Program Overview

Program Overview

The Department of Kinetic Imaging offers a highly competitive two-year, studio-based M.F.A. in Fine Arts program that emphasizes a hybrid, in-depth inquiry into video art, experimental animation, sound art, and emerging media, such as 3D computer animation, VR/AR, live coding, physical computing, and other contemporary technologies.

Program Goals

The program aims to support and encourage students to expand their art practices and collaborate across various disciplines with close mentorship from full-time faculty. Through regular studio visits with faculty, visiting artists, and other graduate students, intense weekly seminars, and a rigorous research practice that includes reading, writing, experimenting, and making, students are expected to build an awareness of the historical and contemporary definitions of art that should ultimately influence their creative journey in new and unexpected ways.

Student Learning Outcomes

The program has the following student learning outcomes:

1. Advanced studio practice: Students engage in rigorous research and recognize and deploy the tools and materials needed to advance their practice.
2. Group critique: Students present their work through a brief oral articulation of the intentions of their studio practice and articulate a critique of their peers' work.
3. Applied criticism and theory: Students understand historical and contemporary theories and apply and investigate those ideas in their work, defining their practice in relationship to other media and culture.
4. Advanced professional engagement: Students demonstrate the ability to understand, engage, and generate professional contexts for their work.

Program Accreditation

The program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to the program, applicants must:

• Hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution
• Have completed a minimum of 36 credit hours of art at the undergraduate level or have equivalent experience
• Have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 The application to the M.F.A. program must include:

1. A statement of intent
2. Three letters of recommendation from instructors or professional references in the applicant's intended field of study
3. Academic transcripts
4. Curriculum vitae/resume
5. Portfolio for review

Degree Requirements

The M.F.A. in Fine Arts with a concentration in kinetic imaging requires 60 credit hours and is usually completed in two years of full-time study. Program course work consists of graduate studio and research, graduate seminars, group critique, and other studio/academic electives.

Curriculum Requirements

The curriculum includes:

• Required courses:
  • KINE 600: Graduate Studio (must be repeated four times)
  • KINE 681: Candidacy Research (must be repeated two times)
  • KINE 682: Thesis (must be repeated two times)
  • KINE 690: Graduate Seminar (must be repeated two times)
• Additional graduate seminar
• Studio elective
• Additional electives (500-level or higher in any subject area)

Suggested Plan of Study

Each semester, the student enrolls in 15 credit hours, with a suggested plan of study as follows:

• Semester 1: KINE 600, KINE 681, KINE 690, and an elective
• Semester 2: KINE 600, KINE 681, a graduate seminar, and a studio elective
• Semester 3: KINE 600, KINE 682, KINE 690, and an elective
• Semester 4: KINE 600, KINE 682, an elective, and a graduate seminar

Graduation Requirements

Graduate students must make formal application to graduate, and no degrees will be conferred until the application to graduate has been finalized. Students must also participate in the thesis exhibition, defend their work for thesis review, and submit a written thesis.