Graduate Study in Art
General Information |
The Program |
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Enrollment |
Cost and Financial Aid |
Forms |
MFA Form Packet | MFA Info Sheets
General Information:
The University
The University of Kansas is located in the city of Lawrence, Kansas, (population 81,000) located 30 miles west of Kansas City. Lawrence, a city of historical significance, has a picturesque downtown, neighborhoods with beautiful older homes and a thriving art community. There is affordable and extensive off-campus housing within easy access to the University. The University also provides married student housing as well as apartment housing for graduate students.
The University of Kansas is a major research institution, with 28,000 students, 2,100 faculty and is noted for many nationally ranked academic programs. The University offers degrees in more than 100 major fields of study. The School of Fine Arts has nearly 1200 students in the Departments of Art, Design, Music and Dance. Approximately 50 Art and Design faculty teach approximately 900 undergraduates and 60 graduate students.
The Art Department
The Art Department has 18 full-time
faculty members. Their work reflects a wide scope of directions and attitudes that designates a contemporary approach to the visual arts. Students are encouraged to work with a variety of faculty within the departments, not just those in their designated area of specialization. The Art Department’s courses in printmaking, sculpture, painting, drawing and expanded media are taught in the 130,000 square foot Art and Design building. Mixed media, performance art, and installation art are regularly offered as part of a new concentration in expanded media. Full-time graduate students are provided with individual studio spaces. Graduate students also have access to a photography lab (traditional and digital), woodshop (including plastic forming and metal forming facilities), slide library, exhibition gallery and computer labs, (MAC and PC.)
KU Facilities
The Spencer Museum of Art, located on the University’s campus, features more than 24,000 works of art from all media. In addition to the permanent collection, the Museum annually features 12-15 special exhibitions. Located in the same building as the Spencer Museum of Art are the Art History Department and the Murphy Art and Architecture Library. The library contains 150,000 volumes and 600 current journals, documenting art, design and architecture from all cultures, dating from antiquity to the present.
Kansas City Art Venues
Thirty miles east of Lawrence, Kansas City offers all the resources of a major metropolitan area including many galleries, such as the
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and Design.
Exhibitions and Lectures
The Department of Art and other areas of the University regularly schedule visiting artist lectures and workshops that represent a wide range of philosophical viewpoints. A partial list of visiting lecturers in the past 10 years includes:
- Terry Allen
- Laurie Anderson
- Clayton Bailey
- Squeak Carnwath
- Robert Bechtle
- Phillip Bramson
- John Buck
- Sue Coe
- Deborah Butterfield
- Katherine Carter
- Robert Colescott
- Red Grooms
- Henry Geldzahler
- Nancy Graves
- Ann Hamilton
- Barbara Haskell
- Holly Hughes
- Fay Jones
- Sylvia Lark
- Edgar Heap-of-Birds
- Donald Lipski
- George McNeil
- Elizabeth Murrary
- Margo Humphrey
- Gladys Nillson
- Faith Ringold
- Ivan Karp
- Juane Quick-To See-Smith
- Renee Stout
- Duane Michaels
- Manuel Neri
- Ed Paschke
- Peter Saul
- Andreas Serrano
- James Surls
- Fred Wilson
