Sculpture and Ceramics (MFA)
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Why pursue a Master of Fine Arts in 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.
This integrated and challenging program acknowledges individual, traditional, discipline-based work and histories while recognizing the potential for interdisciplinary production that includes:
- Autonomous objects
- Ready-mades
- Digital media
- Kinetics
- Performance
- Collaboration
The explosion of three dimensional works and situations in current art practices presents a staggering list of possible materials, methods and means, which activate unlimited contexts for presentation.
Normally completed in three years, 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.
Read more: why do your master's at Concordia.
Program details
Academic Regulations
- Academic Standing. Please refer to the Academic Standing section of the Calendar for a detailed review of the Academic Regulations.
- Residence. The minimum residence requirement is 5 terms of full-time study. It should be noted that one of these terms is a summer session. Following the residency, candidates will prepare for their Studio Project and Exhibition or Film Project (see 4 below).
- Time Limit. Please refer to the Academic Regulation page for further details regarding the Time Limit requirements.
- Graduation Requirement. In order to graduate, students must have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.70.
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.
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; Making Writing; You Better Work: Deskilling/Reskilling.
- 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.
Sculpture students have access to technical areas in two separate buildings. Along with access to the Core Technical Centres in the EV Building, there is a smaller wood shop, metals area/foundry, and mould-making facilities in the VA building. Experienced and skilled technical staff are available by appointment to support students in realizing their artistic projects.
Graduate students work in well-ventilated, individual studio spaces located on the 4th floor of the VA building.
Find more information about the VA workshops.
Key resources
Join the conversation
Contact us
Studio Arts MFA Office
Maureen Kennedy, MFA Program Assistant
514-848-2424 ext. 4607
Fax: 514-848-4532
mfa.studioarts@concordia.ca
