Areas of Study

Graphic Design

The graphic design program focuses on the development of a cohesive, investigative body of work, also known as the student’s thesis. At Yale, the graphic design thesis is conceived as a loose framework within which each student’s visual method is deployed across many diverse projects during the two-year course of study. While every thesis project is unique, there are several common features: a focus on methodology, the application of a visual method to studio work, and the organization of the work in a thoughtfully argued written document and a “Thesis Book.”

The individual collection of graphic design work by each student is supported on several levels simultaneously: studio work led by faculty meeting weekly; small six-person thesis groups meeting biweekly; individual sessions with writing and editing tutors; and lectures, presentations, and workshops.

Although the School of Art provides digital lab facilities, all graphic design students are expected to have their own personal computer. Each student has a designated work space in the design studio loft and has access to equipment including bookbinding materials, wide-format printers, a RISO duplicator, Vandercook letterpress, and work spaces in the School of Art buildings. More resources supporting interdisciplinary projects including motion capture and VR are available at the nearby Center for Collaborative Arts and Media. In addition, students draw on the extraordinary resources of Yale University courses, conferences, films, lectures, and museums, and especially the extensive research and rare book collections of Sterling, Haas, and Beinecke libraries.

Each year, up to twelve students are admitted into the two-year graphic design program, and up to seven students are admitted into the preliminary-year program. Two-year-program students are expected to have substantial and distinguished experience in visual studies and related professional experience. Students applying to the preliminary-year program typically have relevant experience in a field of study outside design and demonstrate evidence of visual acuity. After successful completion of the preliminary year, these students automatically continue on in the two-year M.F.A. program.

Credit Requirements

42 credits in area of concentration, including ART 949a, and 18 additional credits, including a minimum of 6 academic credits in courses outside the School of Art.

Typical Plan of Study

Preliminary Year, Minimum Credits

Course Fall-Term Credits Spring-Term Credits
Total Credits 15 15
ART 710, Preliminary Studio 6 6
ART 264a and 265b 3 3
ART 370a and 369b 3 3
ART 468a and 469b 3 3

First Year, Minimum Credits

Course Fall-Term Credits Spring-Term Credits
Total Credits 15 15
ART 720, Graduate Studio 6 6
Graphic Design Sequence 3 3
ART 949a, Critical Practice 3 0
Academic or Studio Electives 3 6

Second Year, Minimum Credits

Course Fall-Term Credits Spring-Term Credits
Total Credits 15 15
ART 730, Graduate Studio 6 6
ART 739, Degree Presentation in Graphic Design 3 3
Graphic Design Sequence 0 3
Academic or Studio Electives 6 3

Painting/Printmaking

Instruction in the program is rooted in the investigation of painting as a unique genre with its own complex syntax and history. Within this setting, the program encourages diversity of practice and interpretation, innovation, and experimentation.

Approximately twenty-one students are admitted each year. At the core of instruction are individual and group critiques with faculty, visiting critics, and visiting artists. In addition, students participate in a variety of seminars taught by faculty members. The study of printmaking is integrated into the painting program, and a student may concentrate in painting, printmaking, or a combination of the two.

Students work in individual 300-square-foot studios at 353 Crown Street adjacent to Green Hall. Students have access to a printmaking workshop in the Crown Street building, equipped with two etching presses and a lithography press, a fully equipped silkscreen facility, as well as digital resources available in the print studio, throughout the School, and at the Center for Collaborative Arts and Media.

Credit Requirements

42 credits in area of concentration, including ART 949a, and 18 additional credits, including a minimum of 6 academic credits in courses outside the School of Art.

Typical Plan of Study

First Year, Minimum Credits

Course Fall-Term Credits Spring-Term Credits
Total Credits 15 15
ART 545, Individual Criticism 6 6
ART 510, Pit Crit 3 3
ART 546a, Round Trip 3 0
ART 949a, Critical Practice 3 0
Academic or Studio Electives 0 6

Second Year, Minimum Credits

Course Fall-Term Credits Spring-Term Credits
Total Credits 15 15
ART 545, Individual Criticism 6 6
ART 510, Pit Crit 3 3
ART 577, Thesis Workshop 1.5 0
Academic or Studio Electives 4.5 6

Photography

Photography is a two-year program of study admitting ten students a year. Darkroom, studio, and computer facilities are provided. Students receive technical instruction in black-and-white and color photography as well as nonsilver processes and digital image production.

The program is committed to a broad definition of photography as a lens-based medium open to a variety of expressive means. Students work both individually and in groups with faculty and visiting artists. In addition, a critique panel composed of faculty and other artists or critics meets weekly, as well as for a final review each term, to discuss student work.

Credit Requirements

42 credits in area of concentration, including ART 949a, and 18 additional credits, including a minimum of 6 academic credits in courses outside the School of Art.

Typical Plan of Study

First Year, Minimum Credits

Course Fall-Term Credits Spring-Term Credits
Total Credits 15 15
ART 845, Individual Criticism 6 6
ART 828, Issues in Contemporary Photography 3 3
ART 802b, Between Frames 0 3
ART 949a, Critical Practice 3 0
Academic or Studio Electives 3 3

Second Year, Minimum Credits

Course Fall-Term Credits Spring-Term Credits
Total Credits 15 15
ART 845, Individual Criticism 6 6
ART 823a, Critical Perspectives 3 0
ART 825b, Photo Book 0 3
Academic or Studio Electives 6 6

Sculpture

The sculpture program offers students the opportunity to develop their work in a supportive environment consisting of critical feedback in a broad array of diverse voices. The field of sculpture includes a varied collection of working methods and outcomes—one set of tools is not privileged over another—creating a healthy and experimental program that mirrors the issues facing artists outside of the institution. Students work independently in individual studio spaces and have access to common areas for the critique of their work. 36 Edgewood houses the sculpture program and has a woodworking shop, a metal shop, and a computer lab, while additional resources are offered by the School of Art and the University at large. No metal-casting or ceramic facilities are available.

The main focus of this program is to facilitate the development of conversation and constructive critique among students and faculty. Our aim is to articulate student work vis-à-vis its own trajectory and in relation to art history and the current moment. This conversation is formally structured to take place one-on-one between students and faculty, in small groups, and within a larger group involving the whole sculpture department.

Approximately ten students are admitted each year.

Credit Requirements

42 credits in area of concentration, including ART 949a, and 18 additional credits, including a minimum of 6 academic credits in courses outside the School of Art.

Typical Plan of Study

First Year, Minimum Credits

Course Fall-Term Credits Spring-Term Credits
Total Credits 15 15
ART 645, Individual Criticism 6 6
ART 630, Studio Seminar 3 3
Sculpture Elective 0 3
ART 949a, Critical Practice 3 0
Academic or Studio Electives 3 3

Second Year, Minimum Credits

Course Fall-Term Credits Spring-Term Credits
Total Credits 15 15
ART 645, Individual Criticism 6 6
ART 630, Studio Seminar 3 3
Academic or Studio Electives 6 6

Lecture Program

Each department has its own visitors program in which professionals from outside the School are invited to lecture or take part in critiques. There is also an all-school lecture program in which ideas of general and cross-disciplinary importance are explored by visiting artists and members of the faculty.

Exhibitions

The School of Art’s galleries in Green Hall and EIK at 32 Edgewood Avenue provide a year-round forum for the exhibition of work by students, faculty, and special guests in the four graduate departments of the School and the undergraduate program. Green Gallery is open to the public daily from 12 noon to 6 p.m. when exhibitions are scheduled. EIK is open during limited hours for specific exhibitions and events. Information: 203.432.2605.