Applicable only to students admitted during the 2010-2011 academic year.

Art

School of the Arts and Architecture

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Art offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degrees in Art.

Admission

Program Name

Art

Design is offered as a separate major. See Design | Media Arts.

Address

Broad Art Center, Rm. 2275
240 Charles E. Young Drive
Box 951615
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1615 

Phone

(310) 206-7363 

Email

artinfo@arts.ucla.edu  

Leading to the degree of

M.A., M.F.A. (consult department for area)

Program is not accepting applications for the MA in Art for 2011-2012 

Admission Limited to

Fall 

Deadline to apply

December 15th 

GRE (General and/or Subject), TWE

Not required 

Letters of Recommendation 

Not required 

Other Requirements

In addition to the University’s minimum requirements, all applicants are expected to submit a statement of purpose.

M.A. (Critical and Curatorial Studies): Applicants are also expected to submit a writing sample (a brief exhibition or public program proposal, a published criticism, or a short research paper); and a slide portfolio of curatorial work (if applicable).

Applicants with bachelor’s degrees in Art or Art History are preferred, but those from diverse specializations and backgrounds also are encouraged to apply.

Entry into the program is conditional on having taken the following courses or their equivalent in course work or experience in the field: World Arts and Cultures 143A, 143B, 143C.

Applicant finalists should be available for an interview.

M.F.A.: Applicants to all areas also are required to submit still images (maximum of 20) in digital (CD-R) format with printed, 8 1/2 by 11 inch back-up provided, no later than January 8th. Applicants may also submit a DVD (if artwork is in video/DVD format). Applicants whose work is interactive may submit a separate CD or URL in addition to the required still image submission. Departmental supplement and statement concerning artwork are also due January 8th. Specific portfolio and application guidelines are available at the departmental web site. 

Master of Arts

Advising

For general advising students contact the graduate assistant. A faculty adviser is appointed for all new students.

Areas of Study

Critical and Curatorial Studies. Students are expected to focus on a specific professional issue and genre of exhibition appropriate to it. The program offers a curatorial option in public programs.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

A minimum of 36 quarter units with a B average or better are required. Within the 36 units, a minimum of 20 units from the following graduate course lists are required, including four units of Art C280, four units of Art or Art History 596, and eight units of faculty approved electives.

Courses in the Department of Art:  Art 276, 278, C280, C281, C282, 596.

Courses in the Department of Art History: Art History C203A, C203B, 251, 596.

Courses in the Department of Architecture and Urban Design: Architecture and Urban Design M201.

Courses in the Department of Comparative Literature: Comparative Literature 596.

Courses in the Department of English: English 596.

Courses in the Department of Film, Television & Digital Media: From the Film and Television 596 series.

Courses in the Department of World Arts and Cultures: World Arts and Cultures 596A.

A maximum of two 596 courses (eight units) may be applied toward the 36 units required for the degree; one 596 course (four units) may be applied toward the 20 units of graduate courses required for the degree.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Required institutional internship or training, arranged on an individual basis, in connection with the student’s interest and background for the Fall and Winter quarters of the first year of study.

Comprehensive Examination Plan

At the end of the first year, students select their comprehensive examination committee and submit exhibition/public program proposals to the relevant institution for consideration (e.g., contemporary art — Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center; works on paper — Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts; African Art — Fowler Museum). Projects which mix and match among the collections are encouraged.

The comprehensive examination committee administers approval of the exhibition/public program proposal.  The committee consists of a museum director/curator and at least two faculty members, or three faculty members if the museum director/curator does not hold a UCLA faculty appointment.

After the exhibition/public program proposal is approved by the comprehensive examination committee, students must present the exhibition/program in the second year, or as soon thereafter as the museum’s schedule dictates. Presentation of the exhibition includes selection of artists/works, overseeing transport, insurance, etc., devising and working within a budget, installation, publicity and other didactic materials. In addition, a written curatorial statement of purpose is required and consists of a summary of research and a bibliography in the form of a catalog essay of not less than 5,000 or more than 10,000 words.

The examination includes a formal exhibition or public program, photo records (if appropriate), and the curatorial statement of purpose. These documents become the property of and are retained by the University.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

From graduate admission to award of the degree: six quarters.

Master of Fine Arts

Advising

For general advising students contact the graduate assistant. A faculty adviser is appointed for new students. Continuing graduate reviews, with the full faculty in attendance, are held in mid-winter and at the end of Spring Quarter.

Areas of Study

Painting and drawing, sculpture, photography, ceramics, new genres, and interdisciplinary studio. There are no limits to the variations, extent, or value of these designations.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

A minimum of 72 units in the department in upper-division and graduate level courses is required, with a B average or better. Within those 72 units, a minimum of 40 quarter units in the 200 series must be taken, including at least four units (one course) per academic year of Art 276 until completion of the degree, a minimum of 24 quarter units in the field of specialization, and eight units of Art C280.

A minimum total of 12 quarter units of art history and an additional 28 quarter units of art history or history, theory and criticism coursework offered by related departments such as Architecture and Urban Design, Comparative Literature, Design|Media Arts, Film, Television, and Digital Media, and World Arts and Cultures in undergraduate or graduate study are also required (including Art C280). Studio-based courses cannot count as substitutions for this requirement. Art history and theory and criticism  courses completed as an undergraduate count toward fulfilling the department’s combined 40-unit art history requirement but do not count toward the 72 units required for the degree. Students with few or no art history or theory or criticism courses in undergraduate study may take art history or theory or criticism upper division or graduate courses at UCLA as electives to be counted toward the 40-unit art history requirement and toward the total units required for the degree. Subjects related to the special interests of the student may be substituted by petition.

A total of 12 units of Art 596 may be applied toward the 72 units required for the degree; four units may be applied toward the graduate course requirement.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Comprehensive Examination Plan

In addition to the completion of the required coursework, each degree is awarded on the basis of the quality of the student’s work as demonstrated in the exhibition which is part of the comprehensive examination. The examination includes a formal exhibition and faculty review, in addition to the submission of a curriculum vitae, documentation of artwork, and a statement by the artist. The document becomes the property of and is retained by the University.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

From graduate admission to award of the degree: six to nine quarters.

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

A student may be placed on departmental probation by a majority of the faculty or by their M.F.A. committee after the bi-annual graduate reviews if there is concern about the student’s ability to progress toward completion of the M.F.A. degree. Within two weeks of the review, the student will be informed of this action in writing by the faculty area head or the M.F.A. committee chair and advised to submit more work for review by faculty at the end of Spring Quarter following the Winter Quarter review, or at the end of summer for those students informed of their probationary status following the Spring Quarter reviews. At the subsequent review, the faculty will re-evaluate the student’s work and progress with regard to the student’s continuing status, and within two weeks of the review, by majority vote of the faculty, a recommendation for termination may be made. The student will be notified of this recommendation in writing.