To find the answers to your questions about the MFA Studio Art graduate program and the application process, please read the web page below. For any additional questions, refer to the contact information at the end.
All the information on this web page is included in this downloadable PDF.
M.F.A. Studio Art Fall 2010 Application Guide (pdf - download adobe reader).
A Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art is a three-year, full-time degree program with a total of thirty students and approximately thirty graduate studio art faculty members. The M.F.A. program is designed for highly motivated individuals who already demonstrate strong potential for artistic and professional growth. Students may work across discipline lines, but you MUST apply in ONLY ONE of seven Areas to gain admission into the program. These Areas include: Ceramics (Sculptural), Metals, Painting/Drawing, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, and Transmedia.
A combined total of ten (10) students from all studio Areas are admitted in the fall semester only. There is no spring admission.
The deadline for the online ApplyTexas application is December 1, 2009.
The deadline for receipt all other materials, including SlideRoom portfolio, is January 4, 2010
Late applications will NOT be accepted for review
If you have specific questions about which area is most appropriate for you, please e-mail the Graduate Advisor, Professor Mark Goodman, with the following information provided:
While faculty in the seven Areas serve as the primary mentors of their students, interaction with faculty and students across all the Studio Areas, Design, and Art History, as well as outside the department is encouraged. Students in each of the seven areas are able to work in their concentration's facility 24/7 (other than when a scheduled undergraduate class is meeting). All Painting graduate students are assigned an individual studio in a separate complex with all other painting grads.
Materials must be received by two entities: The University's Graduate School Admissions and SlideRoom.
Both the University's Office of Graduate Studies and the Studio Art Graduate Studies Committee of the Faculty must approve your admission.
Questions about the specific mechanics of the application process should be addressed to the Graduate Coordinator, kt shorb , via ktshorb@mail.utexas.edu or phone (512) 471-3377, CST. Please read this entire document first.
Questions about the academic program should be e-mailed to the Graduate Advisor, Professor Mark Goodman, mgoodman@mail.utexas.edu. Please read this entire document first.
To Graduate School Admissions (following details below), you submit:
File online application for admission, available after September 1, no later than December 1, 2009. Go to the Web site of the Graduate Admissions. Click on “How to Apply” and then “Graduate Admissions.” At the top of that page is a link to a very helpful PDF guide “Preparing to Complete the Graduate Application.” Begin the online application at ApplyTexas.org. In the Educational Background section, name your specific studio area of interest. Your references will not receive the secure email link until you SUBMIT your ApplyTexas application. Deadline for submitting is December 1, 2009. Two days after submission, you will receive an email with your UT EID. You will use this UT EID throughout your association with UT Austin, and in your SlideRoom application.
Three (3) letters of recommendation are submitted electronically via secure email. When you complete the References portion of your online application, you give names and email addresses of your three recommenders. A secure email link will be sent to each person after you submit your application. This is the preferred method of receiving letters. Deadline for submitting your application is December 1, 2009. Deadline for receipt of letters is January 4, 2010.
If a recommender is writing a letter instead of submitting an electronic letter, the letter must be accompanied by a signed (by the applicant) Request for Reference form, placed in a sealed envelope (with signature across the flap) and submitted to the Graduate Coordinator. Mail to: Graduate Coordinator for Studio Art, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Art and Art History, 1 University Station D1300, Austin, TX 78712-0337. Or, for overnight or package delivery, ship to: Graduate Coordinator for Studio Art, University of Texas at Austin, ART Building, ART 3.320, 23rd and San Jacinto, Austin, TX 78712, Phone: (512) 471-3377.
Simply write one sentence: "My statements are being submitted through SlideRoom." (Members of the faculty in each Area will review your SlideRoom statements but do not read any ApplyTexas statements.)
Pay the Application Fee of $50, U.S. applicants and permanent residents; or $75, International Applicants online by Visa or MasterCard, or mail a check or money order to GIAC.
Forward one official copy of your transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions. Electronic transcripts are preferred, if available, to expedite transcript evaluation. (Transcripts are not required from any college that offers no coursework beyond the sophomore level.) Current or former UT Austin students must pay an additional $10 for the cost of duplicating their academic records.
