Studio Art
The Department of Art’s master's of fine arts program in studio art occupies a unique position among graduate programs in art studies. The department’s programs have been built with a strong emphasis on modern art and contemporary visual culture, comprising a range of critical, theoretical, and interdisciplinary interests. Rather than being isolated at a special or autonomous art institute or school, these programs have all the advantages associated with the intellectual environment of a major research university. Because of the Art Department’s extensive undergraduate programs, Stony Brook is the only major university in the New York metropolitan area to offer teaching experience to first- and/or second-year graduate students. Such experience is an invaluable asset in today’s job market. Graduate studies are facilitated by Stony Brook's ideal location half-way between the art centers of New York City and the Hamptons, along the beutifully wooded North Shore of Long Island. |
All curricula are designed to take advantage of the full range of museums, galleries and libraries of the metropolitan region as well as the facilities of a major research university campus. Thanks to the well-established ties of Stony Brook faculty to the professional art world, our students are regularly placed in internship and apprenticeship programs with artists, galleries, museums, arts agencies and other cultural institutions throughout the metropolitan area.
M.F.A. in Studio Art
The M.F.A. in Studio Art at Stony Brook is a flexible 60-credit terminal degree program combining studio work, academic studies, and theory. Although the degree requirements concentrate primarily on studio practice, the program requires several liberal arts courses as well as a teaching practicum. The program culminates in a one-person thesis show accompanied by a written thesis, as well as participation in a M.F.A. group exhibition in the Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery. Normally, the M.F.A. requires three years of full-time residency. Students are not accepted into the M.F.A. program on a part-time basis. The degree is especially suitable for students who plan professional involvement in the making of art as artists, and may also be the degree of choice for those preparing for careers in arts administration, art education, or gallery and museum work.
Studio Art
Chairperson
Margaret Schedel, margaret.schedel@stonybrook.edu
M.F.A. Graduate Program Director
Isak Berbic, Staller Center 4281 isak.berbic@stonybrook.edu
Graduate Secretary
Lisa Perez, Staller Center 2228 (631) 632-7270
Degrees Awarded
M.F.A. in Studio Art
Website
http://art.stonybrook.edu
Application
https://graduateadmissions.stonybrook.edu/apply/
Admission to the M.F.A. Program in Studio Art
Admission into the M.F.A. program is at the discretion of the studio art faculty with the final approval of the Graduate School. Admission is for the Fall semester. Admission to the program assumes a minimum of a B average in undergraduate work and meeting the standards of admission to the Graduate School (including English Proficiency Requirements).
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Requirements for the M.F.A. in Studio Art
The Department accepts only full-time students into the M.F.A. program.
A. Course Offerings
Courses are offered in Visual Art Seminar and In Process Crtique. In addition, studio courses offered through other departments may satisfy area of concentration requirements, subject to approval by the studio art faculty and the Director of Graduate Studies.
B. Liberal Arts Requirement
Students are required to take three or four graduate liberal arts courses (in art history and criticism, literature, history, writing, anthropology, philosophy, musicology, cultural studies, among others).
C. Demonstrations of Studio Proficiency
All M.F.A. candidates should demonstrate proficiency through the development of a comprehensive body of work. Proficiency is determined by the faculty through periodic evaluation of the work, including mid-term and final critiques each semester, and thesis exhibition review by the student’s thesis committee in the third year.
D. Final Year and One-Person Exhibition
During the final year, in addition to regular coursework, the student will prepare a one-person thesis exhibition for the Lawrence Alloway Gallery. The written thesis should complement the visual work as an articulation of the student’s thoughts and objectives within the broader context of arts and ideas. Third-year students will also participate in the Paul W. Zuccaire Art Gallery’s annual M.F.A. group exhibition.
E. Teaching Requirement
All graduate students are required to observe a faculty and assist in teaching for a minimum of one semester; this course offers three credits toward the M.F.A. degree under ARS 531. After the observation, a graduate student will teach a class as an instructor of record which offers an additional three credits toward the MFA degree. Beyond these six credits applied toward the MFA degree, all other teachings by students with stipends will be part of their obligation and additional teachings will be required without earning additional academic credit.
F. Course Requirements
The student will be required to complete successfully 60 credits of graduate work, as outlined in the list of courses below. No graduate studio course may be taken for more than three credits per semester.
1. ARS 550 In Process Critique (3 credits) to be taken during the first year. May be repeated and counted toward studio credits.
