In Focus: The MFA Review: East Tennessee State University

©Tema Stauffer, Faculty

Each installment of In Focus: The MFA Review highlights a unique MFA program for photographic artists, providing readers a concise overview of its identification, curriculum, school, pupil expertise, monetary assist, and post-graduation outcomes. It additionally serves as a showcase of the artistic work produced by school, college students, and alumni. Rather than functioning as rankings or endorsements, these options are meant as sensible beginning factors—instruments to assist potential college students evaluate applications, determine what issues most to them, and make extra knowledgeable selections about their graduate schooling. While sure particulars shared in these articles could change over time, my hope is that these program snapshots provide a transparent sense of what every represents within the current second.

Thank you to Tema Stauffer for finishing this interview and compiling all the photographs/assets!

Institution title: East Tennessee State University

Degree Title: MFA in Studio Art

Location: Johnson City, TN

Link to Program Page: 

Link to Application Page: 

©Tema Stauffer, Faculty

Tell us somewhat about your program. How would you outline its scope and goal?

We provide a three-year (60 credit score) program in studio artwork and have educating alternatives after the primary yr.  Areas of focus embrace Ceramics, Drawing, Graphic Design, Jewelry & Metals, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, and Sculpture. Students work with a school advisor of their major medium for 3 years and full a thesis exhibition and thesis paper in the course of the ultimate semester of their third yr.

©Tema Stauffer, Faculty

What would you say makes your program particular?

Our location makes our program particular for a number of causes. The college is positioned in Johnson City, Tennessee on the fringe of the Blue Ridge Mountains, so college students who’re fascinated about exploring the pure and socio-economic panorama of southeastern Appalachia are completely positioned to {photograph} the area.  For instance, one in every of our alums, Meg Roussos, who accomplished her MFA in 2019, got here to ETSU from the West Coast partly due to its proximity to the Appalachian Trail. Roussos makes use of the panorama, each within the Southeast and the West, as her backdrop and strolling as the muse to discover numerous experiences within the panorama from the extremely private to the social and technological. Hannah Taylor, who additionally did her undergraduate research at ETSU, grew up close by and produced a gorgeous thesis exhibition, Blue-Collar Backroads, from a two-year exploration of identification, reminiscence, and place by way of driving rural backroads within the area. Recent graduate Craig Bradley Owens centered on former coal cities positioned in southwestern Virginia, whereas one in every of our present MFA college students, William Arrowood, is specializing in the follow of planting and crowing crops, foraging, harvesting, and preserving meals by way of his mission, Heirloom.

Johnson City can be one hour from Asheville, with its many cultural facilities and bigger arts neighborhood, and just some hours from Charlotte and Atlanta. Students can entry each rural and concrete environments simply. We provide a small program the place college students work in graduate studio areas on campus and commonly work together with each other and their school advisors.

Among the best belongings of the Department of Art & Design are our exhibition venues, together with the Slocumb Galleries in our artwork constructing, Ball Hall. We even have a stunning new exhibition area known as the Tipton-Ashe Gallery close to campus and near downtown Johnson City. And now we have an exquisite museum on campus, the Reece Museum, which reveals some pupil and school work, together with solo and group reveals by regional and nationwide artists.

©Tema Stauffer, Faculty

What specialised amenities can be found for pupil use (i.e. darkroom, lighting studio, print lab)?

We have a digital lab with 18 iMac Computers and two Epson Stylus Pro 3880 picture printers. Our Visual Resource Center is supplied with three large-format Epson printers and ample workspace to make giant prints. Graduate college students have entry to a Hasselbald Imacon Flextight X5 movie scanner and an Epson Expression 12000XL flatbed scanner. We present DSLRs, 4x5in movie cameras, and studio lighting kits for college students to borrow.

Is your program strictly photography-focused, or does it encourage/permit interdisciplinary work?

Our MFA is in studio artwork, so college students fascinated about pictures would select it as an space of focus. Our program extremely encourages interdisciplinary work. Our MFA college students take courses outdoors of their focus as nicely and get to know all our professors by way of courses outdoors of their space of focus and a graduate critique in November with your entire division.

©Tema Stauffer, Faculty

Do you focus on a specific space (i.e. documentary, experimental, environmental work)? And as soon as in this system, is a pupil capable of shift their focus if their artistic pursuits change?

Given that photographer Mike Smith taught at ETSU for 35 years, and I’ve taught right here for 8 years, I think about that our pictures space is related to pictures centered on the social panorama throughout the documentary custom. But college students are free to discover media, approaches, and strategies and take programs in numerous areas of curiosity throughout their first yr. They are inspired to deal with work for his or her thesis exhibition by the second yr.

How structured is the curriculum? Are there required programs, or is it extra self-directed?