The GRE is not required. But, international students must take either the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the Academic Examination of the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam. Scores must be received by the January 4, 2010 deadline. For TOEFL, go to http://www.ets.org/toefl/. A TOEFL score of 550 (paper test), 213 (computer-based test) or 79 (internet-based test) is the minimum acceptable for admission to the University. The code for the UT Austin is 6882. No department code is needed. For IELTS, go to http://www.ielts.org/. An IELTS overall band score of 6.5 is required. If you hold a bachelor's degree from a U.S. institution or an English-only speaking country, these tests are waived.
To mail transcripts, test scores, and fee ONLY. Submit NO other documents to GIAC.
Graduate and International Admissions Center (GIAC), The University of Texas at Austin,
P.O. Box 7608, Austin, TX 78713-7608.
To ship as overnight or package delivery:
Graduate and International Admissions Center (GIAC), The University of Texas at Austin, 2608
Whitis Avenue, Austin, TX 78712-1534, (512) 475-7390
You can check on the status of your application online within UT Direct.
Start at UT Home Page: http://www.utexas.edu/
Click on UT Direct. Sign in with your user name (or UT EID) and password.
Click on SITEMAP at the top of the page.
Click on Admissions.
Click on Application Status.
Please do not contact the Department to confirm receipt of materials. Use the Status Check.
Applicants for admission must utilize a web-based portfolio and document submission system, SlideRoom. All application materials must be submitted by the January 4, 2010 deadline. Applicants are charged a small transaction fee of $10.00 to upload these materials. SlideRoom collects this fee via credit card or debit card only. Do not submit the materials listed below to the Department of Art and Art History or to Graduate and International Admissions Center (GIAC).
To SlideRoom (following details below), you submit by 11:59 pm on Monday, January 4, 2010, using the same full name you entered on your ApplyTexas application:
LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR REVIEW.
Follow these steps within SlideRoom:
Applicants may only apply to one area. Choose from one of the seven M.F.A. Studio Art Areas: Ceramics (Sculptural), Metals, Painting/Drawing, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, or Transmedia. If you have questions about which area is most appropriate for you, contact the Graduate Advisor, Professor Mark Goodman, mgoodman@mail.utexas.edu. Include answers to the four (4) questions in the Overview section at the beginning of this document.
Your portfolio should reflect an informed knowledge of contemporary art and a committed, coherent, consistent body of work rather than disparate examples of pieces from undergraduate class assignments.
Portfolios will only be accepted through SlideRoom at SlideRoom, a web-based portfolio submission system. This SlideRoom site offers specific, comprehensive, technical instructions for submitting work online. For technical assistance, contact SlideRoom at support@slideroom.com. If you have additional questions, email SlideRoom at info@slideroom.com.
Images/videos can be labeled and ordered after they are uploaded into SlideRoom. Arrange images in chronological order, oldest to newest. Work submitted cannot be over two years old. Each piece must be labeled with the following information: title of work, medium, size, and date.
File size is different than image size. The maximum file size that SlideRoom will accept is 2 MB for images and 20 MB for video. For good image quality and fast upload, 1280 x 1280 pixels @ 72 dpi, is the ideal image size. Save your images as .jpg, .png or .gif. SlideRoom accepts .flv, .mov, and .wmv for video.
2-D and 3-D applicants [Ceramics (Sculptural), Metals, Painting/Drawing, Photography, Printmaking, and Sculpture] submit fifteen (15) images and no more.
Transmedia (time-based) applicants: (1) Submit to SlideRoom three-minute excerpts of five works. (2) Also mail a DVD containing full versions of these five excerpted pieces to the Graduate Coordinator. Mail to: Graduate Coordinator for Studio Art, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Art and Art History, 1 University Station D1300, Austin, TX 78712-0337. Or, for overnight or package delivery, ship to: Graduate Coordinator for Studio Art, University of Texas at Austin, ART Building, ART 3.320, 23rd and San Jacinto, Austin, TX 78712, Phone: (512) 471-3377.
A. UT EID
Enter your UT EID, University of Texas Electronic Identifier. This code will be emailed to you after you have submitted your ApplyTexas online application. You will use your UT EID throughout your association with UT Austin.
