Courses

Required

• Graduate Critique Seminar

  Schedule: Year 1 Fall and Spring; Year 2 Fall;
  Credits: 4

  Description

  This seminar is dedicated to the discussion and critique of  texts and art practices  to be explored in relation to the student’s work. Students will be introduced to a diverse range of theoretical and philosophical positions and approaches and key thinkers from a global perspective. Students will be required to articulate their ideas and processes within their practices through visual presentations and ongoing peer-to-peer dialog while developing a robust artistic research agenda and methodology.

• Individual Studio Critique and Review

  Schedule: Year 1 Fall and Spring; Year 2 Fall;
  Credits: 4

  Description

  This course is composed of one-on-one weekly studio critiques with faculty and visiting artists. Students will meet regularly with their faculty adviser, as well as with other program faculty and visiting artists, curators, and thinkers. This class will provide a platform for the MFA student to present their work and the aesthetic, technical, and expressive concepts underlying it. Critiques offer constructive assessment of the graduate students’ work-in-progress in relation to contemporary and historical practice, social and cultural issues, technical and formal concerns, and related interdisciplinary interests.

• Mid-Program Review

  Schedule: Year 2 Spring;
  Credits: 0

  Description

  The review consists of a presentation of the student’s work from that semester, a verbal and written presentation by the student, and a question-and-answer period led by their Critique Committee. The mid-program review is considered a candidacy review, and thus, the student must pass this review to move into the second and final year of study.

• Writing for Artists

  Schedule: Year 2 Fall;
  Credits: 4

  Description

  In this workshop-based course, students are introduced to and practice the skills of argumentation, research, and clarity of expression. In the first half of the class, students learn the craft of artistic writing, from the ground up — constructing one analytic piece in increments. The second part of the semester is devoted to putting these skills into professional practice, as students write artist statements, reviews of current work, personal essays, creative pieces, and more. Students read top critics in their fields as well as writers from the canon particularly relevant to their own work.
  

   

• Special Topics in Art and Media

  Schedule: Year 1 Spring
  Credits: 4

  Description

  Special Topics courses will cover a variety of historical, emerging, and interdisciplinary approaches to art and media practices. These courses follow a “praxis” model that combines theory and practice with an integrated format of reading, writing, and making.

• MFA Thesis Project and Exhibition

  Schedule: Year 2 Spring;
  Credits: 8

  Description

  During the spring semester of their second year, MFA students will mount a public presentation of artworks, demonstrating the achievements in the student’s area of specialization. The candidate, in consultation with their Graduate Faculty Adviser and Review Committee, is responsible for selecting the content and curating the exhibition. Students will produce an extensive written exposition describing the specific artistic problems that generated the body of work. This statement will include a discussion of the methods, media, and format used, the relationship of the student’s work to the influences of other artists and styles, and other issues (such as social or psychological questions) of relevance to the work.

  While the final semester is devoted to solving the installation challenges of a student’s work, the entirety of the degree builds up to this moment when a student has made a sufficient body of work to show as a thesis project, or has conducted enough experiments that will lead to a final project. 

   

• MFA Thesis Defense

  Schedule: Year 2 Spring;
  Credits: 0

  Description

  The MFA Thesis experience will culminate with a 90-minute oral defense in the gallery before a faculty panel.

   

Electives

Studio Electives can be chosen from any of the following courses depending on specialization and interest.

• Studio Electives
  • An Explorative Grammar for Sculpture
  • Text-Image / Image-Text
  • Photography - Alternative Processes
  • 2D Multiples
• Special Topics
  • Textility and the Textile Imaginary
    
  • Art Practice in the Anthropocene
    
  • Archives, Methods, Screens
    
  • Documentary Forms in Visual Art, Video, and Short Film
    
  • The Observer
    
  • Frantz Fanon and Edouard Glissant: On Art and Decolonization
  • Social Public Works
• J-Term Elective (optional)

  Credits: 4 per term

  Students have the option (through advisement) to complete one of their five elective courses during NYU’s J-Term semesters, either at NYUAD or at one of NYU’s study away sites. The January Term offers a distinctive learning experience, different from what can be offered during the fall and spring semesters. Students take one course full-time for approximately three weeks. The courses are designed as immersive experiences: they intensify the student’s focus; reach beyond the classroom to incorporate experiential learning; and are often site-specific, connecting students to the place where they study. Taking a single course during January Term gives students more time for concentrated reflection on a dedicated topic than is the case during the semester when students must split their time between several courses. The intensity of the shared experience also forges an unusually strong bond between the students and their professor. Although January Term is short, it has significant impact because of its immersive character and integration of theoretical and experiential learning.

  January Term courses are taught by renowned visiting scholars, writers, artists, journalists, and policy analysts from institutions around the world, as well as distinguished professors from NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU New York. January Term also features pre-professional courses taught by faculty from NYU's professional schools.

  Students are encouraged to study at NYU’s sites with an art focus (NYU New York, NYU Abu Dhabi, and NYU Berlin) though they may elect to complete coursework at NYU’s other academic sites based on their research interests. Students may also propose a global directed study for the J-Term session which might involve an intensive apprenticeship with an established artist or craftsperson, or a focused artist residency at specialized school or foundation. All global directed study proposals must be developed directly with a student’s faculty advisor.