Students might want to obtain 60 credit in three years. Nine of these credit are designated for Art History programs. Forty-two credit shall be in graduate studio programs. Students are required to take Methods of Research within the spring of their first or second yr. Graduate Elective Courses inside or outdoors the division might be taken with approval from the Graduate Coordinator, who will add these programs to their program of research.

©Tema Stauffer, Faculty

Does this system incorporate video work or rising media reminiscent of AI, VR/AR, or 3D/360 imaging?

The Department of Art & Design provides programs in Digital Material Studies, together with 3D imaging. While there aren’t any programs supplied in video in our division, college students can and have included video items of their thesis exhibitions. Students may also take elective programs within the Media & Communication and Digital Media departments.

Does this system provide profession growth assist, reminiscent of portfolio critiques, workshop/convention attendance, or networking alternatives?

The Department of Art & Design hosts a bi-annual  Iterations Conference, which is a two-day workshop collection that engages college students with skilled artwork and design practitioners. 

©William Arrowood, Current Student

What are key commencement necessities (exhibition, thesis paper, portfolio, and so on.)?

Students should full 60 credit and full a thesis exhibition accompanied by a thesis paper. Students give an oral protection of their exhibition to a thesis committee led by their advisor.

©William Arrowood, Current Student

Who are your present school members? What are their areas of artistic curiosity?

Mathew Wheeler (Ceramics), Katie Reis (Foundations), Kelly Porter (Graphic Design), Johnathon Strube (Graphic Design), Mindy Herrin (Jewelry & Metals), Mira Gerard (Painting), Tema Stauffer (Photography), Sage Perrott (Printmaking), and Travis Graves (Sculpture). We even have two professors of Art History, Dr. Michael Fowler and Dr. Yi Liu. Our division chair is Dr. Tao Huang, who holds a Ph. D. in structure and design analysis from Virginia Tech University. “I come into a department with so many brilliant minds. Our faculty, staff and students constantly fascinate me with their bold ideas and grand ambitions,” mentioned Huang in a latest article. “I am here first and foremost to serve them, to help them realize their career and education goals. I am also looking outwards for more collaborations with other units in the university and beyond by developing more interdisciplinary programs and projects.”

Are school members primarily full-time or adjunct?

All the college members simply talked about are full-time, however there are a number of adjuncts educating undergraduate courses.

©William Arrowood, Current Student

How concerned are school in mentoring college students past coursework?

Our graduate college students work with a graduate advisor of their space, who supervises their analysis and educating and helps put together them for his or her thesis exhibitions. This mentorship includes frequent conferences on-line or in individual.

How usually do visitor artists, curators, or critics go to for lectures and/or critiques?

Our division usually hosts at the least one, if no more, go to by a visitor artist every semester. For instance, this semester, photographer and Professor of Art at Vanderbilt University, Vesna Pavolić, attended a reception for her Woven Wind mission exhibited at our Slocumb Galleries in September and returned to talk to 2 courses, in addition to to supply studio visits to MFA college students in October.

©William Arrowood, Current Student

How many college students are admitted every year, and what number of are pictures centered?

We usually have three or 4 incoming college students every year; at the least one is pictures centered.

What is the approximate cohort measurement, and what impact does this have on critiques, collaboration, and networking?

The cohort measurement is round ten college students – typically roughly. We are fascinated about rising the MFA program as a lot as doable throughout the capability that our amenities and Graduate Assistantships can accommodate.

What sort of work are present college students creating?

The work produced in our MFA program is so various, from conventional to experimental within the numerous media that I discussed beforehand.

©Brad Owens, Alum

What is the entire price of this system (and length), and what funding choices can be found? Are there educating assistantships, and what number of tuition do they cowl?

Costs are outlined on our web site at: Graduate Cost of Attendance. Most of our MFA college students are supplied Graduate Assistantships. Students awarded a Graduate Assistantship may have their full tuition lined (together with out-of-state tuition) and can obtain a small stipend of $7,000 for the varsity yr. GAs are anticipated to work 20 hours per week for the division as part of their funding bundle. Students are usually assigned to work with a number of school members. Typical duties embrace aiding with classroom administration, grading checks and assignments, main research teams. GAs might also be requested to help in performing analysis, or in performing administrative capabilities.

Are further grants/assets accessible to assist pupil initiatives?

Graduate college students can apply for ETSU grants at Graduate Student Awards.

©Brad Owens, Alum

What sorts of careers to alumni pursue, and the way does this system assist college students after commencement?

Our alumni are artists, educators, graphic designers, set designers, curators, and writers, amongst different professions. Some train at excessive colleges and others at faculties and universities across the nation.

How related is the alumni community, and do graduates keep concerned with this system?

How related the alumni community is will depend on how a lot former college students take the initiative to remain in contact with their professors and friends. I’m nonetheless in touch with many of the college students with whom I labored within the MFA program. Most former college students are additionally related to the ETSU neighborhood by way of social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

©Brad Owens, Alum

©Meg Roussos, Alum

©Bradley Marshall, Alum