Graduate School Bulletin

Spring 2023

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.