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2024-2025 Academic Calendar | York University Faculty of Graduate Studies

Visual Arts

Posted on 17 August 2022

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LocationEmail AddressProgram Website
255 Centre for Fine Artsdburns@yorku.cayorku.ca/gradstudies/visual-art/

Visual Arts offers practice-based degree programs at master’s and doctoral levels, as well as participating in a joint program with the Schulich School of Business. Students can obtain their Master of Fine Arts in combination with a Master of Business Administration degree. Please see the Combined MBA/MFA/MA section of this Calendar for more information.

At the core of the MFA program in Visual Arts, individual creative research and art production is developed in conjunction with an evolving understanding of theoretical discourses and debates surrounding contemporary art and culture. Central to the program is independent studio research, which can be carried out in any medium or a crossover of more than one. Set within a university context, the MFA in Visual Arts is a five term program that seeks to provide students with the ability to think rigorously about their art practice and its relation to society as a whole. Along with Visual Arts faculty members, other York University faculty members, guest artists, curators and critics also support the development of students’ projects.

The primary objective of the PhD in Visual Arts is to provide opportunity for advanced independent research that is integrated within the development of original studio practice, in all visual arts media. This four year degree leads to both development as a professional artist and higher qualifications for university teaching positions. Participants in the program develop new methodologies for reconciling the two sometimes conflicting forces of scholarly depth and art world professionalism. These objectives are achieved through a combination of coursework in the Visual Arts program and in the university at large, and two exhibitions of original work accompanied by contextualizing papers. Students must demonstrate maturity in research as recognized by the academic sector as well as by their peers in the art community. Supervisory committees in the program include artists, scholars and art world professionals so as to foster the best intellectual environment for meeting the program’s objectives.

Admission Requirements

MFA

PhD

Total MFA graduate enrolment is 18 to 20 students, 8 to 10 of whom are admitted each year. Those admitted to the program are a combination of recent graduates from university art departments or art colleges, and artists who wish to return to an academic milieu after a period of professional life. Graduates with an Honours degree in Visual Arts or its equivalent from a recognized University, normally with at least a B (second class) standing, may be considered for admission. Artists lacking the formal academic qualifications, but showing exceptional promise and accomplishment through their portfolio presentation, may be recommended for admission to the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the discretion of the selection committee.

As the York MFA program in Visual Arts is designed to assist artists in developing a critical understanding of their work and its relation
to contemporary culture, the selection committee is interested in applications that indicate thoughtful and well-defined personal direction as evident in both the portfolio and the written statement.

Application

The requirements for a complete application, submitted online, to the MFA Visual Arts program at York University are:
1) 20 images of recent work, with an information sheet corresponding to the works presented which gives the title, medium, size and date of each work. This sheet should also clarify whether/how the works are kinetic, installation, performative, computational, etc.
Video, film and electronic media may require a written synopsis for long works, and the role of the applicant in the production should be clear.
2) A written statement of intent (maximum 500 words) that includes a final paragraph on the applicant’s proposed studio research if
admitted to the program. This statement is a significant aspect of the application since applicants need to be able to express themselves in a coherent written form, and demonstrate an interest in contextualizing their personal research within contemporary critical debates on art.
3) Curriculum vitae.
4) Two academic letters of recommendation.
5) Academic transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended.

Application Package

Application is online. See Faculty of Graduate Studies website.
Note: All application material is submitted online. Please do not send anything by mail.

For any questions or inquiries, please consult the Visual Arts program website for contact information.

Selection Procedure

The applicant’s work and other documents are examined by two faculty members and one graduate student representing the studio area of the applicant’s primary choice. Frequently, additional faculty members from other studio areas examine the file at this stage. The files of those applicants with the highest recommendations are passed on for approval to the graduate executive (comprised of at least three faculty members, one elected graduate student and the Graduate Program Director of Visual Arts). The Graduate Program Director recommends admission to the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

A Master of Fine Arts with a minimum “B” average is required for application to this program, or an MA with studio concentration, as well as presentation of a portfolio of works and a qualifying research paper (MFA thesis paper or comparable peer-reviewed article). Selection committees to adjudicate the submissions are comprised of graduate faculty members.

Proficiency in written and spoken English is required.

The PhD in Visual Arts is a program of professionalization for advancing artists who already have a significant body of work. This term refers to their level of interest in and commitment to the development of research methods for exploring questions related to their practice. We are treating the visual arts as a broad field of study and practice that has various specializations within it. Students in the PhD program identify the specializations most pertinent to their work.

Application

The requirements for a complete application to the MFA Visual Arts program at York University are:
1) 20 images of recent work, with an information sheet corresponding to the works presented which gives the title, medium, size and date of each work. This sheet should also clarify whether/how the works are kinetic, installation, performative, computational, etc. Video, film and electronic media may require a written synopsis for long works, and the role of the applicant in the production should be clear.
2) A written statement of intent (200 to 500 words) that includes a final paragraph on the applicant’s proposed studio research if admitted to the program. This statement is a significant aspect of the application since applicants need to be able to express themselves in a coherent written form, and demonstrate an interest in contextualizing their personal research within contemporary critical debates on art.
3) Curriculum vitae.
4) Two academic letters of recommendation.
5) Academic transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended.

Application Package

Application is online. See Faculty of Graduate Studies website.
Note: All application material is submitted online. Please do not send anything by mail.

For any questions or inquiries, please consult the Visual Arts program website for contact information for the Graduate Program Director and the Graduate Program Assistant.

