Masters of Arts in Photography

College of Arts and Sciences

Program Overview

Barry's MA degree in Photography can help you develop your personal aesthetic. While in the program, you will work side-by-side with faculty members, whom are all recognized working artists.  The mentoring relationship in Independent Study courses closely resembles the real-life scenario which working artists/photographers face in the production of art.

In Barry’s MA program, you will take a minimum of 36 credit hours and a maximum of 48 credit hours. You may be able to complete your MA in as little as 3 semesters (9 credits per semester is considered full time).  The maximum length of time you can take to complete the MA is seven years, including a successful thesis exhibition.

Outline of the MA Curriculum:

  • Photography, Communication, and Art graduate courses: PHO, COM, ART (18)
  • Independent Study in Photography: PHO 559/659 (9)
  • Art History graduate courses: ART/PHO (6)
  • MA Grad. Thesis Exhibition: PHO 690 (3)

Total: 36 cr. Minimum or 48 cr. Maximum

Opportunity to pursue the MFA: If you as an MA student wish to pursue the more rigorous MFA, you will need to notify the Department, formally apply to the MFA program, submit a portfolio for committee review, and be officially accepted. If you are accepted, your coursework from the MA will transfer to the MFA. Since the coursework may be applied to only one degree, you must be accepted into the MFA prior to completing the MA degree.

Independent Studies

As part of the graduate photography curricula, you will be involved in directed independent study. In addition to fostering a mentoring relationship with the faculty, independent study most closely resembles the real-life scenario which working artists/photographers must face after graduation, in that you will be involved in independent production of art.

Program Standards

  • Full time study may not exceed 12 credits per semester.
  • Maximum length of time to complete the MFA degree is seven years, to include a successful written thesis and solo thesis exhibition.
  • Maximum length of time to complete the MA degree is seven years, to include a successful thesis exhibition.
  • Students wishing to change from the MA to the MFA program must notify the Department, formally apply, submit a portfolio for committee review, and be officially accepted.  Students changing from the MA program into the MFA must do so prior to receiving the MA degree. Coursework may be applied to only one degree.
  • Students wishing to change from the MFA to the MA program must give formal notice 3 months in advance and be formally approved.
  • Assessment of the MFA candidate’s creative and technical outcomes will be through faculty evaluation and approval of a substantial one-person thesis exhibition. The MA candidate will be similarly judged, but as part of a group exhibition.
  • MFA candidates should express their artistic intentions and philosophies in a written formal thesis.
  • If the graduate student’s work or performance is unsatisfactory, the University may remove the student from the graduate program.
  • Individuals with an undergraduate degree may take a maximum of nine graduate credits as non-degree-seeking students.

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