Current Student Calendar

First Year

During the first year of your MFA studies, you will become acquainted with graduate student life, dive into your area of study, and do some experimenting.

At the end of the first year or at the end of the semester that you complete 18-21 credit hours, you must pass a qualifying review conducted by the entire faculty in the Department of Art & Design. The faculty members in your discipline evaluate first-year portfolios to determine whether or not you may continue in the MFA degree program.

Date/Time	Your To-Do List	Details	PDF
Mid-August	Welcome Orientations	For ALL first-year grads including TAs and non-TAs
Mid-January	Mandatory MFA Meeting	Topic: MFA Qualifying Review	MFA-FYR-Program-Review
End of March	Submit Materials for 1st Year Qualifying Review	Email to Grad Secretary: Statement of Intent, Resume, & Thumbnail Image List
Beginning of April	1st Year Qualifying Review Oral Presentation		ReviewForm.pdf
End of April	Form Graduate Committee		FORM-GRADUATE-COMMITTEE.pdf
Beginning of May	First Graduate Committee Meeting		1ST-GRAD-COMMITTEE-MEETING.pdf

Second Year

Your second year is filled with more discovery and collaboration. You work closely with your graduate committees to research, define, and develop the direction of your graduate work and to outline your academic plan of study.

Date/Time	Your To-Do List	Details	PDF
Mid-August	VPA Welcome & Mandatory MFA Meeting	Topic: Electronic Plan of Study
September	Second Graduate Committee Meeting		2ND-COMMITTEE-MEETING.pdf
October 1st	File DRAFT version of EPOS		Instructions for Electronic Plan of Study.pdf
November 1st	File FINAL version of EPOS		Instructions for Electronic Plan of Study.pdf
December	Third Graduate Committee Meeting	During Quiet Period or Finals Week	3RD-COMMITTEE-MEETING.pdf
January 31st	Schedule MFA Exhibition	See Gallery Coordinator	MFA Exhibitions
February 1st	Last Date to submit DRAFT of EPOS
February/March	Fourth Graduate Committee Meeting	Report on progress of work
March 1st	Last date to submit FINAL of EPOS
Mid-March	Thesis Workshop	Mandatory for formal thesis graduate students	Thesis Workshop Registration
April/May	Fifth Graduate Committee Meeting		5TH-COMMITTEE-MEETING.pdf

Third Year

Your third year of study focuses on research and production of your MFA exhibition and thesis/non-thesis written work. Upon completing your studies, you present a public gallery talk about your research.

Date/Time	Your To-do List	Details	PDF
Mid-August	VPA Welcome Meeting
August	Follow Graduate School Key Dates		Graduation Dates & Deadlines
September	Sixth Graduate Committee Meeting	Report on progress of work and writing
Mid-September	First Draft of written component due to committee chair		1ST-DRAFT-WRITTEN-NOTE.pdf
November	Seventh Graduate Committee Meeting	Report on progress of work and writing
December	Complete Mandatory MFA Graduation Candidate Form	Due by Friday of Quiet Period	Mandatory-MFA-Graduation-Cand-Form.pdf
Early January	Graduate School Deadline for receipt of FINAL EPOS for May Graduates		Graduation Dates & Deadlines
Mid-January	Mandatory MFA Meeting	Topics: Thesis Prep, Candidate Status, EPOS Corrections Exhibition Guidelines, Exit Checklist
End of January	Second Draft of written component due to committee chair
January/February	Eight Graduate Committee Meeting	Report on progress of work and writing
February 15th	Last Day to declare candidacy for May Graduation
Mid-March	Final Draft of written component to ENTIRE Graduate Committee
March/April	Notify Graduate Secretary of Oral Defense Date	Two Weeks before Exhibition	NON-THESIS-OPTION-NOTE.pdf THESIS-OPTION-NOTE.pdf
April	Oral Defense with ENTIRE Graduate Committee	Last week for exhibition is the week before dead week-second to last week of classes
April/May (Friday of Finals Week)	Deadline to deposit final MFA documentation	Images, written, component, keys, EXIT Checklist due to A&D Graduate Director	Exit-Checklist.pdf

Note for ALL Third Year Graduate Students:

Follow these MFA Exhibition Guidelines carefully to be sure to prepare and complete all aspects of your MFA Exhibition.

Other important deadlines can be found on the Graduate School Calendar.

Check the Graduate School Key Dates reference for a quick guide of deadlines.

Note for Non-Thesis Option Third Year Graduate Students:

Please see the MFA Non-Thesis Guidelines for details on completing the written component of your requirements.

Note for Formal Thesis Option Third Year Graduate Students:

The MFA Thesis Guidelines are outlined in this document. Please follow it closely.

Please be sure to register for one of the Mandatory Thesis Workshops in October or March if you have not attended one already. The Graduate Secretary can help you register.

Refer to the Deposit Requirements to make sure that you have met all of the thesis requirements.