Visual Art Admissions header

Graduate Study / Visual Art

General Information | The Program | Admissions | Enrollment | Cost and Financial Aid

General Information

The University

The University of Kansas is located in the city of Lawrence, Kansas, (population 81,000) located 30 miles west of Kansas City. Lawrence, a city of historical significance, has a picturesque downtown, neighborhoods with beautiful older homes and a thriving art community. There is affordable and extensive off-campus housing within easy access to the University. The University also provides married student housing as well as apartment housing for graduate students.

The University of Kansas is a major research institution, with 28,000 students, 2,100 faculty and is noted for many nationally ranked academic programs. The University offers degrees in more than 100 major fields of study. The School of Fine Arts has nearly 1200 students in the Departments of Art, Design, Music and Dance. Approximately 50 Art and Design faculty teach approximately 900 undergraduates and 60 graduate students.

KU Facilities

The Spencer Museum of Art, located on the University's campus, features more than 24,000 works of art from all media. In addition to the permanent collection, the Museum annually features 12-15 special exhibitions. Located in the same building as the Spencer Museum of Art are the Art History Department and the Murphy Art and Architecture Library. The library contains 150,000 volumes and 600 current journals, documenting art, design and architecture from all cultures, dating from antiquity to the present.

Kansas City Art Venues

Thirty miles east of Lawrence, Kansas City offers all the resources of a major metropolitan area including many galleries, such as the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and Design.

Exhibitions and Lectures

The Department of Art and other areas of the University regularly schedule visiting artist lectures and workshops that represent a wide range of philosophical viewpoints. A partial list of visiting lecturers in the past 10 years includes:

Terry Allen
Laurie Anderson
Clayton Bailey
Squeak Carnwath
Robert Bechtle
Phillip Bramson
John Buck
Sue Coe
Deborah Butterfield
Katherine Carter
Robert Colescott
Red Grooms
Henry Geldzahler
Nancy Graves
Ann Hamilton
Barbara Haskell
Holly Hughes
Fay Jones
Sylvia Lark
Edgar Heap-of-Birds
Donald Lipski
George McNeil
Elizabeth Murrary
Margo Humphrey
Gladys Nillson
Faith Ringold
Ivan Karp
Juane Quick-To See-Smith
Renee Stout
Duane Michaels
Manuel Neri
Ed Paschke
Peter Saul
Andreas Serrano
James Surls
Fred Wilson

The Program

The graduate program shall normally consist of 60 semester hours of graduate credit, including thesis credit, in courses approved during advisement by the Graduate Director or advisor. The program of study for a Master of Visual Arts degree in Art is an individualized studio program with relatively few required courses. It is essentially tutorial. Students balance participation in regularly scheduled classes with independent studio work done on an appointment basis with various faculty. A student may concentrate in one or more areas of specialization within the department. When the student has completed 24 credit hours, the faculty Selection and Review Committee will review the student's work. The Graduate Director will provide the student with a written assessment of progress that has been signed by all members of the committee. At the conclusion of the following semester of study, the same committee will conduct a thesis review that will determine whether the student is prepared to commence thesis work, take additional course work, or be dropped from the graduate program.

Once approved for thesis work, the student will select a Thesis Committee consisting of at least three members of the graduate art faculty. The committee will be responsible for advising the student, conducting regularly scheduled reviews of the work, and determining whether the requirements for the thesis have been successfully completed. The membership of the Thesis Committee must be approved by the Graduate Director.

The final departmental requirements to complete thesis are a general oral examination, an exhibition, and a thesis folio of the exhibition. The thesis folio shall include a statement written by the candidate concerning the work, which has been approved by the Thesis Committee, and a visual record of the exhibition. The department reserves the option of selecting and retaining one example of each graduate student's work. Upon enrolling, the student automatically accepts these requirements and conditions.

Admissions

A departmental faculty Selection and Review Committee will evaluate the transcripts and portfolios of applicants to determine their qualifications for admission. The committee will expect applicants to have a B.F.A. degree or equivalent experience in art.

The department encourages full-time residency during graduate studies. Students who live outside of the immediate Lawrence area will normally be admitted only as special students.

Undergraduate Background

Students whose major field is in the Department of Art are required to have undergraduate backgrounds that are judged by the Graduate Faculty of the department to be appropriate preparation for the specific areas of specialization selected for graduate study.

Areas of specialization are Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture, and Expanded Media (performance, installation and mixed media.).

The department encourages full-time residency during graduate studies. Students who live outside of the immediate Lawrence area will normally be admitted only as special students.

