2016-2017 University Catalog
School of Art
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Art and Design Building, Room 2050
Phone: 703-993-8898
Web: http://soa.gmu.edu
Faculty
Peter Winant, Director
Professors: Carbonneau, Linton, White
Associate Professors: Constantine, Cooley, Crawford, Cui, Endress, Frenn, Karametou, Rothstein, Sheridan, Winant (director), Wrbican (associate director)
Assistant Professors: Debuque, Del Popolo, Starr
Research Faculty: Stanley
Adjunct Faculty: Benassi, Bisese, Booth, Bourke, Bradley, Brugnoli-Whipkey, Carr, Cushner, Desai, Dixon, Guerrieri, Hicks, Isham, Kass, Kenney, Loda, Mayhew, McCoy, McDermott, Petrine, Petzrick, Quinones, Rodriguez, Sawyer, Seawell, Watson, Yoder
Mission
George Mason University’s School of Art is a collaborative academic and professional community focused on advancing creativity through traditional and new media applied to varying social contexts. The School of art is founded on the premise that art both reflects and inspires a creative society, improving the human condition while describing the world, both as it is and could be. We focus on the role of artists in that conversation. We encourage students to see art both as an individual expression and public interaction. We celebrate historical reference, current relevance and experimentation-emphasizing innovative ways of thinking that enhance the impact of art on the future of society.
Embedded in a major liberal arts university rich in learning resources, the School of Art plays a vital role in the creative climate of the institution and the region through the cross-disciplinary research it facilitates and the artwork it produces and exhibits. The School’s facilities engage an exceptional faculty of practicing artists, an active visiting artist program, and a diverse and intellectually curious graduate and undergraduate student body. Artistic skills and principles of creative practice in all visual media are grounded in a forward-thinking, adaptive curriculum. Faculty and students forge cross-disciplinary experimentation, challenging conventional thinking and blurring the lines between traditional artistic disciplines, indeed, between the arts and other humanities and sciences.
The School of Art educates artists and creative professionals to be responsible contributors to society, preparing them to be agents of change in an increasingly connected, complex, inclusive world. We highly value rigor in conceptual approach, skill in art production, and imaginative methods for implementing projects and engaging audiences. Each student is given a background in aesthetic and analytical judgment, the ethical framework for professional practice, the confidence to be both self-reliant and collaborative, and the mastery of design and production necessary to thrive as a professional artist in a competitive global environment.
Courses
All School of Art courses are designated by the AVT prefix in the Courses section of this catalog.
Undergraduate Programs
Undergraduate studio degrees offered by the School of Art include the bachelor of arts (BA) and the bachelor of fine arts (BFA). An honors program enhances either degree for selected AVT majors. The school also offers undergraduate minors in art and visual technology, art and social change, graphic design, photography, and web design.
For students who are interested in a career in teaching art in the public schools, neither the BA nor the BFA program satisfies all requirements for those seeking licensure. Undergraduate students interested in this field are highly encouraged to consider the accelerated degree path for the master of art in teaching and should contact the school’s art education advisor to learn more about teacher preparation.
All George Mason University students are welcome to enroll in course work in the School of Art to fulfill Mason Core for requirements for the arts or to pursue minors. Consult the course listings for prerequisites and requirements.
Undergraduate Admission to the School of Art
Students are admitted to School of Art degree programs separately from their admission to George Mason University and only by portfolio review. The College of Visual and Performing Arts strongly encourages students to apply to the university by November 1 in order to receive maximum scholarship consideration, including merit and talent-based scholarships.
Applicants apply to George Mason University. Admission to George Mason is determined by the Admissions Office and is separate from admission to the School of Art degree programs. All School of Art applicants are encouraged to apply for admission to the university prior to submitting a portfolio for review.
Successfully complete a portfolio review. Please refer to the Portfolio Review Criteria at http://soa.gmu.edu
Artsbus Requirement
All AVT majors must meet the school’s requirement of travel to galleries and museums through the Artsbus program. Students meet this requirement by enrolling in AVT 300 - Artsbus Attendance . The procedure and requirements for enrollment in AVT 300 - Artsbus Attendance are the same as for any other class.
Freshmen who enroll as AVT majors must register for AVT 300 - Artsbus Attendance 5 times during their course of study. Transfer students and students who change their majors to AVT must register for AVT 300 - Artsbus Attendance for the equivalent of each semester they are enrolled at Mason, up to a maximum of five semesters. Semesters of enrollment in AVT 300 - Artsbus Attendance do not have to be consecutive. Students may take AVT 300 - Artsbus Attendance up to three times in a semester if they wish to accelerate their completion of the requirement although this is strongly discouraged.
All rules and requirements to AVT 300 - Artsbus Attendance participation are posted on the Artsbus web site: http://artsbus.gmu.edu. Students are responsible for being familiar with and following the posted rules and requirements for Artsbus. The site also provides pertinent information for each trip regarding exhibits as well as reviews and articles for exhibitions.
