SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN, COLLEGE OF FINE & APPLIED ARTS, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGNThe EdD program in Art Education is designed to prepare highly qualified art educators for careers of distinction in college-level teaching and research. Doctoral students are expected to become scholars and contribute new knowledge to their chosen field.
Applications to the doctoral program must hold a Master’s degree in Art Education or equivalent from an accredited university. A minimum of three years of successful teaching art in schools, or equivalent, is also required.
The Art Education Program at the University of Illinois has been recognized, for thirty years or more, for the ground-breaking research conducted by its faculty and doctoral students. Current research and teaching strengths of the program include visual culture studies, multiculturalism, children’s drawing, new and emerging technologies, art in marginal populations, and art and spirituality. Graduates of the PhD program in Art Education hold positions of prominence in the most influential art education programs in North America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. It is anticipated that from 2007 onwards, candidates will be able to register for PhD as an alternative.
The PhD program in Art History is designed to prepare highly qualified students for careers in museums, research and teaching.
Candidates for the PhD must have a MA in Art History, demonstrated competence in a foreign language, and often in additional languages required for their major field of concentration (such as ancient Greek for Byzantine studies, Latin for Western Medieval, etc.).
Major and minor fields are selected from the following list: Greek, Roman, Early Christian and Byzantine, Western Medieval, Northern European Art from 1300 to 1600, Italian Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo, European from ca. 1750 to 1900, European from 1880 to the present, American, Latin American, African, and East Asian.
A student who gains a PhD in Art History writes a dissertation which is a significant contribution to the field of Art History and which demonstrates that he/she has learned how to do significant and original research.
The program of study leading to the Master of Arts in Art Education is designed to provide advanced professional prepa-ration for art teachers and curriculum supervisors. The majority of applicants to the program are certified to teach art before they begin graduate study, but highly qualified applicants withcertification-related deficiencies may be considered for admis-sion. Teaching certification must be obtained before the master’s degree is granted, except in the case of international students.
The MA program in Art Education prepares exceptional teachers and curriculum specialists for the schools of Illinois and the nation, professionals who are conversant with contemporary art theory and the best educational and artistic practice, and firmly grounded in their disciplinary specialties.
First year students in the MA Program in Art History are encouraged to strengthen their breadth of knowledge by taking a wide range of units. Second-year students are expected to identify an area or period of particular interest for in-depth study leading to a thesis or research paper.
A minimum of eight units is required for the degree, at least five of which must be graduate seminars in art or architectural history. At least six units must be in the history of art or the history of architecture. With the approval of the student’s major advisor, up to two units may be taken in other fields. The eight-unit requirement for students of Western Art must include a unit in each of the following areas: Ancient-Medieval; Renaissance-Baroque; Modern/Contemporary; and Pre-Colum-bian, East Asian or African Art, may substitute two units of advanced units in related disciplines for two of the aforemen-tioned western requirements.
The study for the Master of Fine Arts degree in Ceramics focuses on the sculptural use of clay. Graduate students are urged to take appropriate risks to challenge established and familiar perspectives of the history and traditions of Ceramics and push their artistic concepts beyond the traditional clay aesthetic. The Program embraces all notions of contemporary ceramics from personal approaches to the vessel or to sculpture. Interdisciplinary activities are strongly supported in the hopethat liberal and inclusive attitudes that are being cultivated will inform the work in the studio. Working with a variety of Art and Design faculty and inviting visiting artists fosters the artistic independence graduates need to succeed in their work.
The Master of Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design is a design practice and teaching oriented terminal degree that prepares graphic design graduates with professional design experience to re-enter the design profession at a higher level or to enter academia. The graduate program is a 64 hours of credit degree which provides students with an opportunity to pursue in depth specific areas of design communication, design research, and design education. Recognizing the interdisciplinary natureof design, the program fosters relationships with other academic units within the University. The curriculum is tailored to individual needs working closely with professionally active faculty with diverse interests and using the resources of a well-established and respected undergraduate program. The graphic design graduate programs is also directly linked with the Narrative Media graduate program that focuses on the intersection of art and technology, and is specifically interested in fostering cross disciplinary work involving non-traditional forms, materials, audiences, and exhibition/performance venues.
In addition, the graduate program is deeply involved with the award winning and nationally recognized literary and arts journal, Ninth Letter, which is an interdisciplinary collaborative project between the Department of English and the School of Art.
The program is intended neither as a replacement for under-graduate design education, nor as a mere extension of the undergraduate experience. Rather it is a highly individualized course of study, which allows students to further personal design career goals. Therefore, professional design experience, maturity, and inquisitiveness often serve as catalysts to motivate the most successful candidates.
