MFA Programs

The MFA full- and part-time Residency Program, with concentrations in Painting, Photography, and Sculpture is not accepting applications for graduate study at this time. This program will be suspended until further notice.

See the web page for the Limited Residency MFA in Illustration for information and application criteria for that program.

Master of Fine Arts Mission

To assist and direct graduate students in their pursuit of a personal artistic vision, technical mastery of their primary expressive medium, and development of a professional work ethic as preparation for careers as practicing artists or teachers of art at all levels of instruction.

Expectations of MFA Graduate Students

Studio instruction in the Master of Fine Arts program at the Hartford Art School is primarily tutorial. Because of the independent nature of tutorial instruction, it is assumed that graduate students are capable of undertaking individual investigations, as well as maintaining the level of self-discipline and motivation necessary to pursue and complete consistent and high-quality work.

Graduate seminar and graduate art history seminars are designed to develop the graduate students’ sensibility to works of art and other cultural issues, as well as enhance their ability to conduct meaningful research. Achieving facility in written and oral presentation of ideas and issues is expected, along with an ability to understand and critique the work of other artists, both historical and contemporary.

Graduate students are encouraged to pursue knowledge and means of expression other than their primary discipline through elective studio courses. Electives may also be used to develop and refine existing skills and/or to pursue academic course work germane to studio endeavors.

MFA Academic Policies and Requirements

Graduate Policies:

Graduate students should refer to the Graduate Bulletin, as well as the Manual of Academic Policies and Procedures (MAPP) and review the sections relevant to graduate policies, procedures and expectations.

Good Academic Standing:

Students in the program are expected to maintain “good academic standing” (minimum 3.0 GPA) in the program as defined in the University of Hartford Graduate Bulletin’s section on grading. Students who are not making satisfactory progress, or who fall out of good academic standing, may forfeit their scholarship assistance. The Academic Standing Committee in consultation with the Graduate Director and the Dean will determine such forfeiture. Students previously on scholarship may have such awards restored when remediation has been achieved and funding is available.

Probationary Status:

All candidates admitted to the Hartford Art School Master of Fine Arts Graduate Studies Program enter under probationary status. They remain so until the successful completion of a Matriculation Review.

Matriculation Committee and Review:

The Matriculation Review Committee, formed by the student in consultation with the Graduate Director, will review the quality and range of work completed by the student, during his/her probationary status. The purpose of the review is to assess the candidate’s potential for continued success in the program.

Matriculation Reviews for full-time students are usually conducted each year during the month of April. Part-time students are required to hold their matriculation reviews during the academic year in which they will complete 30 credits.

The MFA graduate student, in consultation with the Graduate Director, selects the Matriculation Review Committee members. The Committee is to be composed of at least three, but no more than five individuals. At least one member of the committee must share the same artistic discipline of the probationary graduate student. One member of the committee should be from outside of the discipline of the student.

The Matriculation Review Committee will prepare a written Matriculation Review Report, which includes a recommendation for the candidate’s continuance or non-continuance. The Matriculation Review is done on a pass/no pass basis.

The Report may take the form of individual assessments made by each member, or the Committee may agree to assign a member to write a consensual appraisal. Each Committee member must sign the Report indicating his/her agreement with the review before the Report is provided to the Graduate Director. Committee members not in agreement will write a separate evaluation.

The Graduate Director will provide the student with the Matriculation Review Report and explain its assessment. The Report will review the strengths and weaknesses of the student and indicate if the student will (1) be approved to go forward, or (2) recommend that the student remain on probationary status until a second review, or (3) indicate that the student has not passed and the student should be terminated from the program. The purpose of the Matriculation Review Report is to provide insight and guidance, with regard to its assessment and pass or no-pass recommendation.

Candidates will be asked to read and sign the Report, acknowledging the committee’s findings. The passing or failing of the matriculation review will depend upon a majority vote of the Matriculation Review Committee.

Candidates who do not pass the Matriculation Review may petition the Graduate Director for a second review. If the Graduate Director determines that a second review is merited, the student and the tutorial faculty member(s) will jointly determine a specific date for a second review that will allow the student adequate time to properly prepare. There is no third review opportunity. Candidates who do not pass the second review will be dismissed from the Hartford Art School MFA Program.

Freedom From Discrimination

Membership in the academic community imposes on faculty members, as well as staff members, students, administrators, trustees and regents an obligation to respect the dignity of others. As an institution of higher learning, the University of Hartford strives to be more than merely a mirror of the larger society; it fosters learning and encourages the personal growth of students in an environment that promotes and celebrates diversity.

This includes maintaining an open, honest, disciplined and caring community where the unique qualities of each person are fully appreciated, and the rights of individuals are balanced with the concerns of the institution, and its larger goals, including the importance of maintaining academic freedom.

As required by law, no student shall be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, sexual orientation or disability. In addition to accepting these legal requirements, the University of Hartford, as an open community, recognizes others’ rights and does not discriminate on the basis of individual political affiliation, insofar as those rights do not conflict with institutional policies. These rights include, but are not limited to, eligibility to academic programs, activities, and the use of facilities.

