Call for Applications: 2023 Graduate Programs in Art + Visual Culture at Western University

Artlab Gallery, Western University, Together We Average As Zero, Museum Studies Exhibition, Feb 27 – Mar 14, 2020, organized by Prof. Kirsty Robertson

Call for Applications: MA, MFA, and PhD in Art + Visual Culture at Western University

The Department of Visual Arts at Western University offers three degrees: Doctorate (PhD), Master’s of Fine Arts (MFA), and Master’s in Art History and Curatorial Studies (MA). Each program combines an emphasis on theory and research methods with traditional instruction and supervision in studio arts and art history. Students work in small seminar courses to develop their research.

The MFA in Visual Art offers training in contemporary visual art and prepares its graduates for professional careers as artists and curators, as well as for advanced training at the PhD level and a range of careers in galleries, museums, and other art world contexts. The MFA program combines an emphasis on research methods with instruction in the studio arts. The small seminar courses are an excellent environment for students to develop their research and studio practice while offering opportunities for exchange and collaboration with other MFAs, Mas, and PhD students.

MFA students in the program will have the opportunity to travel to art exhibitions and study collections in local and regional galleries as sources of information and artistic inspiration. In the past, students have connected with professionals from highly respected art institutions, such as the McIntosh Gallery, Museum London, and the Art Gallery of Ontario.

The MA in Art History and Curatorial Studies is a one-year program. This MA is a research-intensive degree offering training in the histories and theories of art and visual culture. It prepares graduates for advanced study in the field, as well as for careers in museums, galleries, and other areas of the arts.

The Ph.D. in Art and Visual Culture at the University of Western Ontario is an innovative program focused on research in art history and visual culture and creative practices in contemporary art and new media. The program accepted its first students in the fall of 2007 and saw its first cohort of graduates successfully complete their degrees four years later, in the summer of 2011. The program prepares its graduates for professional careers in galleries, museums and other art world contexts; for university teaching and research, and arts administration in the private and public sectors. This unique doctoral program emphasizes the interrelationship between art historical/visual culture scholarship and studio practice by fostering academic and creative research beside and in connection with each other. The Ph.D. in Art and Visual Culture is housed within the John Labatt Visual Arts Centre at Western, where a vital mix of research and practice in art and visual culture and an enriching program of visiting artists, critics and historians already exist. The Ph.D. program supports students at an advanced level in Art History, Curatorial Practice, and Studio. We welcome students whose research crosses areas and more traditional researchers and practitioners whose work will benefit from development within a lively research and creation culture. This doctoral program has produced graduates who pursue innovative approaches to studying historical and contemporary materials and creative production within the art and academic worlds.

Application Deadlines
All applications are due January 15, 2023 and must be submitted online through the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at Western University.

See our website for more information:
www.westernu.ca/visarts/grad/