Graphic Design (MFA)

The graphic design program focuses on the development of a cohesive, investigative body of work, also known as the student’s thesis. At Yale, the graphic design thesis is conceived as a loose framework within which each student’s visual method is deployed across many diverse projects during the two-year course of study. While every thesis project is unique, there are several common features: a focus on methodology, the application of a visual method to studio work, and the organization of the work in a thoughtfully argued written document and “Thesis Book.”

The individual collection of graphic design work by each student is supported on several levels simultaneously: studio work led by faculty meeting weekly; small six-person thesis groups meeting biweekly; individual sessions with writing and editing tutors; and lectures, presentations, and workshops.

Facilities
The School of Art provides digital lab facilities however all graphic design students are expected to have their own personal computer. Each student has a designated work space in the design studio loft and has access to equipment including bookbinding materials, wide format printers, a RISO duplicator, Vandercook press, and work spaces in the School of Art buildings. More resources supporting interdisciplinary projects including motion capture and VR is available at the nearby Center for Collaborative Arts and Media. In addition, students draw on the extraordinary resources of Yale University courses, conferences, films, lectures, and museums, and especially the extensive research and rare book collections of Sterling, Haas, and Beinecke libraries.

Two-year and preliminary-year programs
Each year, up to twelve students are admitted into the two-year graphic design program, and up to six students are admitted into the preliminary-year program. Two-year program students typically have a BFA in Graphic Design and are expected to have substantial and distinguished professional experience. Students applying to the preliminary-year program typically have relevant experience in a field of study outside design and demonstrate evidence of strong visual acuity. After successful completion of the preliminary year, these students automatically continue on in the two-year M.F.A. program.

Credit Requirements

60 credits total are required to graduate. 42 credits in your area of concentration (including Art 949a, Critical Practice), and 18 additional credits, including a minimum of 6 academic credits which can be selected from throughout the University’s rich offerings.

Typical Plan of Study

Preliminary-Year
The preliminary year has a required studio course sequence and additional electives are not recommended.

Fall
Art 710a, Preliminary Studio: 6 credits
Art 264a2, Typography: 3 credits
Art 370a, Designing with Time, Motion and Sound: 3 credits
Art 468a, Advanced Graphic Design: Series and Systems: 3 credits

Total minimum credits for fall term: 15

Spring
Art 711b, Preliminary Studio: 6 credits
Art 265b, Expression, Structure, and Sequence: Typography: 3 credits
Art 369b, Interactive Design and the Internet: 3 credits
Art 469b, Advanced Graphic Design: History, Editing, and Interpretation: 3 credits

Total minimum credits for spring term: 15

First year
There are 3 required courses in the first year of the two-year program, totaling 15 credits. The remaining 15 credit requirements for the year must be fulfilled through a combination of studio and/or academic electives.

Fall
Required courses:
Art 720a, 1st-year Graduate Studio: 6 credits
Art 949a, Critical Practice: 3 credits

Design electives offered:
Art 743a, Letterform Design: 3 credits
Art 744a, Moving Image Methods: 3 credits
Art 750a, Programming as Writing: 3 credits

Total minimum credits for fall term: 15

Spring
Required courses:
Art 720b, 1st-year Graduate Studio: 6 credits

Design electives offered:
Art 742b, Networks & Transactions: 3 credits
Art 743b, Letterform Design: 3 credits
Art 745b, Total Typography: 3 credits

Total minimum credits for spring term: 15

Second year minimum credits
There are 4 required courses in the second year of the two-year program, totaling 18 credits. The remaining 12 credit requirements for the year must be fulfilled through a combination of studio and/or academic electives.

Fall
Required courses:
Art 720a, 2nd-year Graduate Studio: 6 credits
Art 739a, Degree presentation: 3 credits

Design electives offered:
Art 740a, Intermediality: Topography: 3 credits
Art 752a, Mobile Computing: 3 credits

Total minimum credits for fall term: 15

Spring
Required courses:
Art 730b, 2nd-year Graduate Studio: 6 credits
Art 739b, Degree presentation: 3 credits

Design electives offered:
Art 752b, Print to Screen: 1.5 credits
Art 762b, Exhibition Design: 3 credits

Total minimum credits for spring term: 15

Painting and Printmaking (MFA)

Instruction in the program is rooted in the investigation of painting as a unique genre with its own complex syntax and history. Within this setting, the program encourages diversity of practice and interpretation, innovation, and experimentation.

Approximately twenty-one students are admitted each year. At the core of instruction are individual and group critiques with faculty, visiting critics, and visiting artists. In addition, students participate in a variety of seminars taught by both faculty and critics. The study of printmaking is integrated into the painting program, and a student may concentrate in painting, printmaking, or a combination of the two.

Students work in individual 300-square-foot studios at 353 Crown Street adjacent to Green Hall. Students have access to a printmaking workshop in the Crown Street building, equipped with two etching presses and a lithography press, a fully equipped silkscreen facility, as well as digital resources available in the print studio, throughout the School, and at the Center for Collaborative Arts and Media.

Credit Requirements

42 credits in area of concentration, including ART 949a, and 18 additional credits, including a minimum of 6 academic credits in courses outside the School of Art.