Degree Requirements

MFA

PhD

MFA

All first year students must successfully complete three three-credit courses in contemporary theory and criticism: Visual Arts 5600 3.0: Contemporary Theory in the Visual Arts in term one and Visual Arts 5610 3.0: Theoretical Issues in Contemporary Art in term two, and Visual Arts 6020 3.0: Contemporary Visual Arts Summer Institute in term three.

All first and second year students must complete: a combined PhD/MFA Graduate Seminar: Visual Arts 5620/5640 3.0 (the seminar
is taken twice, as 5620 3.0 in term one and 5640 3.0 in term four, pass/fail); and Visual Arts 5650 3.0: Methods in Practice-Based
Research in term two.

First year MFA students are assigned a two-person supervisory committee composed of two faculty members from the program. In the second year, MFA students in Visual Arts engage in independent studio research and work with a supervisory committee composed of two faculty members from the program who are most able to address the students’ research needs and goals, as well as an outside member. This second year committee supervises the preparation of the thesis exhibition and thesis support paper and acts as part of the committee for the final oral examination.

Students are given a private studio at York during the five terms of the degree.

To graduate, each student must present a final solo thesis exhibition or performance, which is supported and elaborated by a written paper. The written paper should be 20 to 50 pages in length. At a final oral examination, both the art work and the written statement are defended.

Once the oral is passed, the student is required to provide the graduate program with a copy of the written support paper.

The MFA program can be completed on a full-time basis. Entry is fall term.

The expected degree completion time for full-time master’s students is 5 terms. Students must register and pay fees for a minimum of the equivalent of 5 terms of full-time study. All requirements for a master’s degree must be fulfilled within 12 terms (4 years) of registration as a full-time or part-time master’s student in accordance with Faculty of Graduate Studies’ registration policies.

PhD

Candidates for the PhD degree must successfully complete the following requirements:

3.5 graduate courses (21 credits) to satisfy degree requirements.
A combined PhD/MFA seminar is taken during the first term (three credits pass/fail), Visual Arts 5620 3.0: Graduate Seminar. Students take Visual Arts 5650 3.0: Methods in Practice-based Research in the second term (three credits). Students are required to enroll in Visual Arts 6020 3.0: Contemporary Visual Arts Summer Institute in term three (three credits) and Visual Arts 6030 3.0: Contemporary Visual Arts Summer Institute in term six (three credits). 1.5 additional graduate courses are taken during the first six terms from any program in the university including other fine arts graduate programs (9 credits).

The annual Contemporary Visual Arts Summer Institute is a key facet of the program. It includes a two-week residency with prominent international artists and theorists, drawing on the Toronto and international art communities for distinguished guests to give public lectures and hold seminars. In this way, the PhD in Visual Arts program acts as a catalyst for the interplay between professional research and the innovative activities of professionals. It forms a network of professional relationships between Canadian and international researchers operating within and beyond fine arts university communities. Written work is required from students and comprises course credit for the Summer Institute.

In addition to the courses, the program requires: an oral comprehensive examination during the fifth term, a dissertation proposal submitted no later than the end of sixth term and a final dissertation exhibition and written paper completed preferably by the eleventh term (second term of PhD IV).

The oral comprehensive examination is comprised of a self-curated survey exhibition of the candidate’s previous work and a 20 page statement that positions the work in relation to contemporary theoretical considerations and art practices. The examination takes place at the exhibition venue. Questions relate both to the candidate’s work/statement and those of a more general nature arising from the Summer Institute. It is expected that this examination enables the student to reflect on the nature of their past work and to formulate the direction of their upcoming work that is detailed in their dissertation proposal.

The dissertation proposal is normally approximately fifteen pages in length as well as a bibliography. It outlines the nature of the proposed studio work; the theoretical /critical areas that inform it through a survey and précis of the pertinent texts; describes how these ideas integrate with the studio work; proposes a series of research questions that are examined in the final thesis; and confirms the venue for the upcoming dissertation exhibition.

Students must complete an individualized exhibition-based comprehensive examination. They must defend a dissertation that presents their research in the form of a significant solo exhibition, accompanied by a dissertation research support paper related to the exhibition.

To enable each student to assume the program of work from the time of their entry, a pro-tem supervisor is determined in relation to the research interests as well as the media focus that are expressed in the candidate’s application. The pro-tem supervisor guides the student in the formation of the supervisory committee. Each student is required to choose a two-person committee by the end of the second term, consisting of a supervisor and a second member who are both from the PhD program. A third committee member from the art world community, i.e., a curator, artist, or critic is selected by the end of the fifth term (second term of PhD II). They are a member of the oral comprehensive examination committee and continue as a member of the supervisory committee for the final two years of the program of study.

In years two to four of study, each candidate is given a private studio at York. In the first year, candidates are provided with office space. In addition, candidates with the necessary experience/training, have full access to all Department of Visual Art and Art History studio facilities (e.g., sculpture, print, photo, video) during their time in the PhD program. Students whose program of study extends beyond spring of PhD IV (term 11) are required to maintain an independent studio space off campus.

The PhD program can be completed on a full-time basis. Entry is fall term.

The PhD in Visual Arts is normally completed in a maximum of four years. Doctor of Philosophy students must register and pay fees for a minimum of the equivalent of six terms of full-time registration. All requirements for a doctoral degree must be fulfilled within 12 terms (4 years) of registration as a full-time or part-time doctoral student in accordance with Faculty of Graduate Studies’ registration policies.