Katie McColgan, MFA 2022

The MFA in Art Practices is a rigorous program intended for artists committed to pursuing a professional life in the arts. It prepares students for careers as practicing artists and arts professionals as well as teachers in colleges, universities, and art schools. During the two and half-year program, students focus on one of several fields including, Ceramics, Film, IMAP (photography, digital media, video, integrated arts), Painting and Drawing, Printmaking, and Sculpture and Post-Studio Practice. Additionally, in collaboration with the Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts, the Department of Art and Art History offers a film MFA.
 

MFA Art Practices Application

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The MFA Degree Requirements

The MFA program is a two and half year program.

The degree requires a minimum of 54 credit hours of coursework, of which 36 credit hours must be taken in residence on the Boulder campus, with the following requirements.

  • ​Home studio (major area): 12 credit hours minimum.
  • Electives: 21 credit hours (studio and non-studio); up to 6 credit hours may be taken in an allied field at the 3000 level or above.
  • Art History, Theory, or Film Critical Studies: 9 credit hours. Independent study courses may not be used to fulfill these requirements. 3 hours of art history. This includes any ARTH course at the 5000 level or above. 3 hours of theory. A list of courses that fulfill the theory requirement is approved by the Graduate Curriculum Committee or Studio Arts Curriculum Committee and maintained by the graduate program coordinator. Students or faculty members may petition the Committee to have courses added to this list. 3 hours of art history or theory as defined above, or film critical studies. Film critical studies is defined as an ARTF non-studio course at the 5000 level or above.
  • Visiting Artist Seminar: 3 credit hours.
  • Graduate Art Seminar: 3 credit hours
  • Thesis: 6 credit hours

The graduate curriculum committee has determined the criteria for courses that would meet the theory requirement. A theory course should offer an overview of a range of different theoretical points of view require continuous theoretical readings throughout the semester require substantial analytical and/or research-based writing provide a historical framework for the theories discussed compare various and competing theories courses which have been reviewed and approved by the graduate curriculum committee prior to the fall semester and later by the studio arts curriculum committee include:
  • ARTH 6929 Theories of Art History
  • ARTH 6150 Critical and Theoretical Issues in Museum Studies
  • ARTH 6939 Representation and Gender in the Americas
  • ARTH 6939 Artists’ Ways of Knowing
  • ARTS 5087 Remix Culture
  • ARTS 5217 Art and Race/Ethnicity
  • ARTS 5457 Sound Art Seminar
  • ARTF 5024 Snapshots, Memories & Home Movies: Mining the Personal Archive
  • COML 6040 Art After Metaphysics
  • ENGL 5019 Survey of Contemporary Theory
  • GRMN 5030 Foundations of Critical Theory
  • WGST 6796: Queer Theories
  • WMST 6090: Feminist Theories
  • IAWP 6100 Theory and Practice of Doing 
  • ARTS 5060 Art Writing as a Practice

*Any student or faculty member may petition the studio arts curriculum committee to have courses added to this list.