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Conference
The Conference is a one-on-one meeting between a student and a member of the faculty. It is the heart of the student's activity and the fundamental means of instruction; the Conference dialogue is where teaching occurs. During each session, the student meets frequently with faculty within his or her chosen discipline and at least once with most of the artists on the faculty in other disciplines. These Conferences provide ideas for development and steer the student toward aesthetic goals; through these discussions, the student can relate immediate discoveries to achievements and problems within the chosen discipline and throughout the arts.
The student prepares work for the Conference. Writers are expected to submit samples of their work to faculty members prior to the Conference; students in other disciplines may prefer to display works in progress in their studio or at another location.
Five credits are awarded each session for work successfully completed in the Conference.
Caucus
In the weekly Caucus, faculty and students within a discrete discipline meet to discuss topics of interest. At the beginning of the summer session, each discipline considers the form and content of the Caucus, offering an opportunity for students and faculty to determine together a desired activity or interchange within a structured format. The Caucus is also an occasion for each discipline to host visiting artists, read and discuss relevant articles, view faculty work, critique student work, and share information with others practicing in the field.
Seminar
In the Seminar, students explore intersections of aesthetic, intellectual, and societal issues that confront all artists. Seminar groups are assigned at the start of each summer session and are made up of 15 to 20 members, including a cross-section of students, faculty, and distinguished visiting artists. Seminar groups meet midway through the program to discuss topics drawn from a series of assigned readings, presentations by visiting artists, and student interests and concerns. The groups meet again during the final two weeks of the program to critique summer work by second-year students.
Four credits are awarded each session for adequate participation in the Seminar and Caucus.
Presentation
The Conference, Caucus, and Seminar prepare the student for the widest form of participatory endeavor, the Presentation, or "crit." These are full-community forums in which student work is presented publicly and commented on by the M.F.A. faculty and student body. Presentations show that questions of theory, genre, medium, and tradition in one art form may apply to others as well. Readings, exhibitions, film screenings, and musical performances are daily activities that draw the attendance and response of all students and faculty.
In the Presentation, a painter will comment on a poet's imagery, a composer on a film, a sculptor on a musical composition. By creating a shared vocabulary that combines the knowledge of multiple fields of expertise, artists are given the opportunity to understand their work from the perspective of other disciplines and to broaden their view, not only of their own work, but also of all artistic practice.
Four credits are awarded each session for mounting a Presentation and participating in the Presentations of others.
Independent Study
In the winters following a student's first and second summers, he or she completes an Independent Study project. The Independent Study generally consists of a body of work that reflects the concerns generated in the previous summer session. The student must submit an Independent Study proposal to the faculty in his or her discipline at the completion of the summer; upon approval, the student undertakes the project during the fall, winter, and spring months and presents it to the M.F.A. community the following summer. Students in their second summer present their Independent Study work to a private panel of three faculty members for review; students in their third summer present their work in a public Presentation ("crit"). Independent Study projects are completed off campus. Students normally do not consult with faculty during the Independent Study; however, faculty may ask to review a student's progress during this period.
6.5 credits are awarded for successful completion of each Independent Study.
Master's Project
During a student's final summer session, he or she presents a Master's Project: a substantial body of completed work representing artistic activity over the span of the program. The project may be a collection of poems; an extended experimental text; a performance; an exhibition of painting, sculpture, and/or installation; a completed film or series of films; a photographic essay or exhibition; or it may take some other form. Specific plans for the Master's Project must be discussed with and approved by the faculty before work begins.
The Master's Project is submitted toward the end of the student's last summer in residence, and a presentation for the greater community is an integral part of it. Students may either present their work as part of the annual Thesis Exhibition, or they may perform or screen pieces in a separate evening presentation. The project is evaluated at two levels; the faculty recommends the project for presentation, and the Master's Project Review Board examines the presentation in detail.
Eight credits are awarded for the project if it is recommended by the faculty for presentation and accepted by the Master's Project Review Board. The board's judgment is reviewed by the Graduate Committee.
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