the program

The M.A. in Studio Art: Summer Program is a three summer, 36 credit program, which embraces diverse media choices. It provides a unique opportunity for professional artists and educators to expand their creative potential and refine their skills in an intensive course of study that combines the resources of a great research university with the excitement of the New York art world. During three intensive summer sessions, students are immersed in the development of their work under the guidance of NYU's renowned faculty in Studio Art and Critical Studies.

A required core sequence engages students and faculty in a dynamic dialogue about contemporary art issues and serves as the foundation upon which students build their studio practice. In addition to studio courses in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, digital art, and ceramics, students take courses in art theory, art history, aesthetics and criticism. Courses are enhanced by individual studio visits with faculty and visiting artists, plus weekly lectures by artists and critics.

Our faculty, adjunct professors, and visitors are influential artists who represent a broad spectrum of practices and ideologies. Core summer faculty include David Rimanelli, Kirby Gookin, Michael St. John, Keith Mayerson, Lyle Ashton Harris, Gerald Pryor (Photography Head), John Torreano (Director of the M.A. Program/Painting Head), and Nancy Barton (Department Chair).

Barney Building facilities include studio classrooms and workshops for sculpture, printmaking, painting, drawing, ceramics, metalsmithing, and sewing. In addition to photography labs, digital facilities include a computer studio, digital printing studio, and a video suite. NYU’s collaboration with the International Center for Photography allows photography students to take courses at this world famous educational center. Studio Area details.

During their last summer semester, students exhibit their work in an M.A. Graduate Exhibition at 80 Washington Square East Galleries.

The M.A. in Studio Art: Summer Program is also offered in a combined New York and study abroad format. Go to MA Studio Art - Summer in Venice, Italy, for more information about this degree option.

enrollment

This course of study requires 36 points and can be completed in three full-time summer semesters, with a minimum of 12 points per semester. The program welcomes approximately 25 students each summer from diverse cultural backgrounds. This rich mix of perspectives provides an important stimulus toward establishing an interactive creative environment. A limited number of non-degree special students are accepted depending upon space availability.

admission prerequisites

To be considered for admission to the program, applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, with a minimum GPA of 3.0. (International applicants are expected to have a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.) An undergraduate major in studio art, including several courses in art history, is preferred but not required.

degree requirements

Required Core (15 points)
Graduate Studio Critique I and II (6 points), taken in the first two summers
Graduate Studio Critique is structured primarily around individual and group critiques of students’ artwork with emphasis on expanding their critical vocabulary, identifying key concerns, and building the foundation for a cohesive body of work that will form the basis of their thesis exhibition. Each student will be expected to provide a context for the discussion of his or her work including its formal, theoretical, and historical background.

During the second summer of Graduate Studio Critique, students present a body of work and an artist’s statement to the Studio Faculty Review Committee for evaluation. Students must successfully complete the review process in order to enroll in the Final Project course taken during the third summer.

Graduate Projects (9 points), taken each summer
Graduate Projects is based on a specific theme or issue in which students focus on formal strategies they have identified as central to their work and develop these ideas and methods in projects in their particular medium (e.g. video, digital, photography, sculpture, painting, etc.)

Through group discussions, assigned readings, lectures, and individual meetings with instructors and visitors, students prepare for the intellectual and artistic challenges of the professional art world.

Studio Component (9 points)
Three courses in student’s studio area

Theory, Aesthetics, Criticism (6 points)
Two courses in the departmental critical studies area

Elective (3 points)
Elective/by advisement

Final Project (3 points)
This course prepares students for the final group exhibition at 80 Washington Square East Galleries; it is designed to assist with the development of concept, design, and presentation of the work to be exhibited. Professional development and career planning, including an artist’s statement, slide portfolio, and letters to prospective exhibition venues, is also an integral component of this class.

Program Total: 36 points

application procedures

The application deadline is March 1, 2008. Follow the instructions outlined by The Steinhardt School of Education Office of Graduate Admissions for filing your application form. The following is a list of all items that must accompany the completed application form:

1. Transcripts: Must be obtained from undergraduate and graduate institutions, if applicable.
2. Two (2) letters of recommendation: Should be obtained from academic and professional sources.
3. Current résumé
4. Statement of purpose (300-500 words): Must describe your interest in the field and the direction you wish to pursue in the graduate studio program of your choice. The statement of purpose is to be submitted in lieu of the personal statement requested on the application form.
5. Portfolio: All portfolios must be on a Mac OS-formatted CD-ROM or DVD.
   
   20 images of recent work submitted on a Mac OS-formatted CD-ROM (standard size, not 3”) or DVD in jpeg format only, sized at 1280 x 1024 pixels for viewing on a Macintosh computer via video projection. Please do NOT submit PowerPoint or Keynote presentations.
   
   Each image must be numbered (corresponding to the order of viewing), and include title, if any, and your name.
   
   Quicktime or DVD-formatted videos can be submitted in addition to, but not in place of digital images. Videos can be a compilation of various works, but the total running time cannot exceed five minutes. Genres appropriate to video documentation include video art, performance, and kinetic art, NOT documentation of sculptures or exhibitions.
   We do not accept VHS-formatted videos.
   
   Submit a digital image inventory with your name in the top right hand corner. List the images in order of viewing, file name, dimensions of work, date of work, medium, and title, if any. Please do not submit text files with your images.
   
   Legibly print your name on all disks, sleeves, and/or cases and inlcude a self-addressed stamped envelope for return of your portfolio.

Send application materials to The Steinhardt School's Graduate Admissions Office. For general information pertaining to admission and financial aid, and/or to download an application (PDF file), visit the Graduate Admission Office's Web site.

For further information:

Prof. John Torreano, Director
212 998-5701
Email: jt1@nyu.edu

Mary Ann Santos,
Academic Advisor
212 998-5702
Email: mas9@nyu.edu