Activities related to the University or the University Community may not be carried out in ways, which injure, discriminate against by reason of sex or sexual orientation, race, handicap, religion or national origin. The University of Hartford does not tolerate sexual harassment of any kind. Informal as well as formal grievance procedures are available to students, faculty and staff.

Those that seek to file grievances must do so in ways that do not significantly impede the functions of the University.

Academic Freedom

The pursuit of academic freedom may sometimes prove to be uncomfortable, disturbing or offensive to some students, but the practice of examining and questioning assumptions, beliefs or viewpoints is intrinsic to the educational process and is intended to be challenging. Members of the University Community have the right to foster and defend intellectual honesty, freedom of inquiry, instruction and the free expression of ideas on or off the campus. Academic freedom at the University of Hartford requires the open exchange of ideas and the discussion of diverse points of view. This approach to learning is intended to encourage students to challenge their own assumptions about themselves and the world.

Thesis Requirements

Thesis Committee, Chair and Graduate Advisor

Students that successfully pass the Matriculation Review will work with the Graduate Director to form a Thesis Committee. The Matriculation Review Committee may serve as the Thesis Committee or the student may choose to select another group of qualified individuals to serve as the student’s Thesis Committee.

The Thesis Committee consists of at least two full-time Hartford Art School faculty members and a third member at large. One member of the committee must work professionally within the student’s discipline and in most cases two members should work within the student’s discipline.

Once the Thesis Committee has been selected, it is recommended that the members of the committee not be changed during the last 30 credit hours of the student’s course of study, leading up to graduation. There can be exceptions; however, the Graduate Director must approve changes to the make-up of the Thesis Committee.

The Thesis Committee, in consultation with the Graduate Director, will select a Thesis Committee Chair. The Chair of the Thesis Committee will be responsible for mentoring the graduate student and following the progress of the student’s work. The MFA candidate, in consultation with the Chair, is responsible for arranging the dates and times for the Committee to meet. The student will have access to their Thesis Committee Members individually and through contact with the Thesis Committee Chair.

In most cases, the Chair of the Thesis Committee will be the student’s Graduate Advisor, although in some rare circumstances the Graduate Advisor may be another individual on the Thesis Committee.

Thesis/Written/Exhibition

The thesis project consists of two parts:

(1) A written Thesis that includes images, slides, or CD format documentation.

(2) A Thesis Exhibition of work completed for the degree, while in residence, that includes a one-page Artist’s Statement.

An outline or draft copy of the thesis should be submitted to the Thesis Committee by February 1 of the graduation year, if he/she is a full-time student, or at the time the student enters his/her last 15 credit hours toward graduation. The final written thesis must be submitted by April 1 of the thesis year.

The written thesis should consist of a title page, five to ten typed, double-spaced pages on archival paper, and a bibliography. The written thesis should include, but is not restricted to, a discussion of the candidate’s development while in the program, a presentation of the intention and purposes of the body of work in the exhibition, and some indication of the work’s relationship to contemporary culture, theory and art practice.

The final Thesis Exhibition should be reviewed by the Thesis Committee, (no later than the first Friday in May), and edited by the student in collaboration with the student’s Graduate Advisor. The Thesis Exhibition should represent a major body of original work completed during the program of study. The purpose of the thesis exhibition is to give the candidate the experience of conceiving, developing and executing an exhibition of his/her work, including editing, installing and publicizing the exhibition.

The Thesis Exhibition is ‘not’ intended to be a retrospective of the student’s work in the program, but a coherent exhibition that may, or may not include work from their first year. The student, in consultation with his/her Graduate Advisor, should determine the inclusion of artwork from the first year. A one-page Artist Statement must accompany the exhibition. This statement may be extracted from the written thesis when appropriate.

Once the Thesis Committee and the student’s Graduate Advisor have agreed on the basic direction and body of work for the exhibition, an exhibition date will be established and approved by the Graduate Director. The Thesis Exhibition may be held on campus or at an appropriate pre-approved venue within reasonable distance of the University of Hartford.

Three copies of the written document should include a professionally labeled sheet containing slides (or CD or printed images) of the major portion of works in the thesis exhibition, a resume and a one-page artist statement bound in one-inch thick three-ring binders along with the thesis title page and a thesis review form signed by all members of the thesis review committee. Completed theses should be presented to the Graduate Director. Two copies will be housed in the University of Hartford Library archives for future scholars and one copy will be kept by the Graduate Director.

Graduation

Students are required to file an application for degree at the Office of the Registrar, University of Hartford, during the semester in which they are registered for thesis presentation. Deadlines for degree application are posted and generally are in October for those completing degree requirements in January and February for those completing degree requirements in May.

The completed thesis must be presented to the Graduate Director no later than the end of the examination period for the semester in question. The Associate Dean will release diplomas only upon the receipt of this document.

It is generally expected that graduate students will attend and participate in the scheduled Commencement ceremonies. Students who cannot attend the ceremony should notify the Graduate Director.