Studio Arts, Sculpture and Ceramics (MFA)
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Offered by:Department of Studio Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts
Why pursue a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts, Sculpture and Ceramics?
The MFA in Studio Arts is a professional terminal degree. The MFA Program appeals to practicing artists who wish to refine personal content and forms through critical inquiry. Alumni are recognized as multidisciplinary artist-researchers working at the vanguard of their respective practices.
The three-year, full-time Sculpture and Ceramics concentration champions an intensive, studio-based approach to learning and research. The concentration supports multiple venues for student research. These include installation, performance, autonomous objects, new media and kinetics. Students also experiment with three-dimensional works and spatial references that offer seemingly limitless possibilities in terms of materials, methods and means of production and presentation.
The MFA Program values the importance of critical inquiry and relies heavily on intellectual exchange. Traditional and innovative approaches are discussed through lively debate surrounding art and culture. Theory and studio seminars provide an important forum for students to investigate other issues and concerns.
At the end of each term, students formally present their studio work to a review committee composed of faculty, studio arts graduates and invited artist-critics. Committee members provide a focused response to this work and prepare students for their concluding exhibition and defense.
Concordia’s Faculty of Fine Arts has alongstanding international reputation for excellence. Its vibrant creative and intellectual culture fosters cutting-edge practice, research and scholarship.
The MFA in Studio Arts is a disciplinary program positioned within a pluralist theoretical framework. During the first two years of the program, students combine seminar courses with independent, supervised studio practice. Seminars focus on thematic and special topics. Theoretical concepts are introduced to provide a philosophical context to the historical, social and cultural ramifications of sculpture and ceramics and the position they occupy within contemporary art practices. Students integrate this knowledge as they explore the intersections of interdisciplinary work and pursue their artistic development. Studio practice emphasizes technical investigation and experimentation.
The third and fourth years of the MFA program are devoted to studio practice and production. Students prepare an advanced body of work and present a concluding solo exhibition and defence.
The MFA program offers alternative learning approaches to standard studio classes and academic offerings to exceptional students. Opportunities include:
Students have access to state-of-the-art facilities equipped with:
- Brightly lit, well-ventilated, individual studio spaces
- Common assembly spaces
- Wood and metal shops
- Mould-making area
- Model shop with rapid prototyping and 3D scanning
- Spacious facilities for presentation of work in progress
- Ceramics studios with kilns and glazing rooms
Faculty members and graduate students have pioneered new processes, creative communities and diverse prototypes. Innovation and interdisciplinarity in artistic practice and presentation lie at the heart of its teaching and research programs. Like other Fine Arts departments, Studio Arts offers a rigorous, stimulating and supportive learning environment.
Studio arts programs emphasize experimentation, collaboration and diversity. They value critical inquiry and the investigation of social, cultural and intellectual issues. Students interact regularly with faculty in their area of concentration and also with faculty in film production and other fine arts disciplines whose expertise and research interests may be of particular benefit to them.
The department has two research chairs:
- Concordia University Research Chair in Interactive Design and Games Innovation
- Concordia University Research Chair in Relational Art and Philosophy
The Faculty’s art, design and performance laboratories are modern, well-equipped facilities run by experienced technical staff. Graduate students also have access to four research centres.
The MFA program has two sites within the VA Building for the exhibition and dissemination of graduate work. On the main floor, the MFA Gallery hosts thesis and other exhibitions presented by the students of the program in all media. The downstairs gallery allows for experimentation and making public research or works in progress. In addition, the Faculty of Fine Arts Gallery (FOFA Gallery) in the EV Building and the Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery in the Library Building regularly exhibit the work of MFA students.
At the end of each term, students formally present their studio work to a review committees composed of faculty, studio arts graduates and invited artist-critics. Committee members provide a focused response to this work and prepare students for their concluding exhibition and defence. Jocelyne Aumont, René Blouin, France Choinière, Pierre Dorion, Ann Thomas, Gaétane Verna and Jin Me Yoon have served as guest critics.
MFA graduates work as professional sculptors and ceramists or assume roles associated with contemporary art practice and scholarship, including teaching at the post-secondary level and curating.
Concordia is located in the heart of Montreal and MFA students benefit from easy access to museums, galleries and the city’s vibrant artistic community.
Program Details
A Bachelor of Fine Arts or a Bachelor of Arts with a Fine Arts or Fine Arts and Art History major, or an approved equivalent, from a recognized institution and with at least a B average in the major area is required. Applicants to the Film Production concentration are expected to have a Bachelor of Fine Arts or Bachelor of Arts degree in cinema or an approved equivalent with at least a B average in the major area. In all cases the students’ undergraduate experience and proficiency must be relevant to the area in which they plan to specialize at the graduate level.
Note: Students with a BFA from Concordia University must wait two (2) years before being considered for admission into the MFA program.
Proficiency in English. Applicants whose primary language is not English must demonstrate that their knowledge of English is sufficient to pursue graduate studies in their chosen field. Please refer to the Graduate Admission page for further information on the Language Proficiency requirements and exemptions.
- Credits. A fully-qualified candidate is required to complete a minimum of 60 credits.
- Courses. Candidates for the degree are normally required to complete a minimum of 24 credits in their studio concentration and 3 credits of DISP 615 Directed Studio Practice; 21 credits from ASEM 620, 641, 642, 643, 644, 645, 646, 651, 652, 653, 654, INTP 660, 661, 662, INDS 670, 671, 672; 9 credits in PROJ 691 Studio Project and 3 credits in PROJ 692 Exhibition or Film Project.
- Studio Project and Exhibition or Film Project. In the third or fourth year and no less than six (6) months following the successful completion of the second year of course work, students may present their studio project and complete the exhibition or film project. Approval by both the student’s advisor and the graduate program director is required prior to the examination. Students are also required to submit documentation of their exhibition or film project to be kept on file in the office of the graduate program director.
Please apply online and see the how-to-guide for application procedures. Visit the department website for application and portfolio requirements.
| DEGREE |
FALL (September) |
WINTER (January) |
SUMMER (May/June) |
| Sculpture and Ceramics | MFA | Jan. 20 | n/a | n/a |
- Sculpture I-IV
- Directed Studio Practice
- Studio Project
- Exhibition
Consult the graduate calendar for a complete list of current courses.
A limited number of Teaching Assistantships are automatically assigned to registered students in the 1st and 2nd year of study.
A limited number of undergraduate courses are taught by graduate students in their third year of study. These positions are awarded on a competitive basis.
Employment opportunities also exist as Research Assistants in the Faculty’s research centres.
