William Wadley, Department Head
Joseph Daun, Graduate Coordinator for Studio Art, 903-886-5232; Joseph.Daun@tamuc.edu
Virgil Scott, Graduate Coordinator for Visual Communication (UCD), 214-752-9009; Virgil.Scott@tamuc.edu
Brian Weaver, Coordinator of the MA-Studio Art (Summer Delivery), 903-886-5450; Brian.Weaver@tamuc.edu
The Department of Art inspires and prepares students to excel in the art profession, including the fine and applied arts, art history, and art teaching fields, and also expands the educational experiences of non-majors.
The general objectives of graduate study in art include:
- the refinement of technical skills in chosen studio areas;
- the development of a critical understanding of one’s own art in its historical, theoretical, and conceptual context; and
- the mastery of communication skills both in practice and in teaching.
These objectives are achieved through a close working relationship among students and faculty, wherein a student may pursue a course of study designed for his or her particular educational goals.
Programs of Graduate Work
Master of Arts in Art with an emphasis in Visual Communication
The Master of Arts in Art with an emphasis in Visual Communication is a 36-semester hour program offered at the Universities Center at Dallas near the Arts District. The MA-VisCom degree is open to all qualified applicants in the expanding field of Visual Communication but is especially relevant to the needs of practicing professionals who aspire to move upwards into design-centric leadership roles in their business or organization. Students explore innovative approaches to the creative process, progressive business practices and strategies, product advancement, and effective marketing techniques within the context of contemporary design. There is no thesis or foreign language requirement for this degree.
Master of Arts in Art with an emphasis in Studio Art
The Master of Arts in Art with an emphasis in Studio Art is a 36-semester hour program offered on the Commerce campus. Students may pursue the following areas: painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, ceramics, and mixed and multi-media art. Applicants for the degree should already possess the technical skills to work in one or more of these areas, as the graduate program concentrates on conceptual innovation in one’s work rather than technical instruction. The MA degree is suitable for students seeking to improve their portfolio, gain educational credentials, or to place themselves in a more competitive position to apply to the MFA program in art. There is no thesis or foreign language requirement for this degree.
Master of Arts in Art with an emphasis in Studio Art – Summer Delivery
The summer delivery of the MA in Art is intended primarily for art educators whose schedules preclude full-time enrollment in the fall and spring terms but is open to all qualified applicants holding bachelor’s degrees in the visual arts.
Master of Fine Arts in Art with an emphasis in Visual Communication
The Master of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis in Visual Communication serves the practicing professional in this growing field who aspires to greater proficiency in industry-related innovation and problem-solving, business strategies, ideation and marketing, or a career in design education. The MFA is regarded as the terminal degree in the field of Visual Communication. The capstone of the degree is a design-centric research project (ARTS 545-Exhibition Topics and ARTS 548-Exhibition Development) and accompanying exhibition (ARTS 552-MFA Exhibition in Visual Communication) on a topic incorporating business practices, design education and social responsibility. In these final semesters of the degree, MFA-VisCom candidates are expected to advance a premise that significantly expands the current boundaries of knowledge and to defend it through a convincing campaign or body of art works. Students who fail to meet the expectations of the program can be suspended from the MFA track. In such cases, it may be possible for the student to complete a Master of Art with an emphasis in Visual Communication.
Master of Fine Arts in Art with an emphasis in Studio Art
The MFA program is intended for graduate students both committed to and capable of intensive, advanced study culminating in an individual and self-generated language of expression. It is a rigorous course of study as it leads to the terminal degree in the fine arts. MFA students are initially encouraged to explore a broad range of issues meaningful to their work, while simultaneously refining their technical skills. Their explorations may touch upon individual modes of expression, formal elements, experimentation with media and methods, themes and symbols, and relationships among the visual arts and other disciplines. Subsequent courses direct the student toward more mature and self-critical art, leading ultimately to a sustained and cohesive body of work that forms the Master of Fine Art Exhibition (ARTS 515).
MFA students in the Studio Art emphasis will participate in mid-term and end-of-term critiques. These critiques, together with the periodic evaluations of the student’s supervisory committee, determine whether or not the student meets the expectations of the program. Students who fail to pass a critique or fail in other ways to meet the expectations of the program can be suspended from the MFA track. Students must pass a critique for candidacy after their second semester or in the semester of their 30th hour (whichever comes first). The critique for MFA candidacy will include an exhibit supported by a written statement. Students who fail their candidacy may still pursue the Master of Arts in Art with an emphasis in Studio Art.
