60 Credit Hours
Application Deadline: January 13, 2012
ADVANCE
YOUR CREATIVE PRACTICE
Columbia College Chicago guides
aspiring fine art photographers through a stylistically diverse MFA
program in Photography that emphasizes aesthetic and conceptual
development alongside innovative photographic technique. Through
advanced coursework in graduate photography, MFA students will become
immersed in a curriculum grounded in art history and theory and invested
in the critical dialogue on contemporary photography. In three years of
focused study, students pursuing the MFA in Photography will develop a
sophisticated body of work, an understanding of the theoretical
perspectives that support that work, and the necessary tools of
professional practice as a photographer, accelerating their careers as
working artists.
this stylistically diverse program emphasizes aesthetic and conceptual development alongside innovative photographic technique
DEVELOP
A MATURE BODY OF WORK
At Columbia, graduate students are allowed the essential time required
to create a thoughtful, mature body of work. With three years to
incubate their ideas, develop their style, and advance their craft,
graduates of the MFA program in Photography emerge as confident artists
prepared to position themselves as professionals within the complex
landscape of contemporary art. The degree culminates in a thesis
exhibition at the College’s prestigious Glass Curtain Gallery.
students are supported in their studies by one of the most distinguished groups of teaching photographers in the countryDISTINGUISHED FACULTY and SOPHISTICATED FACILITIES
Students are supported in their studies by one of the most distinguished groups of teaching photographers in the country. Full time faculty, including Dawoud Bey, Kelli Connell, Paul D’Amato, Barbara Kasten and Bob Thall, bring passion for the medium and immense professional experience to the classroom. Students undertake coursework that includes intimate graduate seminars and independent projects to allow for deep engagement and personal interaction with their talented, practitioner-based faculty.
In addition to the guidance and support of their professors, students have access to extensive and advanced photographic facilities, including a digital imaging lab with more than 120 workstations, highly sophisticated scanning equipment, and an assortment of large-format printers. The department also has four fully staffed darkrooms, two photography studios, and an inventory of professional lighting and camera equipment.
the student experience is enriched by a Visiting Artist program that allows for meaningful interaction with internationally renowned practitioners
ENGAGE WITH THE FIELD
The student experience is enhanced by
the colorful backdrop of Chicago, a hub for contemporary art and
culture, and enriched
by a Visiting Artist program
that allows for meaningful interaction with
internationally renowned practitioners. Recent guest photographers
include: Tina Barney, Edward Burtynsky, Nan Goldin, Mary Ellen Mark,
Richard Misrach, Andres Serrano, Fazal Sheikh, Lorna Simpson,
Alec Soth and Larry Sultan. For fall
2010, the department welcomes Walead Beshty, Zwelethu Mthethwa and
Justine
Kurland.
The College is also home to the Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP). By presenting projects and exhibitions that embrace a wide range of contemporary aesthetics and technologies, the Museum strives to communicate the value and significance of photographic images as expressions of human thought, imagination, and creativity. Photography students at Columbia benefit from the MoCP as source of information and inspiration, as well as from the attention it draws from the national and international photo community.