Art
Dive headfirst into the creative practice that drives you. This program gives you a studio, access to world-class facilities, and the mentorship, teaching, and professional opportunities you need to succeed.
Art Program Overview
This three-year Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program in art is built for ambitious makers, risk-takers and visionaries. At ECU, you’ll push your practice to the highest professional level while working in a vibrant community of artists and designers. From day one, you’ll immerse yourself in intensive creative research, fueled by 24/7 access to the expansive 142,000-square-foot Jenkins Fine Arts Center. Whether you’re pouring metal in the foundry, using the laser cutter in the Shape Lab, working in ceramics, photography or printmaking, or pushing pixels in computer labs, you’ll have the tools and the freedom to turn bold ideas into reality.
Our MFA isn’t just about production — it’s about growth. You’ll work closely with graduate faculty through an ongoing cycle of critique and feedback that sharpens your vision, strengthens your ideas, and pushes your work further than you imagined. This continuous assessment is designed to inspire — not restrict — your progress, ensuring you leave with a strong body of work, as well as with the clarity and confidence to speak powerfully about your practice and chart your professional future.
ECU Advantage
Why ECU? Because you’ll get the intensity and prestige of a top-tier MFA at a fraction of the cost. You’ll have guaranteed studio space, nationally recognized faculty, and facilities that rival the most expensive programs in the country. You’ll also step into the classroom as an instructor of record, gaining real-world teaching experience that makes you competitive for university-level positions.
And when you graduate? You’ll join a network of alumni who are making waves across the art and design world — as award-winning artists and designers, gallery owners, curators, museum professionals, educators and art leaders. ECU's MFA isn’t just a degree. It’s a launchpad — for a creative career, for leadership in the arts, and for a lifetime of making work that matters.
What You Will Study
Note: The MFA Ceramics Concentration is no longer accepting students into the DE/Hybrid Option. Please see the program coordinator if you have questions.
Program Coordinator: Angela Wells (2000 Jenkins Fine Arts Center; 252-737-4639; wellsa@ecu.edu)
The Art, MFA is the professional terminal degree in studio art that prepares candidates for advanced practice in studio art as well as teaching in higher education. The MFA is an interdisciplinary program enabling students to build and expand upon existing knowledge while exploring, working, and making connections across a broad array of disciplines, tools, and technologies. Students can select coursework in art history, ceramics, glass, graphic design, metal design, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, textile design, and other areas to support their educational goals.
MFA students work independently in dedicated studios, with the guidance of faculty mentors as well as studio visits from a range of faculty. Group critique coursework is the core of the curriculum where first- and second-year students share work, engage in lively discussion, and address challenging topics in the visual arts. The curriculum includes a sequence of graduate seminars focused on practice and research in visual art, career pathways and professional skills, thesis preparation and writing, and art and design pedagogy. The program culminates in a solo thesis exhibition exhibited on campus or in the community.
The MFA is a three-year or equivalent degree (60 s.h.). Students receive assessments of progress annually. The preferred undergraduate degree for admission to the MFA is a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in art. Applicants holding other bachelor's degrees may apply if they have undergraduate studio art experience and/or an exemplary portfolio and statement of objectives.
Admissions decisions are based on the applicant's statement of objectives, portfolio, academic records, references, and virtual interview. Applicants must demonstrate the ability to conduct independent creative work and a desire to work within an interdisciplinary creative setting. Students interested in applying for the MFA degree must identify two to three potential faculty mentors with whom they would like to study. Applicants' statement of objectives must discuss the applicant's current work, purpose, and intention for MFA studies, and identify two to three School of Art and Design graduate faculty with whom they wish to work. Applicants are encouraged to reach out to graduate faculty to introduce themselves and learn more about the program. The application portfolio requirements are listed on the SoAD MFA website [application portfolio information]. Virtual interviews are scheduled after all the applicant's materials have been submitted. The MFA degree does not require standardized test scores to apply.
The minimum degree requirement is 60 s.h. as follows:
Core Requirements:
1. Studio Studies Shared Core - 18 s.h.
- ART 6981 - Contextualizing Practice and Research I
- ART 6982 - Integrating Practice and Research I
- ART 6983 - Contextualizing Practice and Research II
- ART 6984 - Integrating Practice and Research II
- ART 6987 - Career Pathways in Art and Design
- ART 6990 - Art and Design Pedagogy
2. Academic Studies - 15 s.h.
- Select 6 s.h. of
- ART 6002 - Proseminar
- ART 6988 - Pre-Thesis Research
- ART 6989 - Research Writing
3. Art Studio Studies - 15 s.h.
- Select 15 s.h. of any art and design (ART) 6000-level courses including Problems in "Discipline-Based Topic".
4. Elective Studies - 6 s.h.
- Select 6 s.h. of any 6000-level courses specific to thesis research including art and design (ART).
5. Thesis - 6 s.h.
A creative thesis, a written report of the thesis, and a successful defense of the thesis are required.
- ART 7000 - Thesis
Comprehensive Assessment Requirement
All ECU graduate programs require a comprehensive assessment. The assessment requirement for this degree is a creative thesis, written report, and defense.
For more information about this degree visit the university's academic catalogs.
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