, rafa esparza, Nao Bustamante, Isaac Julien, Amanda Ross-Ho, Umar Rashid (Frohawk Two Feathers), Rebecca Morris, Alma Ruiz, Ceci Moss, Lauren Mackler, Kota Ezawa, Tobias Putrih, Miwa Matreyek, John Pylypchuk, Guerrilla Girls, Cayetano Ferrer, James Benning, Suzanne Lacy, Enrique Martinez Celaya, Wangechi Mutu, Steve Lambert, Martin Kersels, Frances Stark, Sharon Lockhart, Charles Gaines, David Horvitz, Jibz Cameron, Michael Robinson, and Beatriz Cortez.