TYLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Learn more about the Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture.

About the Program

The Sculpture program at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture is a two-year, 60-credit program leading to the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree. It offers personal mentorship from faculty and visionary visiting artists in state-of-the-art facilities and encourages experimentation with media, interdisciplinary projects and public art to ignite social change.

Tyler Sculpture represents a small, supportive cohort of dynamic artists. The program’s intensive, exploratory approach to sculpture, including material-based, film and video, sound, performance, large-scale architectural installation and time-based media, offers students exciting opportunities for collaboration and discourse with Tyler’s entire faculty and MFA community, as well as access to all of Tyler’s specialized shops.

Located in Philadelphia, an affordable city close to New York, Tyler offers MFA students opportunities to immerse themselves in a vibrant contemporary art scene and urban landscape at the intersection of art and social practice. It is an ideal home base for students to creatively address real-world problems and directly impact communities. A Tyler Sculpture MFA degree prepares graduates to be practicing artists and educators at colleges and universities.

Time Limit for Degree Completion: 4 years

Campus Location: Main

Full-Time/Part-Time Status: Full-time status is required.

Interdisciplinary Study: Tyler Sculpture’s rigorous curriculum emphasizes mentorship, interdisciplinary study, experimentation and research to enrich practice and create theoretical, philosophical and concrete links between art and society. Through Art History classes, electives and seminars, students are engaged in emerging topics in the field and the broader art world.

Study Abroad: Tyler MFA students may pursue study abroad opportunities at Temple’s Japan Campus and Temple University Rome to expand their studies in a global context.

Accreditation: This degree program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).

Areas of Specialization: Courses provide a framework to develop individual creative practices and professional goals within a community of peers. The faculty to student ratio of two full-time Sculpture professors to eight graduate students provides a supportive learning environment, while encouraging a spirit of friendly competition. The professors are actively exhibiting artists with differing aesthetics and are able to provide mentorship in a range of areas within sculptural practice. Graduate students are selected to represent a diversity of sculptural approaches.

Job Prospects: The MFA program prepares graduates for careers as professional artists and educators.

Non-Matriculated Student Policy: MFA courses are restricted to matriculated students.

Financing Opportunities: In addition to federal student aid, teaching assistantships and fellowships are available on a competitive basis to support Tyler MFA students.

Admission Requirements and Deadlines

Application Deadline:

Fall: January 6

Applications are evaluated together after the deadline date.

APPLY ONLINE to this graduate program.

Letters of Reference:
Number Required: 3

From Whom: Letters of recommendation should be obtained from college/university faculty members, gallery directors and/or curators familiar with the applicant's academic competence and abilities in the professional visual arts. The letters should be submitted with the application at https://apply.temple.edu/Tyler/, along with the statement of goals and resume.

Coursework Required for Admission Consideration: 40 undergraduate studio credits and 12 art history credits are required.

Bachelor's Degree in Discipline/Related Discipline: A baccalaureate degree and a documented portfolio of sculptural work are required. A wide range of media/disciplines may be appropriate, including IE-traditional and mixed sculptural media, performance, installation and time/sound-based media. Official transcripts from all universities/colleges attended, whether or not a degree was awarded, must be sent to the Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Graduate Admissions Office, 2001 N. 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122-6016.

Statement of Goals: In approximately 500 to 1,000 words, share your interest in Tyler's program, research goals and philosophy of work, future career goals, and academic and artistic achievements.

Standardized Test Scores:
Applicants who earned their baccalaureate degree from an institution where the language of instruction was other than English, with the exception of those who subsequently earned a master’s degree at a U.S. institution, must report scores for a standardized test of English that meet these minimums:

• TOEFL iBT: 79
• IELTS Academic: 6.5
• PTE Academic: 53

Portfolio: As a Master of Fine Arts applicant, you must submit a portfolio that consists of 20 images representative of the immediate direction of your work. Portfolios are to be uploaded at https://temple.slideroom.com, as instructed at the website. SlideRoom requires an additional fee for this service. Original work, slides, CD-ROMs, catalogs, photographs, books and/or binders are not acceptable substitutes for the SlideRoom portfolio and will not be reviewed or returned.

Resume: Current resume required.

Transfer Credit: Upon approval of the appropriate department chairperson and the Vice Dean, up to 9 credits of graduate work may be transferred into the MFA program as Art History or Studio electives. Only credits received within five years of the transfer request are eligible. No decisions are made concerning transfer credits until students have successfully completed 15 matriculated credits at Tyler. The maximum number of credits a student may transfer is 9.

Program Requirements

General Program Requirements:
Number of Credits Required to Earn the Degree: 60

Required Courses:

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
Project and Seminar Courses
ART 8004	Critique and Critical Discourse I (2 terms)	6
ART 8005	Critique and Critical Discourse II (2 terms)	6
ART 8883	Graduate Projects: Sculpture I (4 terms) 1	12
ART 9991	Directed Studio Practice (3 terms)	9
Art History Courses 2		9
Electives 3		15
Culminating Course
ART 9995	Master of Fine Arts Thesis	3
Total Credit Hours		60

¹

Courses are sequenced to be taken in the Fall and Spring terms. The sequence is repeated a second year for a total of four courses taken over four terms.

²

Students select three courses in Art History at the 5000 level or higher. Of these, ARTH 8402 Introduction to Critical Thinking and Practice is required, as is one Art History Seminar. Students may choose from the full range of graduate ARTH offerings for their third course.

³

Students must earn 3 credits in a studio elective and 3 credits in a professional practice experience course. Professional practice courses are offered in a range of fields such as Arts Management, Community Arts, and Teaching in Higher Education. The professional practice requirement may also be fulfilled by other courses with the approval of the Graduate Director. For the remaining 9 credits of electives, students complete coursework within the Tyler School of Art and Architecture. Students may enroll in courses in other Temple University schools and colleges, provided that coursework complements a particular research interest and has been preapproved by their advisor​ and the Graduate Director.

Culminating Events:
Thesis Exhibition:
An approved thesis exhibition, with a written statement of working philosophy and slide and/or CD portfolio, is required at the final review in order to meet the MFA requirements. The thesis exhibition should be the fruit of the two years' studio research and practice in which the student engaged. The student defends their thesis exhibition to the review committee. The committee then evaluates the exhibition as pass with distinction, pass or fail.

Contacts

Department Contacts: