The information below is from the full M.F.A. in Creative Visual Arts Program Handbook. To request a copy of the complete handbook, please contact the Department of Art.
General Information
- Studio space is provided for each student based on available space in the college. In the event that a student must stay past two years to complete degree requirements, no financial support or studio space will be provided.
Program Requirements
M.F.A. Thesis Committee
- Each graduate student will have at least a three-member M.F.A. Thesis Committee composed of an Advisor of Record from the Department of Art’s general graduate faculty and an additional graduate faculty member. Students may have up to four members of their Thesis Committee. One of these additional members must be from the Department of Art’s general or divisional graduate faculty; the other may be graduate faculty from outside the Department but must be on the list of Graduate Affiliate Faculty.
- In the first fall and spring semesters of study, the Director of Graduate Studies will serve as the student’s temporary Advisor of Record, and students will have weekly studio visits with art faculty members. At the end of the spring semester, the student will select a different Advisor of Record and additional members by applying the requirements above.
- A student must have a complete Thesis Committee and cannot make changes at the start of their second year (unless a faculty member takes a leave of absense). In the event that a committee member takes a leave, the student is required to choose another grading member as a replacement. This replacement must be a general or divisional member of the Cornell Graduate Faculty.
- M.F.A. students must meet with their M.F.A. Thesis Committee members individually a minimum of one time per semester and should schedule additional meetings during the semester as needed, exclusive of the end-of-semester grading reviews.
- Any member may resign at any time from an M.F.A. Thesis Committee; failure to reconstitute an M.F.A. Thesis Committee precludes a student’s further registration in the graduate program.
Thesis Exhibition and Artist Statement
(Refer to the corresponding M.F.A. in Creative Visual Arts Schedule and Deadlines handout for due dates.)
- Each year, the Director of Graduate Studies will establish the due dates and deadlines for thesis work. Students are responsible for submitting completed work to their committee by stated deadlines. The Art Department establishes dates for completion of the degree requirements. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of these dates and comply with stated deadlines.
- During a student’s fourth and final semester, they will create a thesis exhibition. The thesis exhibition must consist of work that furthers and/or exemplifies the student’s ongoing creative production. The final critique with your Thesis Committee should verbally address both the artist’s statement and visual thesis during the time of the exhibition. The M.F.A. Thesis Committee will direct the thesis review, which is open to all interested faculty members.
- The artist statement must deal with the aesthetic, conceptual, and/or art historical issues of the student’s creative work. The M.F.A. Thesis Committee must approve of the content, approach, and length of the statement.
- The format and length of the artist statement should be determined by the student’s M.F.A. Thesis Committee and must be completed and delivered to that committee following their final review.
- After a student has successfully completed their final review, they must submit their committee-approved thesis document (artist statement and thesis exhibition images) by May 15 to eCommons in order to complete a May conferral. The Art Department uses an online database for electronic submission.