Degree Requirements

The graduate program shall normally consist of 60 semester hours of graduate credit, including thesis credit, in courses approved during advisement by the Graduate Director. The program of study for a Master of Fine Arts degree in Art is an individualized studio program with relatively few required courses. It is essentially tutorial. Students balance participation in regularly scheduled classes with independent studio work done on an appointment basis with various faculty. A student may concentrate in one or more areas of specialization within the department. When the student has completed 24 credit hours, the faculty Selection and Review Committee will review the student's work. The Graduate Director will provide the student with a written assessment of progress that has been signed by all members of the committee. At the conclusion of the following semester of study, the same committee will conduct a thesis review that will determine whether the student is prepared to commence thesis work, take additional course work, or be dropped from the graduate program.

How to Apply

Should you decide to apply for admission, we will need the following from you:

The completed Graduate School Application for Admission form. GRE scores are not required.
Two official copies of transcript(s) of all college and university records, sent directly from the institution to the Graduate Application Processing Center, Graduate School, The University of Kansas, 1450 Jayhawk Blvd., Room 300 Strong Hall, Lawrence, KS 66045-7535, Office Staffing, Attn: Visual Art Dept.
A minimum of three letters of recommendation from former or current instructors and/or those able to recommend you on the basis of professional design experience. The applicant must assume the responsibility for assuring that the Graduate Application Processing Center (at the above address) receives these letters.
A comprehensive 35mm slide portfolio of recent work. Include at least 12 and no more than 20 cardboard or plastic mounted color slides, 35mm only, sent in a 9" x 11" plastic slide file page. In the case of details of three-dimensional work, a few additional slides of different views may be included. Each slide should be labeled (in print or type) with name, media, dimensions and date. TOP of slide should be marked in appropriate place on slides. Each slide should be numbered. Tapes, films and photos may be submitted if pertinent to your intended direction.
A corresponding slide information sheet with your name, number of each corresponding slide, title, date, medium and dimensions (HxWxD).
A concise statement of purpose and the objective you hope to achieve through graduate study. Please specify your intended area of concentration(s), i.e. Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture, and Expanded Media (performance, installation, video, digital, and mixed media.)
A self-addressed return mailer, including return postage (otherwise the materials will not be returned.)
Application fee — Please make check payable to The University of Kansas. Application forms submitted without a fee will not be processed.

Please send ALL self-generated materials in one envelope.

Cost of Study

The Kansas Board of Regents establishes tuition and fees at the University of Kansas. For more information about tuition and fees, contact the Registrar's Office at the University of Kansas, or visit http://www.ku.edu/tuition. The University's tuition and fee amounts are subject to change and vary across campus and academic programs.

Financial Aid

A limited number of non-teaching stipends, teaching assistantships, and lab assistantships are available within the Department of Art. The Department of Art will determine the recipients of these positions based on each applicant's capabilities.

Non-Teaching Stipends

Department Scholarships may be awarded annually to incoming students who have been accepted into the M.F.A. program. These awards usually consist of an $8,000 stipend and are for students displaying exceptional promise in their creative work based upon submitted portfolio and application materials.

Enrolled students, who are making normal progress towards a degree, are eligible for similar scholarships as part of the annual Art department's scholarship review. Participation is based on nomination by a member of the faculty. Students are limited to a maximum of two scholarship awards.

The University of Kansas offers a number of University wide grants and fellowships for post-baccalaureate students. Criteria vary. Art department students are informed and encouraged to apply when appropriate.

Teaching Assistantships

The number of teaching assistantships varies according to departmental need. Selection is based primarily on the identification of those best qualified to provide a quality experience in the studio. A secondary consideration is to render financial assistance to those in need and a third consideration is to provide students with teaching experience.

Evaluation of graduate student qualifications for a teaching assistantship is based on the information furnished by the student applicant. This information includes past teaching experience and/or other related professional experience. The evaluation is made by the chairperson, graduate director, and appropriate advisory committees.

Generally, teaching assignments are made after a graduate student is in residence for one semester or preferably a year. Exceptions to this occur when the pool of experienced graduate students is depleted and the departmental need is greater than the pool. In this circumstance, newly admitted applicants are evaluated on the criteria listed above. The Department of Art firmly believes it is in the best interest of the graduate student to be acquainted with the department and its facilities and to begin successful graduate work before becoming a teaching assistant.

Students who receive teaching assistantships are on a 40% teaching appointment and receive a monthly stipend and a tuition fee waiver.

Lab Assistantships

Lab Assistantships may be awarded to qualified students in the following areas: wood and metals shops, exhibition gallery, sculpture, and painting and printmaking labs.

Application Form for Financial Assistance

Student Loans

Loans are available through the Office of Financial Aid.
For general information, osfa@ku.edu or 785.864.4700.
Written requests should be addressed to:

Office of Student Financial Aid
The University of Kansas
1450 Jayhawk Blvd
Strong Hall, Room 50
Lawrence, KS 66045-7535