MFA in Visual Studies Program Mission
The MFA in Visual Studies, with an emphasis on the student’s original studio research, prepares students to
be leaders in Visual Art and Design. Through creative endeavor, inquiry, and investigation,
students in the MFA in Visual Studies program become skilled in producing effective
visual statements. In addition to their studio and technical capabilities they become
critical readers, writers, and thinkers. Through classroom experience and by professional
example, they inform the next generation of visual communicators by leading explorations
of and discussions about visual culture. In the MFA Visual Studies program students
have the opportunity to explore interdisciplinary approaches to art and design, and
are exposed to critical discourses relating to community, identity, public responsibility,
and humanity. As ambassadors of the Public Affairs mission of the University, they
graduate not just as educated citizens but as ethically-aware ones.