Call for Applications: 2021 MFA Programs at the School of Creative Arts, University of Windsor

The University of Windsor offers two Master of Fine Art programs in the School of Creative Arts. The Film and Media Arts program and the Visual Arts program provide graduate students with a supportive environment that enables the development of creative research projects in art, media, or film. Windsor’s School of Creative Arts has one of the longest running MFA programs in Canada, founded in 1979. Specializing in creative research, SoCA (School of Creative Arts) has developed two dynamic MFA programs that prioritize small class sizes, access to workshops and master classes offered by visiting artists, filmmakers, media artists and curators. These programs are distinguished by their focus on intensive graduate supervision facilitated through strong connections between faculty and students, spacious facilities, and openness to working across media platforms. As of 2017 the School of Creative Arts moved into our new downtown location at the former Armouries, an award-winning heritage site with accessible state-of-the-art facilities. Since March 2020 we have successfully run our MFA program online during the COVID-19 Pandemic. For the 2021 academic year we will continue to offer remote and low residency options for incoming MFA students.

Visual Arts MFA candidate Jules Pietras, Red Canoe (2020)

The MASTER OF FINE ARTS IN VISUAL ARTS is a two-year program geared towards creative exploration, experimentation, and the development of a sustainable artistic practice. Students have access to large, private studio spaces, fabrication labs (analogue, digital and biological for print and 3-D media) as well as exhibition spaces on site. We encourage interdisciplinary approaches to studio and ‘post-studio’ practices that enable students to experiment with a variety of approaches to making art in the contemporary world. Faculty supervise across disciplines and media, specializing in conventional genres such as photography, sculpture and painting as well as intermedia practices that include interactivity, sonic arts, visual culture, social practice, critical craft practices and Bio Art. SoCA faculty regularly exhibit and publish across Canada and internationally.

Film and Media Arts MFA graduate, Anushray Singh, Where is Home? (2020) film still

The MASTER OF FINE ARTS IN FILM & MEDIA ARTS offers an innovative program spanning all film genres, including fiction, experimental, and documentary forms, with an emphasis on traditional documentary forms for theatrical, broadcast, and streaming platforms, as well as emerging and expanded documentary, including interactive, installation, and live performance models. Instruction includes explorations of theory, history, and the craft of filmmaking, as well as documentary as a vehicle for engaged citizenship and research-creation. Students work in a tight-knit and collaborative environment with small classes dedicated to their development as moving image storytellers. The program is a full-time, two-year, five-term program. Faculty in the MFA in Film & Media Arts have expertise in fiction shorts and features, experimental cinema, as well as observational and cinéma-vérité approaches to traditional documentary, including, ‘i-doc’ models that push the boundaries of emerging interactive and participatory forms. Faculty work has been exhibited at festivals, galleries, and museums, and broadcast across North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

THE UNIVERSITY OF WINDSOR is a diverse and inclusive comprehensive university in Windsor, Ontario on the Canada-U.S. border across from Detroit, Michigan. Our campus sits on the traditional territory of the Three Fires Confederacy comprised of the Ojibway, the Odawa and the Potawatomi.

FUNDING and FINANCIAL SUPPORT: Students accepted into either MFA program receive between $15000 – $38000 CDN in financial support over two years. All MFA students are guaranteed a two-year Graduate Assistantship and qualified applicants will be considered for one of four Research Associate positions listed below. Additionally, students applying with an 80% GPA qualify for the University of Windsor Graduate Scholarship which covers tuition for the duration of the program. Our MFA students also have a strong track record of success with SSHRC and Ontario Graduate Scholarship competitions.

Please indicate on your application if you are interested in applying for an MFA Research Associate position. For 2021 we are seeking targeted applications for Research Associates in the following research areas: 1. interactive documentary; 2. critical craft practices; 3. bio art and environmental practices; 4. new genres of public art. Please note Research Associate positions are granted based on portfolio and statement rather than GPA.

Application deadline for funded positions: January 15, 2021

Questions? Please contact Dr. Lee Rodney, Graduate Chair, School of Creative Arts (lrodney@uwindsor.ca) or Dr. Jennifer Willet, Director of INCUBATOR art lab and Canada Research Chair in Art, Science and Ecology: https://incubatorartlab.com/

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Apply here: https://www.uwindsor.ca/mfa/

University of Windsor
School of Creative Arts (SoCA)
Armouries Building
37 University Ave. E.
Windsor, ON, Canada
N9A 1E4
519.253.3000 Ext. 2829