B. Statement of Purpose
(1) Write about any relevant experiences that have prepared you as an artist and describe why this is the right time for you to go to graduate school and Texas is the right place.
(2) Describe your professional goals and how you plan to actively achieve them while in school and after.
(3) What is your vision of an energized graduate program? Describe what you can contribute (initiate and risk) to enhance such a program.
C. Statement about your Artwork
(a) Discuss and describe the artwork you are submitting.
(b) Reflect on how you work, take chances, make discoveries and struggle when work doesn't go well, and how this process enables you to define and redefine yourself as an artist.
D. Resume
Your resume should include your name, UT EID, current address, phone(s), email, education (college/degree), awards, exhibitions, work experience.
When your portfolio and forms are complete, click the SUBMIT arrow at the top right of the SlideRoom page. Pay the $10 SlideRoom fee via Credit Card or Debit Card only.
END OF APPLYTEXAS AND SLIDEROOM INSTRUCTIONS.
Tuition and fees for the entire three-year 60-credit hour M.F.A. in Studio Art, at rates in effect on September 1, 2009, are $27,500 for Texas residents and $51,000 for non-residents of Texas. The Faculty's goal is to make awards to all non-residents of Texas that waive the non-resident portion of tuition. Tuition Waivers forgive the non-Texas resident portion of tuition for out-of-state and international students, cutting the cost almost in half. Therefore, it is very likely that each admitted student will only be charged resident (in-state) tuition for all three years. Tuition and fees are established by the State of Texas Legislature and are subject to change.
ALL incoming students receive some fellowship support. No additional application or supporting material is required. Fellowship decisions for continuing students are made each spring after a faculty review of student artwork.
There are 10- and 20-hour teaching assistantships available for both incoming and continuing students. Teaching Assistants (TAs) assist faculty members in classrooms and/or monitor open-laboratory periods. All students are considered for appointment as Teaching Assistants (TAs). TA assignments are based on institutional needs and budgetary limitations. Twenty-hour-a-week Teaching Assistantships pay a salary of $10,500 plus tuition assistance of $7,130 for a total compensation of $17,630 over the fall and spring semesters. In addition, a 20-hour TA also receives health insurance premium coverage for twelve months at a cost to the University of $4,716.
Some third-year graduate students may be appointed as Assistant Instructors. Assistant Instructors (AIs) are responsible for teaching a lower-division undergraduate course. The Graduate Studies Committee of the Faculty considers students who have completed thirty-semester hours of graduate coursework and passed their 30-hour oral examination for Assistant Instructor positions for a specific course.
Appointments of TAs and AIs are made on a semester-by-semester basis, rather than by annual contract. Rigorous performance evaluations are given and appointees can be terminated if they are negligent either in their duties or in their graduate studies. Appointments follow departmental criteria, receive approval by the department chair, and are subject to the availability of funds.
Graduate students are automatically eligible for Federal Stafford loans as independent students. To be considered for University Grants, file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by the March 31 priority deadline. Students can file their
The Studio Art M.F.A. program provides a challenging and diverse environment where learning a discipline is still possible, and, possibly, the first step in mastery as well as the springboard into new territories. Meaningful art keeps changing and evolving. In our program, we encourage students to explore a broad range of creative expressions and studio practices while working in depth and along the edges of discrete, but still vital traditions, as well as bridging them and traversing across the boundaries.
We want our students to realize the satisfaction of working hard and well, consistently practicing their art; and making discoveries that can only be made from that kind of experience. Additionally, we want our students to be able to think and talk about their maturing art [not just to sound good, but to enhance their studio practice] and the work of their peers by participating in seminars, individual and group critiques; discussions with visiting artists and critics; often working as teaching assistants in our undergraduate program of study; and, not least, speaking with each other at all those odd, informal times when many pivotal things are said and heard.
From the statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, and a portfolio of recent work (made within the past two years) the faculty members both admit students and determine incoming fellowships. Your portfolio should reflect an informed knowledge of contemporary art and a committed, coherent, consistent body of work rather than disparate examples of pieces from undergraduate class assignments.