The New Learning Context – Studio Emphasis Only
Designed to broaden the student’s education, the New Learning Context is an essential component of the Studio Art emphasis in the MFA degree. Lasting a full academic term and providing twelve semester hours credit, the New Learning Context encourages the student to seek out new ideas and experiences of benefit to his or her art. A student may choose between two options:
1. The Semester Away, or
2. The Planned Program Alternative.
The first option requires the student to live and work away from Texas A&M University-Commerce. Whether by taking courses at another institution, through extensive traveling, or by living in a major artistic center in the United States or abroad, this option provides experiences invaluable to the student’s artistic and intellectual growth. The second option, for students whose economic or personal circumstances preclude extended travel, allows for similar experiences within the region. An example of the second option would be a planned sequence of visits to museums, galleries and artists’ studios in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Whichever option is selected, the student’s art will be expected both to represent the efforts of a full academic term and to reflect the knowledge and experience gained from the New Learning Context.
Admission
Master of Arts in Art (Studio Art and Visual Communication Emphases)
Admission to a graduate program is granted by the Dean of Graduate Studies upon the recommendation of the department. The applicant should submit one letter of recommendation, a statement of intent, a working link to a digital portfolio of work, and other supportive materials required by the Department of Art. Contact the departmental Graduate Coordinator for these requirements. The graduate degrees in art are individually designed to meet the unique educational, personal and professional needs of the student.
Graduate Coordinator for the MA – Studio Art Emphasis: Joseph Daun (Joseph.Daun@tamuc.edu
)
Graduate Coordinator for the MA – Visual Communication Emphasis: Virgil Scott (Virgil.Scott@tamuc.edu
)
Graduate Coordinator for the MA – Studio Art Emphasis (Summer Delivery): Brian Weaver (Brian.Weaver@tamuc.edu
)
Master of Fine Arts in Art (Studio and Visual Communication Emphases)
Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree with an art major or comparable experience, nine semester hours of art history and a minimum grade point average of 'B' in all undergraduate studio art courses.
In addition to the requirements of the Graduate School, applicants for the MFA degree will submit an application to the Department of Art that includes a portfolio, a statement of intent, transcripts of all previous college-level work, and one letter of recommendation. Copies of transcripts are acceptable if the originals are on file at the Graduate School. All of these materials are important in considering an applicant’s suitability for graduate study, but the portfolio is of paramount importance because it represents the extent of a student’s education in art. Care should be taken in the selection and photographing of works for the portfolio (CD portfolio is acceptable). It is the Department's preference that the portfolio be posted online and that the link to the portfolio be provided to the appropriate graduate coordinator.
Graduate Coordinator for the MA – Studio Art Emphasis: Joseph Daun (Joseph.Daun@tamuc.edu
)
Graduate Coordinator for the MA – Visual Communication Emphasis: Virgil Scott (Virgil.Scott@tamuc.edu
)
Note: The Department reserves the right to suspend from the program any student who in the judgment of the departmental graduate committee, does not meet the professional expectations of the field.
Art
Joseph Daun
Professor
B.F.A., Florida State University; M.F.A., University of Texas at San Antonio
Josephine Durkin
Associate Professor
B.F.A., Virginia Commonwealth University; M.F.A., Yale University.
Josh Ege
Assistant Professor
B.F.A., University of North Texas; M.F.A. Texas A&M University-Commerce
Barbara Frey
Professor
B.F.A., Indiana University; M.F.A., Syracuse University.
Gerard D. Huber
Professor
B.A., University of Northern Iowa; M.F.A., Cranbrook Academy of Art.
Mitchell McGarr
Assistant Professor
B.F.A.,Texas Tech University; M.F.A., Texas A&M University-Commerce
Emily Newman
Assistant Professor
BA., Carleton College, MA., The Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D., The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Virgil Scott
Associate Professor
B.F.A., M.F.A., University of North Texas.
Chad Smith
Associate Professor
M.S., East Texas State University; M.A., Texas AM University-Commerce.
Vaughn Wascovich
Associate Professor
B.F.A., Youngstown State University; M.F.A., Columbia College.