On the MA in arts at Fuller
26 March 2009 7 Comments
Marc Shaw commented on an old post inquiring about MFAs at Christian colleges, and I thought his perspective worth it’s own entry:
I share your frustrations. I graduated with the first cohort in Fuller’s MA in Th. and Arts. Not quite as advertised. I am equipped to analyze culture and, to some extent art (but mostly as an “artifact of culture?”), but am by no means a more advanced writer. To my chagrin, SPU now has a highly regarded MFA, but in creative writing alone, I believe, which would have been right up my alley about $35,000 ago, and in some sense what I was looking for through Fuller, but never quite became a reality. Your best bet may be APU or a public university supplemented with a dedicated Christian artist community or even selected readings, through, say, an APU prof.
I think that MFAs are highly overrated. It is a thorn in my flesh, so to say, as I have no MFA (though I am on my way to an MA in humanities). It is often required to teach, but what about studio experience? I was an apprentice to a sculptor who worked on the National Cathedral much of his life. I ran my own studio for several years. And this counts for nothing?!?! Yes, it makes me very angry- grrrrrrrr- especially considering the drivel that goes on at MFA programs.
Btw, my BFF went to UDallas. She hasn’t painted since. It was a rather miserable experience for her. I don’t know how it differed from any other art program at a public university.
UDallas was one of the few sort-of options when I was looking back in 2000. It’s Catholic, IIRC, which I wasn’t too hep on back then. Anymore it wouldn’t bother me. Why hasn’t she painted exactly, since then? What irked her so much?
Discussion on this topic has had me browsing recently. Regent College, in Vancouver, BC, has Masters of Christian Studies with a concentration in Christianity and the Arts. http://www.regent-college.edu
Similarly, some universities offer MLA’s under the category of “interdisciplinary” that might be of interest. However, all seem to fall short of being a true MFA.
From what I know APU is the only MFA in studio art at an evangelical college. I know of Regent’s program. One of their graduates here: http://cosymakes.com/. I interviewed her for the blog here: http://theaestheticelevator.com/2007/03/13/interview-cosette-conelius-bates/
As far as I can tell, there is nothing particularly “Christian” or “Catholic” about the art department at UD. It’s the same stupid stuff that goes on in MFA programs all over the US. The program crushed her spirit. It’s Art School Confidential at the MFA level.
My memory might not have served me in that instance. There was some kind of university in Dallas that was Catholic and had an MFA . . .
UD is a Catholic school and some of their other programs are distinctly Christian, but not the art department.