Graduate School Bulletin

Studio Art

As a research and practice-based terminal degree program, the Department of Art’s Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art occupies a unique position among graduate programs in art studies. The M.F.A. in Studio Art graduate students pursue studio research and practice, academic scholarship, teaching, and professional practice, towards their degree. We offer a dynamic, interdisciplinary curriculum along with individual mentoring from faculty whose work has won national and international recognition. The curriculum is designed to provide courses in Studio Art practice, seminar, and critique, as well as utilize the facilities and individual art studios, and the on-campus galleries and art exhibition venues as teaching and learning spaces. Students benefit from engagement with the liberal arts through our department's Art History and Criticism graduate programs, as well as programs in Cultural Analysis and Theory, Philosophy, Writing, History, Music, an Anthropology, and are able to pursue Graduate Certificates in Media, Art, Culture and Technology; Art and Philosophy; Creative Writing and Literature; Women’s and Gender Studies, and Writing and Rhetoric, among others. Our graduates also make use of external resources such as the museums, galleries and libraries in the New York City metropolitan region, and regularly participate in internship and apprenticeship programs with artists, galleries, museums, institutions and and cultural organizations. As a small and selective program in a large, public institution we are able to offer graduate study with low tuition costs, opportunities for teaching experience with a highly diverse undergraduate population, and the full resources of a major research university. Our graduates have been successful in their careers as artists, earning fellowships, residencies, and recognition through exhibitions, as well as found roles in teaching and academic positions at colleges and universities.

M.F.A. in Studio Art

The Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art at Stony Brook University is a three-year, 60-credit terminal degree program in creative art practice, and critical inquiry in the field of Studio Art, supported by production facilities, individual art studios, and a research university environment. The M.F.A. in Studio Art degree requirements are concentrated primarily on studio art courses, teaching practicum, liberal arts courses, and participation in presentations and critiques, as well as exhibitions. The program culminates in a one-person thesis exhibition accompanied by a written thesis paper, a thesis defense, as well as participation in the M.F.A. group thesis exhibition at the Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery. Normally, the M.F.A. in Studio Art program requires three years of full-time residency. Students are not accepted into the program on a part-time basis. The degree is especially suitable for students who plan on pursuing professional work as artists, and may also be the degree of choice for those preparing for careers in art production, art education, art administration, or gallery and museum work.