critical & curatorial studies | program of study

Specific Fields of Emphasis
Students may choose from one of the following emphases for their MFA Thesis: Exhibition, Public Programming, Art Criticism.  In addition, a hybrid emphasis of these three areas is an option upon approval by the Thesis Advisor.  Should students choose to emphasize one of these fields for their thesis project, courses in all three categories must still be taken on route to the degree.

Unit Requirements
As with the current MFA in Art, the Concentration requires 108 units to matriculate to degree with no less than 12 units per quarter.  Of the 28 minimum combined elective units, to be taken in either Art or Visual Studies, the candidate must take at least 8 in Visual Studies.  In addition, students are encouraged to select additional elective course work from any section of the Department or University including approved upper-division undergraduate courses.  The third year is structured so that students can work independently with their advisor to produce their final project in the form of exhibition/public program/art criticism.

Thesis
The student completes his/her course of study with a written MFA thesis that accompanies their final project.  It is a publishable text submitted to the library.

Advising
In the first year, the student is advised to identify a critical mass of faculty to begin his/her research.  In the second year, the student works intensively with the identified group of faculty, and by the end of that year commitments from select faculty are made to form the final thesis committee.  In the third year, students work intensively with their thesis committee on the production of their final project.  The thesis committee consists of no more than 5 members, one of which must be from Visual Studies. 

Sample Study Plan
The asterisks indicate requirements for the Curatorial students, open also to general MFA students in Art.  New, required Concentration Courses are in bold.  Existing MFA Courses are in regular type.

Year One:
FALL

Art 210: 1st Year Grad Seminar (4 units)
Art 230: Grad Group Critique (4 units)
Art 280A: Intro to Exhibition System (4 units)*

WINTER
Art 250: Directed Reading & Research (4 units)Art 280: Contemporary Exhibition Systems (4 units)
One course selected from the School of the Arts or the School of Humanities (4 units)

SPRING
Art 215: Interdisciplinary Studies in Art & Culture (4 units) or Art 251: Special Topics Seminar (4 units)
Art 240: Interdisciplinary Projects (4 units)
One course selected from the School of the Arts or the School of Humanities (4 units)

Year Two:
FALL

Art 230: Graduate Group Critique (4 units)
Art 250:  Directed Reading & Research (4 units)
One course selected from the School of the Arts or the School of Humanities (4 units)

WINTER
Art 215: Interdisciplinary Studies in Art & Culture (4 units)
Art 280: Contemporary Exhibition Systems (4 units)* 
One course selected from the School of the Arts or the School of Humanities (4 units)

SPRING
Art 215: Interdisciplinary Studies in Art & Culture (4 units), or Art 251: Special Topics Seminar (4 units)
Art 240: Interdisciplinary Projects (4 units)
One course selected from the School of the Arts or the School of Humanities (4 units)

Year Three:
FALL 

Art 230: Graduate Critique (4 units)
Art 262: Graduate Thesis Independent Study (4 units)
Art 264: Critical & Curatorial Thesis Exhibition (4 units)

WINTER 
Art 215: Interdisciplinary Studies in Art & Culture (4 units)
Art 262: Graduate Thesis Independent Study (4 units)
One course selected from the School of the Arts or the School of Humanities (4 units)

SPRING
Art 240: Intedisciplinary Projects (4 units)
Art 262: Graduate Thesis Independent Study (4 units)
One course selected from the School of the Arts or the School of Humanities (4 units)