Priority Application Deadline: January 15, 2024
Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX
Website: https://www.shsu.edu/academics/art/degrees/mfa-art-social-practice.html
The Art & Social Practice MFA Program at Sam Houston State University welcomes applications for entry in August 2024. The 3-year MFA program supports artist and cultural producers who wish to explore the social role of art and engage with interdisciplinary, collaborative, process-based, and community-based strategies. The curriculum is designed to position students in leadership roles across mediums and disciplines and create artistic, conceptual, and educational projects with community partners. The SHSU Center for Community Engagement assists students with forging community partnerships. The program also prepares students to teach in higher education and offers Graduate Assistantships and Graduate Teaching Assistantships to qualified students who apply by January 2024.
Visiting Artists
The program hosts a social practice artist-in-residence to engage students and communities. The Spring 2023 Social Practice AIR was Mark Menjívar. National and international professional artists and curators are also invited to lecture and conduct studio visits with MFA students. Past visiting artists have included Jon Rubin (Carnegie Mellon), Tanja Peterson (RedBud Art Center), Ashley DeHoyos (DiverseWorks), and Rachel Adams (Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts). Students also visit and engage with nonprofit art organizations in the area including Project Row Houses, Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, and Galveston Artist Residency.
Core faculty in the Art & Social Practice MFA program: Rebecca Finley (Department Chair), Jody Wood (Coordinator), Lucas Murgida, Jess Simorte, Melissa Mednicov, and Michael Henderson. Students also have opportunities to work with other Department of Art faculty in studio art, photography, animation, education, and graphic design.
Application
Scholarships are available from the University, the College of Arts and Media, and the Department of Art. Out of state and international students may be eligible for in state tuition. The Assistantships and Scholarships offered offset the cost of tuition and make SHSU’s MFA in Art & Social Practice an affordable program. The priority deadline to be considered for competitive funding is January 15, 2024. We welcome applicants with a BFA in any art media, or a BA in another discipline if the applicant demonstrates a track record of interdisciplinary creative research. For more information on the program, available scholarships, and how to apply online, visit https://www.shsu.edu/academics/art/degrees/mfa-art-social-practice.html. Or contact Jody Wood, [email protected] with questions.