Visual Voices Requirement
All AVT majors must fulfill three credits of AVT 301 - Visual Voices Colloquium Credits: 1 in order to graduate unless they are enrolled at Mason for fewer than three semesters. If enrolled for less than three semesters, students are required to register for AVT 301 - Visual Voices Colloquium Credits: 1 each semester in which they are enrolled. Visual Voices is an intrinsic part of the major, offering students a chance to meet with and hear nationally and internationally recognized artists speak about their work.
Writing-Intensive Requirement
Mason requires all students to complete at least one course designated “writing intensive” in their majors at the 300 level or above. AVT students fulfill this requirement by successfully completing AVT 395 - Writing for Artists Credits: 3 .
Upper-Level Credits
All undergraduate students are required to complete a minimum of 45 credits of upper-division courses at the 300–499 level.
Major GPA
All School of Art BA and BFA majors, AVT minor, and Graphic Design minor students must earn a grade of C or better in required AVT coursework, including Studio Foundation, Critical Analysis and Contemporary Practice, Breadth and Experience, Synthesis and Concentrations. All School of Art undergraduate students must earn a minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA in their major. To graduate with a BA or BFA in Art and Visual Technology with a concentration in Graphic Design, students are required to maintain a 2.40 GPA in concentration classes. Students who fail to maintain this minimum may either retake core classes (an earned higher grade replaces the old one) or take concentration special topics classes in order to raise their average to the threshold. The effect of this change will be that very weak students will have to return to required classes to master core skills, and marginally weak students will be able to meet the requirement while expanding the breadth of their education.
Studios
The School of Art program is located in the Art and Design Building which houses well-equipped studios for drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture, as well as six computer-equipped studios that cross platforms and are installed with current software applications used for two-dimensional imaging, three-dimensional modeling, animation, video production, sound editing, multimedia authoring, photography, and web publishing.
Policies, procedures, and schedules for studio use are established by the AVT studio faculty and are posted in the studios.
School of Art Honors Program
Students interested in the Honors Program in School of Art should contact the director of the school. Both BA and BFA students are eligible to apply for admission to the program. Honors students must complete at least 4 credits AVT 394 - Honors Seminar Credits: 1 . They must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 and at least 3.50 in AVT 394 - Honors Seminar Credits: 1 and the AVT major.
Graduate Programs
The MA in Graphic Design offers students a comprehensive study and preparation for the graphic design profession. The program calls for 36 credits, which includes courses in typography, web design, image making, and brand design. The broad range of study is intended to develop professionals prepared for an ever-expanding graphic design field. This degree is the only MA in Graphic Design in the Capital region.
The Art Education Licensure Certificate is a post-baccalaureate program designed for those who currently hold a graduate degree in an art-related field along with those who want a more immediate entrance into the art teaching profession. This “licensure only’ program, which results in a pre K-12 art certification in the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a 21 credit program consisting of graduate education courses, area endorsements, student teaching internships and seminar. There is a MAT Graduate Degree option with an additional 9 graduate credits.
The Master of Arts in Teaching in Art Education is a preservice degree program that prepares students with a BFA degree or equivalent for pre K-12 art licensure by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Using a studio-based approach to art education and working closely with area public school systems, the MAT degree consists of 30 credits of graduate art education, school practicum experience, studio work, and preservice teaching internship and seminar.
MFA, Visual and Performing Arts
The School of Art offers two concentrations under the Master of Fine Arts, Visual and Performing Arts degree: Graphic Design and Visual Art. Applicants to the program must designate which concentration they intend to apply for on the application. Each concentration has its own unique set of admissions requirements and program requirements. For specific information, please refer to the Visual and Performing Arts, MFA entry.
The MFA is a terminal degree that prepares students to become professional artists, work in technology or arts-related fields, and teach at the university level. Candidates are required to complete 60 credits, of which 30 credits are made up from core requirements and 30 are made up of emphasis and studio requirements.
In the Visual Arts concentration, students may select an emphasis in new media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, or InterArts. The latter offers students the opportunity to combine art forms in interdisciplinary projects that may be installation, performance, publishing, time-based, or writing-based; and combine creative and critical approaches to their work.
While it is anticipated that students will move through the MFA as described in this catalog, individuals with extensive professional accomplishment may, upon recommendation of the SOA Graduate Committee and with prior approval of the CVPA dean, craft an individualized program within their intended emphasis that meets curricular requirements.
Accelerated Master’s Programs
The School of Art offers the following Accelerated Master’s programs:
Each program allows undergraduate students to take graduate classes that can be used towards a designated Master’s degree. Undergraduates who wish to pursue the accelerated Master’s route should talk to their academic advisor first to see if they qualify. Students must be within 75-90 credits of their Bachelor’s program to be eligible to apply; those who have earned more than 90 credits will not be considered. Students must be approved by their academic advisor and formally apply and be accepted to the Master’s program through an Accelerated Master’s application. For more information about admissions requirements and the application process, students should visit the cvpa.gmu.edu website.
Academic Policies
Please see College of Visual and Performing Arts academic policies.
ProgramsUndergraduate Degree(s)Bachelor’s Level Certificate(s)Undergraduate Minor(s)Bachelor’s/Accelerated Master’s Program(s)Master’s Degree(s)Master’s Level Certificate(s)
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