Valentina Di Liscia/Hyperallergic
Why?
Advanced degrees in art can be extremely useful. MFA programs can provide a concentrated environment for learning, making, and networking. They can also be money pits that saddle young artists with decades of debt, without job prospects that pay enough to cover that debt. As you consider your post-undergraduate life, it is worth while to think critically about the MFA path and if it is right for you. The readings below cover some facts about MFA programs, and the Shannon Stratton reading proposes an alternative that could be very feasible and cheaper.
Required
Ask the Art Professor: How Do I Find the Right Graduate School for Fine Arts?, HuffPost
“Before you apply to graduate school for fine arts, you have to honestly ask yourself what your long-term goals are. Do you want to teach at the college level? Do you want to show in commercial art galleries? It may seem premature to think that far ahead, but it's important to think through and answer these questions before you leap into applying to graduate schools. When I was getting ready to apply, I primarily thought about graduate school as a place where I could mature as an artist, and continue to push myself creatively. I wasn't thinking ahead in terms of my future, and didn't realize that one of the most critical goals of graduate school would be making professional connections. No artist can build a successful career on their own; they have to make key contacts that will launch their careers in the right direction.”
Is Getting an MFA Worth the Price?, ArtNet
“We tracked down where each artist on the list went to graduate school, either from publicly available sources or by contacting the artists or their representatives. (For a very few, we were unable to find any information; we’ve left their fields blank in the attached table.) With that data in hand, we could then look for patterns as to how educational choices correlate with this measure of early-career success.”
Can You Make Your Own MFA?, Temporary Art Review
“Now like most young hopeful artists I was filled with the confidence and hubris pretty much required to embark on such a career in the first place, and felt pretty convinced that my decision was sound and I wouldn’t look back. Years later, while I have made the absolute most of my education, my move to the United States and the community I entered in Chicago, I would be happier without the debt that has hung around my neck like an albatross the last 14 years. The list of things I could’ve done, had it not been for the debt is long, so I do my best to not obsess over it – but my experience, and the knowledge that that debt is not easily alleviated by the teaching opportunities available at this point, leads me to think of some other solutions.”
Response Questions
Select one question below to which you will respond. Remember to cite specific instances from the text to support your views.
- What most surprised you in this reading set and why?
- Which principles do you see are being the most pertinent to your practice and why?
Supplementary Readings
These are optional readings to help enrich your understanding of the themes of this reading set.
- The MFA Question
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Why Get an MFA?, New York Times
“Do you care about the oppressive lack of diversity in M.F.A. programs—what Junot Díaz calls ’M.F.A. vs. P.O.C.’ [People of Color]—that seems to translate into the astonishingly narrow range of contemporary writing? How is any of this relevant for you?”
An M.F.A. Degree Is Too Expensive, and That’s Only the Start of the Problem, New York Magazine
“What’s different now is that MFA programs are exorbitantly priced luxury items. At the top-shelf East Coast schools like Yale, RISD, SVA, and Columbia, the two-year cost can top $100,000. This doesn’t include room, board, materials, etc. Add all that in, and you’re hovering near a quarter-million dollars. No matter how wonderful the M.F.A. experience, that’s straight-up highway robbery.”
Debating an MFA? The Lowdown on Art School Risks and Returns, HuffPost
“So how will you know which program is right for you? Should the current metrical obsession with determining success in higher education by the rate of post-graduation employment be translated into art world terms? If sales are to serve as the marker, then tradition-bound programs stressing craft would win. If visibility is the barometer, then the interdisciplinary programs that turn out idiosyncratic hipsters who talk big and make quirky assemblages stand out. If eligibility for teaching is what you seek—cognizant that the field is overwhelmingly composed of poorly paid adjuncts—then the statistical dominance of introductory courses in drawing and design should suggest to you that cultivating technical skills will open more doors.”