MFA Application

ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

 

1. Standards
To be admitted as a graduate student in the M.F.A. program, the applicants must meet the following requirements:
A bachelor's degree from a college or university accredited by the cognizant regional accrediting agency.

Undergraduate preparation in the proposed major field equivalent to that acquired by a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington, or evidence of an appropriate background for undertaking an advanced degree program.

An undergraduate average of B (3.0) or higher in the junior and senior years.

 

2. Statement to UTA graduates
If a University of Texas at Arlington graduate chooses to apply, he/she will be given the same consideration and will be judged by the same standards as all other applicants.

 

3. Advancement to Candidacy
Admission to graduate study does not imply admission to candidacy for an advanced degree. For the M.F. A. degree, such candidacy is confirmed only upon successful completion of Mid-Program Review.

 

4. The Application File
An application for admission must include all of the following: The absence of any one of these requirements will constitute an incomplete application, which will not be processed by the Graduate Studies Committee of the department.

 

International Students: All international students applying to the graduate program must meet the same level of achievement as U.S. Students. In addition, international students entering the Graduate School must demonstrate proficiency (please review UTA graduate school policy) in written and oral English at the time of their enrollment. Those who do not meet the minimum requirements must satisfactorily complete courses in the ESOL area.

 

The Art and Art History Department requires that a signed Statement of Resources form accompany the application of all international students. Check with the Graduate School for current requirements.

 

If the applicant wishes to apply for a graduate teaching assistantship, a student whose native language is not English must submit an acceptable score (45 or higher) on the TSE. An applicant who is a non-native speaker of English and who may wish to be considered for an assistantship should take the TSE before arriving in the United States and have the official scores sent to UT Arlington. Assistantship applicants who are holding a degree from a US college or university and who are non-native speakers of English are NOT exempt from this requirement.

 

A non-refundable application evaluation charge is required of all applicants. Payment must be received before processing can begin. There are no exceptions to this policy.

USA applicants: A non-refundable evaluation charge of $30 is required of all U.S. citizens and U.S. Resident Alien applicants who have completed all of their college or university work at institutions located in the United States. A $60 evaluation charge is required of all U.S. citizens and U.S.

 

Resident Alien applicants who have completed undergraduate coursework at an institution located outside of the United States

International applicants: All international students are required to pay a non-refundable $60 application evaluation charge.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1. MFA Course Requirements
The graduate course requirements for the MFA of 60 semester credit hours would normally be distributed over six semesters of a three-year program. The student will be required to spend a minimum of three semesters in the MFA program with one academic year in residency as a full time student.

Specific Course Requirements
Area of Concentration: 39 semester credit hours
Supporting Studio Courses: 9 semester credit hours
Art History: 9 semester credit hours
Free Electives: 3 semester credit hours
Combination will total: 60

Courses outside the area of concentration (supporting and free electives) should be taken from faculty other than the major professor. It is strongly recommended that the students study with a minimum of three additional faculty members during the course of his/her program. Students are also encouraged to take a free elective outside the Art and Art History Department.

The supervisory committee will approve the course options (work) and scholarly research, also. It is emphasized that this is a committee/department option, not a student option.

Although graduate students enrolled in the MFA program have a very good chance of receiveing a graduate teaching assistantship at some time during their program of study, this is not guaranteed by the department, as there are never enough funds to provide teaching assistantships to all the students enrolled. The Department of Art and Art History is committed however, to offering as many other types of employment opportunities within the department as possible (i.e. assignment as a student assistant in the Gallery at UTA).

To receive a GA, GTA, or GRA, a student must be full-time (i.e. enroll in at least 9 hours, but not more than 12 hours each semester) and must be making and continue to make signifigant progress towards the completion of the degree (cf. selection II. E. Academic Warning and Dismissal, Graduate Faculty Handbook, Department of Art and Art History).