College of Visual and Performing Arts

The College of Visual and Performing Arts is a dynamic arts college offering a Master of Art Education (MAE) degree and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree.

Master of Art Education
The MAE degree offers traditional and innovative opportunities for the professional art teacher in curriculum design, educational issues, and reflective practices. The MAE program is supervised by the Director of the MAE Program and has its own application process, program structure, and degree requirements toward the Post Baccalaureate Initial Licensure, Professional Licensure and graduation. The Post Baccalaureate Initial Licensure and Professional Licensure course work provides multiple experiences in visual arts education by integrating individual studio practice, scholarly research, and ongoing participation in the K-12 classroom environment.

Master of Fine Arts
The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth offers three Master of Fine Arts degree programs: Artisanry, Fine Arts, and Visual Design. These programs are separate, but share similar admission policies, program structures, and degree requirements. The MFA Graduate Program Director and the Graduate Committee oversee all MFA and degree programs and graduate student progress toward the degree. The Master of Fine Arts is generally regarded as the highest degree offered in the visual arts, and qualifies the graduate for professional work in the disciplines available through our curriculum. Careers as studio artists devoted to the expression of personal concepts, as teachers at the university level, or as a commercial artists and designers whose work is market-based and client-driven, are all possible outcomes of graduate study in the visual arts. There are also numerous allied career paths, such as curatorial practice, arts administration, art direction, and publishing, which benefit from the level of accomplishment which the Master of Fine Arts degree affords. The College of Visual and Performing Arts supports the philosophy that significant achievement in the visual arts is the product of inspired conception, critical dialogue, individualized attention to students, and maturing skill. Our state of the art facilities offer the arena for challenging explorations and the level of creative innovation which is expected of committed graduate students.