2024-2025 Graduate Catalog Art

All master’s degree programs require a minimum of 50 percent of the non-thesis credit hours applied to the degree to be 400-level courses or above.

M.A. in Art—Sequence in Visual Culture

This 32-hour sequence requires:

• 9 hour core:  ART 475,  ART 478, and  ART 497
• 9 hours: coursework in art history and/or visual culture
• 9 hours: in related field(s) outside the Wonsook Kim School of Art (history, literature, anthropology, etc.)
• 4-6 hours: Thesis work (ART 499)
• Pass a comprehensive exam
• Meets the language requirements for a Master of Arts degree
• A candidate for the degree must spend at least one full term in residence in order to qualify for the degree. A full term may be interpreted as one semester with a class load of 9-15 hours, or a summer session with a class load of 6-9 hours.
• Students who have not satisfied the language requirement for an M.A. before entering the program must do so by the commencement of the third semester (or, for part-time students, with the acquisition of the equivalent number of semester hours) while pursuing the program.

M.S. in Art—Sequence in Art Education

Licensed art educators may pursue their master’s degree on a full-time or part-time basis.

This 32-hour sequence requires:

• 9 hour core:  two (6 credit hours) art history grad-level courses , ART 497
• 9 hours: ART 401, ART 402, ART 403
• 8 hours of electives
• 6 hour thesis or 6 additional hours of electives plus a comprehensive exam

Art Education plus Initial Licensure

Students with a bachelor’s degree in studio art can pursue their master’s degree while working toward initial licensure in Illinois State University’s Initial Licensure program.

This track takes 5-6 semesters, which includes a semester of student teaching and either the completion of a comprehensive exam or a semester dedicated to thesis writing. Coursework for initial licensure and master’s degree are taken concurrently.

This 32-hour sequence requires:

Please refer to the art teacher licensure requirements in the Undergraduate Catalog.

• 9 hour core:  two (6 credit hours) art history grad-level courses , ART 497
• 9 hours: ART 401, ART 402, ART 403
• 8 hours of electives
• 6 hour thesis or 6 additional hours of electives plus a comprehensive exam

The Master of Fine Arts in Art is a 60-hour program that emphasizes both theory and practice in the production, history, and teaching of the visual arts. Candidates will be expected to demonstrate artistic proficiency in at least one of the following disciplines: painting and drawing, sculpture and expanded media, printmaking, video, ceramics, photography, or glass. Candidates will also be expected to demonstrate proficiency in written and oral communication.

Students may also engage in an internship or apprenticeship. This may take the form of a guided teaching experience or work in a professional area related to the student's area of interest. The exact nature of this experience will be worked out through counseling between the major advisor and the student and will be tailored to best suit the needs of each student. This project will be subject to approval of the student's graduate committee and the School Director.

It should be understood that the accumulation of 60 semester credit hours is not the primary criterion in evaluating a student’s final achievement. The primary criterion in the evaluation of the MFA degree will be a Thesis Exhibition which demonstrates intellectual maturity and artistic proficiency in the student’s major studio area. In addition to the Thesis Exhibition, the MFA degree requires the completion of a Thesis Supportive Statement, which is a critical essay that focuses on the student’s studio work, its development, and its cultural and historical references. The M.F.A. Candidate will be required to pass an oral defense.

This 60-hour degree program requires:

• 36 semester hours must be taken in the Wonsook Kim School of Art, of these at least 24 must be at the 400 level
• 24 semester hours must be in the student's major studio area, of these at least 18 must be at the 400 level
• Of the total required 60 hours, 12 semester hours must be taken in art history, or nine hours may be taken in art history with three hours in related areas such as aesthetics, philosophy, or anthropology, or ART 494 MFA Seminar
• 3 hours: ART 494 MFA Seminar. Taking the MFA Seminar to satisfy Art History requirements does not substitute for this requirement (494 is included within the 36 hours)
• 6 hours: ART 496 M.F.A. Exhibition and Supportive Statement. This will involve a comprehensive exhibition of studio work, an exhibition-related written project, and a comprehensive oral examination. A candidacy review must take place before a student can enroll in ART 496 or schedule the MFA exhibition and must include approval of proposal for the supportive statement. (496 is included within the 36 hours.)

The School reserves the right to keep images of original work produced by graduate students for educational and archival purposes.