Integrated Visual Arts (MFA)

The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Integrated Visual Arts (IVA) graduate program is committed to the professional development of artists and arts innovators.

The IVA program offers unique opportunities for collaboration with diverse students and faculty from around the world in art and design programs that represent a wide spectrum of professional activities. This dynamic interdisciplinary environment within the College of Design allows IVA graduate students to develop a personal visual language, refine media skills and work on projects addressing social and environmental concerns within a global context.

The Master of Fine Arts in Integrated Visual Arts at Iowa State University is a distinctive and unique interdisciplinary program offering integrative study among a combination of the following areas: ceramics, computer applications, drawing, textiles, illustration, jewelry/metalsmithing, painting, printmaking, photography, furniture design and areas outside of Art & Design. The IVA program offers an innovative curriculum aligned with emerging art and design markets.

Upon completion of the graduate program IVA graduates are expected to:

• Have developed a fully realized creative direction which provides a platform for continued professional research and visual expression
• Have produced a body of work which demonstrates a high level of creative investigation and accomplishment
• Have acquired a professional level of technical proficiency in one or more media areas
• Effectively communicate their ideas verbally and in writing.
• Know the context, historical and current within which their creative pursuits exist.
• Have developed a well-formed and informed personal creative philosophy and a studio skill set, which provides a foundation to teach studio courses at the university level.
• Understand current ethical and social issues relevant to the visual arts.
• Use relevant theory in pursuing creative university level scholarship.
• An understanding of the structure and organization required for university level art instruction.

Degree Requirements

The Integrated Visual Arts program requires a 60-credit minimum.

Seminar in Teaching (Art 511)	3 credits
Studio Concentration	21 credits
Critique Seminar (ArtIS 571) 3 semester thematic rotation	9 credits
Art History/Theory/Criticism (Art 501 required)	12 credits
Related Courses (outside the IVA program including University Museums Internship)	9 credits
Thesis/Exhibition/Orals (Art 699)	6 credits
	________ 60 credits

Application Deadline

The deadline for graduate application to the IVA program for spring admission is November 1 and applications for fall are due January 15, to ensure consideration for a graduate assistantship. Applications received after this date will be considered for program admission, but applicants may have fewer assistantship options.

Contact

For more information on our graduate program in Integrated Visual Arts, please contact:
Melissa Stenstrom, Graduate Student Recruiter
Emily Morgan, Director of Graduate Education