Typical Plan of Study

First year minimum credits

ART 545 Individual Criticism: … Fall: 6; Spring: 6

ART 510 Prit Crit:… Fall: 3; Spring: 3

ART 546a, Round Trip:… Fall: 3; Spring: 0

ART 949a, Critical Practice:… Fall: 3; Spring: 0

Academic or Studio Electives:… Fall: 0 … Spring: 6

Total minimum credits for Fall Term: 15

Total minimum credits for Spring Term: 15

Second year minimum credits

ART 545 Individual Criticism:… Fall: 6; Spring: 6

ART 510 Prit Crit:… Fall: 3; Spring: 3

Academic or Studio Electives:… Fall: 6; Spring: 6

Total minimum credits for Fall Term: 15

Total minimum credits for Spring Term: 15

Photography (MFA)

Photography is a two-year program of study admitting ten students a year. Darkroom, studio, and computer facilities are provided. Students receive technical instruction in black-and-white and color photography as well as nonsilver processes and digital image production.

The program is committed to a broad definition of photography as a lens-based medium open to a variety of expressive means. Students work both individually and in groups with faculty and visiting artists. In addition, a critique panel composed of faculty and other artists or critics meets weekly, as well as for a final review each term, to discuss student work.

Credit Requirements Credit Requirements

42 credits in area of concentration, including ART 949a, and 18 additional credits, including a minimum of 6 academic credits in courses outside the School of Art.

Typical Plan of Study

First year minimum credits

ART 845, Individual Criticism:… Fall: 6; Spring: 6

ART 828, Issues in Contemporary Photography:…Fall: 3; Spring: 3

ART 802b, Between Frames:… Fall: 0; Spring: 3

ART 949a, Critical Practice:…Fall: 3; Spring: 0

Academic or Studio Electives:…Fall: 3; Spring: 3

Total minimum credits for Fall Term: 15

Total minimum credits for Spring Term: 15

Second year minimum credits

ART 845, Individual Criticism:… Fall: 6; Spring: 6

ART 823a, Critical Perspectives:…Fall: 3; Spring: 0

ART 825b, Photo Book:…Fall: 0; Spring: 3

Academic or Studio Electives:…Fall: 6; Spring: 6

Total minimum credits for Fall Term: 15

Total minimum credits for Spring Term: 15

Sculpture (MFA)

The sculpture program offers students the opportunity to develop their work in a supportive environment consisting of critical feedback in a broad array of diverse voices. The field of sculpture includes a varied collection of working methods and outcomes—one set of tools is not privileged over another—creating a healthy and experimental program that mirrors the issues facing artists outside of the institution. Students work independently in individual studio spaces and have access to common areas for the critique of their work. 36 Edgewood houses the sculpture program and has a woodworking shop, a metal shop, and a computer lab, while additional resources are offered by the School of Art and the University at large. No metal-casting or ceramic facilities are available.

The main focus of this program is to facilitate the development of conversation and constructive critique among students and faculty. Our aim is to articulate student work vis-à-vis its own trajectory and in relation to art history and the current moment. This conversation is formally structured to take place one-on-one between students and faculty, in small groups, and within a larger group involving the whole sculpture department.

Approximately ten students are admitted each year.

Credit Requirements

42 credits in area of concentration, including ART 949a, and 18 additional credits, including a minimum of 6 academic credits in courses outside the School of Art.

Typical Plan of Study

First year minimum credits

ART 645, Individual Criticism:… Fall: 6; Spring: 6

ART 630, Studio Seminar:… Fall: 3; Spring: 3

Sculpture Elective:… Fall: 0; Spring: 3

ART 949a, Critical Practice:… Fall: 3; Spring: 0

Academic or Studio Electives:.. Fall: 3; Spring: 3

Total minimum credits for Fall Term: 15

Total minimum credits for Spring Term: 15

Second year minimum credits

ART 645, Individual Criticism:… Fall: 6; Spring: 6

ART 630, Studio Seminar:… Fall: 3; Spring: 3

Academic or Studio Electives:… Fall: 6; Spring: 6

Total minimum credits for Fall Term: 15

Total minimum credits for Spring Term: 15

Critical Practice

Critical Practice is not a formal area of study in the School of Art; however, the critical and theoretical elements undergirding the studio-based practice of students extends through multiple courses and initiatives offered throughout the School. These initiatives include ongoing cooperations with other professional schools and departments at the University that take the form of interdisciplinary workshops, international fellowships and residencies, seminar series, applied research projects, and extensive public programming—all of which seeks to engage multiple disciplines and a broader public in expanding the pedagogical framework surrounding the study of art.

All-School / Interdisciplinary

Studies in interdisciplinary media, as well as in film and video, are not formal areas of study in the School of Art; however, a number of students work primarily in film/video or interdisciplinary media while enrolled in other areas.

The School offers graduate video courses taught by practicing video artists. These classes address fundamental technical issues as well as the far more challenging questions of the contemporary practice of video by artists and this medium’s relation to other forms of art practice. Classes in video are taught in a variety of locations throughout the School of Art and are attended by students from all areas of study.

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