Intermedia (Video, Performance and Electronic Arts) (MFA)
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Why pursue a Master of Fine Arts in Intermedia (Video, Performance and Electronic Arts)?
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.
In this concentration you will find a venue for diverse practices including performance art, installation, video and electronic art. Integrating theory and practice from diverse sources – including the Humanities, Sciences and Creative Arts – you will develop your practice beyond a singular discipline as you engage with social, political, ecological and gender-based issues. The diversity of student interests and artistic practices results in this concentration’s interdisciplinary atmosphere.
The three-year, full-time Intermedia (Video, Performance and Electronic Arts) concentration is grounded both historically and intellectually in interdisciplinary art practices, primarily video, performance and electronic arts. MFA students in this concentration integrate theory and practices from the humanities, sciences and creative arts to produce work based on social, political, ecological, gender-based and other issues. Students are inspired by the plurality of subject matter and methodologies to think critically while conducting research that enables them to locate their own artistic expression within the larger context of contemporary culture.
Theory and studio seminars provide an important forum for students to discuss and investigate issues and concerns. Review committees composed of faculty, studio arts graduates and invited artist-critics provide a focused response to studio work and prepare students for their concluding exhibition and defense.
Read more: why do your master's at Concordia.
Program details
Academic Regulations
- Academic Standing. Students are expected to complete all courses credited toward the master’s/magisteriate degree with a grade of B or better.
- C Rule. Under certain conditions one C grade in a course may be permitted. Students should consult the graduate program director for further elaboration.
- F Rule. Students who receive a failing grade in the course of their studies will be withdrawn from the program. Students may apply for re-admission. Students who receive another failing grade after re-admission will be withdrawn from the program and will not be considered for re-admission.
- Time Limit. All work for a master’s/magisteriate degree for full-time students must be completed within 12 terms (4 years) from the time of initial registration in the program at Concordia University.
- Graduation Requirement. In order to graduate, students must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00.
Admission Requirements. 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.
Application process
For application instructions, including directions for your letter of intent and what to include in your portfolio, please visit our how to apply section.
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The MFA in Studio Arts is composed of discipline-specific studio classes and academic seminars in art criticism, history and theory, which are augmented by workshops, visiting artist lectures and special projects.
Core studio projects form the backbone of the program, offering an opportunity for rigorous disciplinary investigation and a forum to debate issues relevant to the student’s personal practice. Core classes meet weekly during the first two years of the program under the supervision of faculty who are engaged in a diverse range of studio art practices and research activities.
At the end of each term students present their work to a review committee composed of faculty, invited artists, curators and critics.
Practice-led inquiry is contextualized by critical seminars that provide an interdisciplinary conceptual framework for the development of ideas in relation to creative practice. Seminar topics vary regularly to reflect the shifting nature of contemporary art and culture.
Past seminar topics include Living Art: Actions, Interventions, Performance; The Cinematic; Reading Around Deleuze; Quebec Independent Cinema; The Roots of Contemporary Art; Contemporary Art and Aesthetic Judgment; Video Performance-The Body as Site in Video Art; Thinking Through Sound; Art, Place and Public Space and Artist as Researcher.
- Consult the graduate calendar for a complete list of current courses.
- See the MFA program breakdown
While Concordia offers among the most affordable tuition fees in North America, we recognize the financial burden graduate studies can place on students. Along with the available bursaries and awards listed below, you may have the opportunity to work as a paid assistant to some of the leading artist researchers within our faculty. You also may be eligible for other support not specific to Studio Arts.
State-of-the-art Intermedia facilities are located on the 9th floor of the visual arts tower in the EV building. Our facilities include a:
- Equipment and video depot
- Production studio
- Editing suites
- Hybrid lab
- Electronics lab and individual studios
Read more about our Intermedia (Video, Performance and Electronic Arts) facilities
Key resources
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Contact us
Studio Arts MFA Office
Maureen Kennedy, MFA Program Assistant
514-848-2424 ext. 4607
Fax: 514-848-4532
mfa.studioarts@concordia.ca