The University of Texas at Austin believes that a highly talented and diverse student body can significantly enhance the character and quality of the academic culture and community. To this end, the University is continuously engaged in an effort to increase the pool of graduate scholars from diverse backgrounds. ”As authorized by the Board of Regents and beginning with the academic year 2005-2006, The University of Texas at Austin has added race and ethnicity to the criteria considered for admission of freshmen, graduate students, and law students, and to the awarding of scholarships and fellowships in those cases when an individualized and full file review is conducted as part of the selection process.”
A Master of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art is a three-year, full-time 60-semester-hour course of study with the following degree plan:
In addition to the sixty-hour course of study, an M.F.A. candidate in studio art must complete a cycle of four graduate oral examinations including writing a short essay about her/his work and progress each time. These examinations, or critiques, consist of a viewing of the student's work to date, an oral presentation by the student, and a question and answer period led by faculty. “Critiques” occur approximately in the semester that the fifteenth (15th) and forty-fifth (45th) hours of coursework are taken, and are held before the student's four-person faculty Critique Committee. “Oral Exams” occur in the semester that the thirtieth (30th) and sixtieth (60th) hours of coursework are taken, and are held before the Critique Committee and three randomly selected Studio Art Graduate Studies Committee members. In addition, all current studio art graduate students attend as silent observers. Thirty- and sixty-hour orals must be completed successfully to continue in or complete the M.F.A. program.
Visits or phone conversations with the Graduate Advisor, Graduate Coordinator, and/or any faculty members are not admission interviews. Any such tours and conversations will familiarize prospective students with the facility and the mechanics of the program, but are not part of the admission decision process.
You may take a self-guided tour of the ART building at any time during regular business hours, Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, when the University is open. Print out the four-page Self-Guided Tour Map. (Self-Guided Tour Map pdf - download adobe reader). Directions for “Getting To Campus” are detailed below.
Prospective students may arrange in advance an on-campus visit with the Graduate Advisor and selected Studio Art faculty members at three formally scheduled times during the fall semester. These visits will be held on the second Monday in September, October, and November (September 14, October 12, or November 9) from mid-morning to late afternoon. To reserve your spot, send an email to the Graduate Advisor, Professor Mark Goodman via mgoodman@mail.utexas.edu with your responses to the following questions at least two weeks in advance of one of those dates. Appointment time(s) for your Monday visit will be confirmed via email shortly before your arrival.
There are no formal campus visits arranged in the spring for anyone other than Applicant Finalists. Future prospective students should follow the directions above to arrange a fall visit, or take a self-guided tour.
Campus visits and meetings with faculty and staff will not take place during the summer. Follow the directions above to arrange your fall visit, or take a self-guided tour.
The University of Texas campus is in between Dean Keaton (or 26th Street) on the north and Martin Luther King on the south, with Red River and Guadalupe as its eastern and western boundaries, respectively. The ART building is an orange and tan brick building at the corner of 23rd and San Jacinto, across from the football stadium. A campus map will be helpful: http://www.utexas.edu/maps/. Click on Region 6.
From I-35, get off at the Martin Luther King (MLK) exit, Exit 235A. Head west on MLK and through the first light at Red River. Turn right at the second light onto Trinity (which merges with and becomes San Jacinto.)
Stop at the white guard station and say you will be visiting in the ART building. The guard will direct you to park in the San Jacinto Parking Garage. Continue down San Jacinto alongside the football stadium. The next stop sign is 23rd Street. The ART building is in front of you. The parking garage is a bit further down San Jacinto on your right near the corner with Dean Keaton
You may take a self-guided tour of the ART building. Self-Guided Tour Map (pdf - download adobe reader)
In addition, the major museum collections of Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio are within a few hours drive. Go to http://www.utexas.edu/austin/ for great links about Austin, or http://www.austin360.com/ and click on Art Events for hundreds of arts opportunities.
Professor Mark Goodman - Graduate Advisor
mgoodman@mail.utexas.edu
Phone: 512-471-6427
Fax: 512-232-1999
Office: ART 3.344
Campus Mail Code: D1300
kt shorb - Graduate Coordinator
ktshorb@mail.utexas.edu
Phone: 512-471-3377
Fax: 512-232-1999
Office: ART 3.320
Campus Mail Code: D1300
All the information above is included in this downloadable PDF.
M.F.A. Studio Art Fall 2010 Application Guide (pdf - download adobe reader).
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