2025-2026 Graduate Catalog Art

M.S. in Art—Sequence in Art Education

All prospective graduate students, including licensed art educators, may pursue their master’s degree on a full-time or part-time basis.

This 32-hour sequence requires:

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

Art Education plus Initial Licensure

All prospective graduate students, including students with a bachelor’s degree in studio art or in another teaching area, 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 program requires the 32-hour graduate course sequence listed above but also requires 66 hours of undergraduate art teacher licensure credits. Transfer credit substitutions for some courses can be considered. Please see the undergraduate catalog for detailed licensure curriculum requirements.

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
• 24 semester hours must be in the student's major studio area
• 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.