2. At least nine graduate studio courses (27 credits).
3. Two semesters of ARS 580 Visual Arts Seminar (6 credits). Additional Visual Arts Seminars are encouraged.
4. Three courses in graduate liberal arts, e.g., art history, languages, literature, philosophy, etc. (9 credits).
5. ARS 531 Graduate Teaching Practicum (see item E, above) (3-6 credits).
6. ARS 532 Thesis Project (up to 6 credits).
Art Department Facilities
Since 1976, the Department of Art has enjoyed the resources of the Staller Center for the Arts. This 226,026-square-foot building includes the Departments of Art, Music, and Theatre and is a vibrant hub of lectures, concerts, performances, and other cultural activities. The complex includes faculty and staff offices, art history classrooms, and a graduate lounge. The first floor of the Art wing features a magnificent art gallery space devoted primarily to exhibitions of contemporary art, including the annual M.F.A. show. In addition, the department has substantial graduate studio space available at other locations on campus. Each M.F.A. student is provided individual studio space and there are large common spaces used regularly for discussion, temporary exhibitions or installations, and documentation of work. The Lawrence Alloway Gallery provides exhibition space with media exhibition equipment and network connection for M.F.A. students, and there are several other on-campus locations where students have opportunities to exhibit their work. Studio facilities in the Staller Center include full foundry, metals, and wood shops; a ceramics and ceramic sculpture studio; spacious painting, drawing, and studio classrooms; printmaking studios with etching, stone lithography and photo plate making and screen printing facilities; extensive digital facilities; and a shooting studio with gang and individual darkrooms. Art history classrooms are equipped with data projectors. The main library houses extensive collections of scholarship on the arts, including recent exhibition catalogues and the most important art history and criticism journals. Proximity to New York City makes available the numerous libraries, museums, galleries, ateliers, and publishing institutions of the greater metropolitan area. Finally, the Pollock-Krasner House and the Pollock-Krasner Study Center, in East Hampton and Southampton, Long Island, are affiliated with the University. Once the home and studio of Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, the Pollock-Krasner House is now a both a landmark museum and a forum for lectures, seminars, and other academic activities. The Study Center comprises extensive reference materials and archives, including books, photographs, oral histories, and journals available for research. |
Faculty of Studio Art Department
Buonagurio, Toby, M.A., 1971, City College of New York: Ceramics; Ceramic sculpture; Drawing and Conceptual Drawing. Levine, Martin, M.F.A., 1972, California College of Arts and Crafts: Printmaking. Nagasawa, Nobuho, M.F.A., 1985, Hochschule der Kunste Berlin, Germany: Sculpture, Social sculpture, Installation, and Public Art. Pekarsky, Melvin H., Emeritus, M.A., 1956, Northwestern University: Drawing,Painting and public art. Pindell, Howardena, M.F.A., 1967, Yale University: Painting, Drawing and Conceptual Drawing. |
Associate Professors
Berbic, Isak, Assistant Professor, M.F.A., 2007, School of Art and Design, College of Architecture and the Arts, University of Illinois at Chicago: Photography and Media Art, Artificial Lighting and Critical Color, Theory-Research-Practice, Limits of Representation, Social and Contested Histories Dinkins, Stephanie, M.F.A., 1997, Maryland Institute College of Art: Artificial Intelligence and Socially Engaged Practice in the context of Race, Gender and Future Histories; Digital Media: particularly lens-based and interactive practices; Video; Photography; Installation Art. |
Paul, Ian Alan, Assistant Professor, Digital/New Media, Social & Interventionist Practice, Interdisciplinary Studio, Installation, Experimental Documentary, Critical Theory, Network Cultures, Politics of Aesthetics. |
Lecturers
Salcedo-Watson, Lorena, Lecturer, M.F.A., 2008, Stony Brook University; Drawing, Printmaking, Lithography, Experimental Printmaking Schindler, Maya, Lecturer, M.F.A. 2002, Yale University; Intermedia Studio Arts and Critical Theory |
Arts Administration
Harrison, Helen, Director of the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center.
Levitov, Karen, Director and Curator, Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery, Staller Center for the Arts.
Walsh, Lorraine, Art Director and Curator of The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics.
Technicians and Professional Staff
Ide, Takafumi, M.F.A., 2007, Stony Brook University: Photo/Digital technician and studios manager.
Richholt, Dan, Sculpture Technician and Lecturer, M.F.A., 1994, Stony Brook University, Sculpture Technician and Studios Manager.
Affiliated Faculty
Schedel, Margaret, Associate Professor of Composition and Computer Music, D.M.A., University of Cincinnati College. See ART HISTORY & CRITICISM FACULTY: http://www.stonybrook.edu/sb/graduatebulletin/current/academicprograms/arh/faculty.php |
Studio Art
Chairperson
Margaret Schedel, margaret.schedel@stonybrook.edu
M.F.A. Graduate Program Director
Isak Berbic, Staller Center 4281 isak.berbic@stonybrook.edu
Graduate Secretary
Lisa Perez, Staller Center 2228 (631) 632-7270
Degrees Awarded
M.F.A. in Studio Art
Website
http://art.stonybrook.edu
Application
https://graduateadmissions.stonybrook.edu/apply/