Graduate study in Industrial Design is composed of several types of course work which, seen as a whole, cover the both theoretical and the applied components of design. Each graduate student has a workstation in the graduate studio andtakes a graduate studio course each semester. Students also take seminar courses, design electives, research courses, courses in other fields of art, and classes outside the School of Art and Design. Students will have the opportunity to work on research and sponsored projects through the Product Interaction Research Laboratory (PIRL).
The design program has a strong user focus ranging from sustained physical interaction to the very ephemeral user experi-ences. The MFA studies calumniate in a written thesis, which is deposited with the Graduate College. Students are encouraged to undertake projects that cross disciplines and to take a series of courses that form a secondary area of study with relevance to design.
At the core of graduate studies are examinations of changing social conditions, new materials and emerging technologies, and opportunities for design and innovation in product devel-opment. Both traditional and new methods and processes for designing are central to the studio activities and form a significant component of the MFA thesis.
The Master of Fine Arts in Metals is a comprehensive andprofessional program of study that encourages and supportsaesthetic and conceptual development, technical experi-mentation and research, personal expression, and technical competency. The program acknowledges and celebrates the diverse and inclusive nature of the field of contemporary metalwork and supports investigations of jewelry, hollowware, objects, and small sculpture. The master of fine Arts in Metals is designed for students who are inquisitive, self-motivated, and disciplined. The program of study is individualized, and specific course selection is determined after thoughtful consideration of the student’s interest and future professional goals. The moderate sized program promotes a vigorous exchange of ideas while providing an intimate, supportive, and nurturing environment that enables continuous faculty and student interaction. The graduate faculty in Metals encourages diversity and respects individual artistic directions while providing challenges necessary for growth. The MFA in Metals prepares the graduate student for distinctive and professional achievement in the field of contemporary metalwork.
The New Media program is not invested in a particular medium, but rather in the continual exploration and development of new art practices. The goal is accomplished through innovative research projects and curriculum that allows students to explore new tools, networks, audiences, and contexts. Programming, sound, video, mobile technology, installation, and performance are examples of genres students can explore through the New Media Program.
The New Media program is not invested in a particular medium, but rather in the continual exploration and development of new art practices. The goal is accomplished through innovative research projects and curriculum that allows students to explore new tools, networks, audiences, and contexts. Programming, sound, video, mobile technology, installation, and performance are examples of genres students can explore through the New Media Program.
The Program will continue to evolve as new expressive languages emerge in the 21st century, giving students an environment in which to constantly engage nascent art form.
The New Media Program invites applications from students who wish to explore the intersection of art and technology, and is specifically interested in fostering cross-disciplinary work involving non-traditional forms, materials, audiences, and exhibition/performance venues. Students with backgrounds in both art and technology are particularly encouraged to apply for graduate admission.
The program is designed to foster the development of the individual artist’s studio practice, while engaging in a critical analysis of the work that leads to an understanding of where it fits in the broad contexts of contemporary art. Central to the program is a philosophical commitment to innovation and to art as the expressing of ideas, and to the use of whatever material strategy might be appropriate, including painting, sculptural media, photography, video, performance, and web-based or community-based are practices. The MFA degree is seen as preparation for participation in a broad range of professional activities in the various economies of contemporary art, especially an exhibiting career as well as for the teaching of art at the college or university level.
Program faculty are all working artists with a diversity of practices ranging from representational, experimental, abstract and multimedia painting to installation, sculpture, digital media, photography, and Internet-based and public practices. Our faculty members pursue active careers, and are represented in galleries, museums, public venues, and in public and private collections throughout the country and internationally. This diversity allows for ample latitude for critique and consultation with faculty members who share a student’s particular artistic concerns.
The degree is designed to prepare qualified individuals for distinctive achievements in photography. Students in the program must achieve a balance of critical and theoretical skills, aesthetic sophistication, and advanced technical skills.
Candidates for the MFA degree have an oral final review that takes place in their last semester when their final project is installed in the Krannert Art Museum. The work must be of the highest professional quality and represents the culmination of the student’s aesthetic investigation. It must demonstrate that they are qualified to make a distinctive contribution to the field of photographic art.
Applications to graduate programs are accepted once a year. The deadlines for applications are December 15 for Art Education and Art History and January 1 for all MFA programs.
All applicants to the studio programs in the School of Art and Design must submit a portfolio of creative work. Applicants for MA, EdD, and PhD programs must submit writing samples. They must have earned a baccalaureate or equivalent degree comparable to that granted by the University of Illinois and must submit official records of all higher educational training, including certificates, degrees, and the dates conferred. To be eligible applicants must have achieved a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 (A=4.0) by the end of the academic year prior to their admission. International applicants and U.S. Residents for whom English is a second language should see the Graduate and Professional Admissions web site (www.grad.uiuc.edu/admissions/). The School of Art and Design does not require the GRE or GMAT exams for admission.
SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN, COLLEGE OF FINE & APPLIED ARTS, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN