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Drawing
Painting
Sculpture
Artistic Anatomy
Printmaking
Composition and Design,
History of Technique
History of Art and
Visual Culture
DIPLOMA PROJECT
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COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Diploma Project
Overview
The Diploma Project is the Academy’s MFA thesis project. It is intended to showcase
the MFA candidate’s professionalism, mastery of skills and conceptual aptitude.
The Diploma Project aims to involve students in the professional
considerations of making artwork intended for exhibition. Each student is expected
to develop at least three related artworks or, in the case of sculpture, plans
and maquettes and a single finished piece. The Faculty Committee, in consultation
with the individual student, selects one piece for exhibition in the culminating
Diploma Project exhibition. The Diploma Project can be executed as a drawing,
print, painting or sculpture. It represents a synthesis of the various skills honed at
the Academy and the artist’s personal vision. Pieces to be considered for the
Diploma Project exhibition must be no greater than 5 feet in width unless written
permission is requested from and granted by the Faculty Committee.
Diploma Project Course Descriptions
Diploma Project I
I301
In this first semester of the Diploma Project, the emphasis is on developing
individual direction through exploration of ideas resulting in the execution of
artwork. These ideasmay first be outlined in maquettes, studies and compositional
plans that clarify, refine and consolidate the developing work. Photographs and
other material not hand-crafted by the artist may serve as valuable references but
do not qualify as gradable material in this context. The Diploma Project I works are
presented in-progress in one mid-semester critique and should show significant
development as coherent artworks for the end-of-semester critique.
3 credits.
Diploma Project II
I401
In this course, students continue building on the body of work and themes
addressed in Diploma Project I. In addition to completing paintings, drawings
or sculpture over the semester, students are required to refine their research paper
begun in the fall semester in Art and Culture II. (See paper description above.) At
midterm, both the developing artwork and the research paper must be presented
at a group critique. At this stage, a single work is selected by the Faculty Committee
for the final critique and public exhibition. In the case of a work that includes multiple
panels, the Faculty Committee may make an exception to the one-piece rule.
Students wishing to have another work considered by the Committee at a later date
must have the written permission of the primary advisor. The Committee’s selections
are final. The completed artwork and a half-page abstract of the research
paper are presented at a final group critique at the end of the semester. The
Diploma Exhibition follows. Participation in both the critiques and the exhibition
are required to graduate. Diploma Project I (I301) is a prerequisite for this course.
6 credits.
Supervision and Advisement
At the beginning of the third semester, students are assigned a primary Diploma
Project advisor in their area of concentration. The primary advisor is responsible
for tracking the progress of the student’s Diploma Project over the course of two
semesters and providing written evaluations and grades. To review progress on the
work and receive constructive feedback, students must sign up for a total of at least
8 advisement sessions each semester, with at least 4 of these being with the primary advisor. Students must have a Diploma Project advisement form, which documents
each session and is signed by the faculty member giving that particular advisement
session. The student returns this form to the primary advisor. All students are encouraged
to sign up for tutorials with all advising faculty to solicit a range of critical
viewpoints and constructive feedback. It is expected that these meetings will be
strategically scheduled by the student and advising faculty to take place at points
during the project’s development when such meetings will be most useful.
In addition to the systematic one-on-one support of advisement, each student is
provided with additional feedback through four group critique sessions. These
critiques are open to the entire Academy and take place at mid-semester and at the
end of the semester in both Diploma Project I and II. The mid-semester critiques
enable students to present their works in-progress, argue their case, and respond
to critical comment. The final critique solicits only responses to the completed
work and occurs after the final marking is complete.
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