General Information
The Division of Art educates students in the study and practice of art within an interdisciplinary, rigorous, and supportive environment. The program concentrates on technical and conceptual development, studio production and exhibition, community engagement, and the process of analyzing and interpreting artwork. The curriculum offers production-based studio courses in ceramics, drawing, digital/hybrid media (new media), painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, interdisciplinary art and general studio art, as well as a few seminars. Students work across a range of media and engage in artistic exchange with their peer cohort, faculty, and guest artists or professionals working in the arts.
Instructional Facilities
Facilities for the study of art include specialized studios, individual workspaces, and equipment to support all media taught, as well as individual experimentation. Facilities include woodshop, metal shop, foundry, ceramics studio, painting and drawing studios, printmaking studio, darkroom and digital photography large format printers, a Mac computer lab, and digital fabrication tools. Additional facilities include the Jordan Student Gallery and the Doolin Gallery for the installation and exhibition of student artwork in Owen Arts Center, as well as the Pollock Gallery, the primary public exhibition venue of the Division of Art located in Expressway Tower. The Meadows School and SMU offer excellent library resources, including the Hamon Arts Library.
The Division of Art will provide every graduate student with an individual or shared studio. It is the responsibility of each student to make full and proper use of the studio provided or risk losing the privilege. The Division has no obligation to provide studio space for longer than two years. A limited number of undergraduate studio spaces are also available. Undergraduate Art majors may apply for studio space, with priority generally given to advanced students based on academic standing, course enrollment, and studio need. Studio assignments are subject to availability and are not guaranteed.
The Dallas/Fort Worth area has a large artistic community with rich and varied resources. These include many internationally and nationally significant museums and contemporary exhibition spaces: SMU’s Meadows Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center, the Crow Museum, the Green Family Art Foundation, the Power Station, the Warehouse, the Latino Cultural Center of Dallas, the Dallas Contemporary, the Kimbell Art Museum, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and the Amon Carter Museum. There are also artist-run cooperative galleries and an established and growing commercial gallery system.
Undergraduate Admission
Students wishing to transfer to the B.A. or B.F.A. degree program from another university must also be accepted by portfolio review and meet University transfer admission criteria prior to admission to study.
Students who were not dually admitted prior to matriculation but wish to major in Art must seek admission to the Division of Art by completing an Art application at https://www.smu.edu/meadows/areasofstudy/art/undergraduatestudies/admissions. These students are strongly encouraged to enroll in elective Art courses (introductory level courses) prior to Art’s consideration of their application portfolio, and are invited to discuss their interest in the major with Art faculty.
All students who apply for dual admission by the deadline to the University and to the B.A. in Art or B.F.A. degree program are considered for artistic scholarships based on artistic merit. Continuing scholarships are reviewed each year based on satisfactory progress toward the degree. To receive an award for artistic merit, students must submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (www.fafsa.ed.gov) or a waiver, and a CSS/Profile (www.collegeboard.com).
Graduate Admission
The M.F.A. program is a two-year residential program of study. Graduate students are admitted into the M.F.A. program in the spring for studies starting in the fall term. Candidates for the program must complete the online application available at http://www.smu.edu/Meadows/Admissions/Graduate. Additionally, candidates must upload a portfolio, including 18-20 selections of their work, to Slate. Portfolio submissions are due by February 1. Students are encouraged, but not required, to tour the facility with a current graduate student and to meet the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) and other faculty prior to application. Admission to the graduate program is selective. Only those individuals will be admitted in whom the faculty recognizes clear prospects for attaining the objectives of the program during the two-year period of graduate study. Admission also is based on the objectives and limitations of the division.
The applicant is required to have a B.F.A. degree or equivalent to that offered at SMU (i.e., 60 studio hours, 12 art history hours). Highly qualified applicants not holding this degree may be considered for admission. The ranked admission criteria are portfolio, statement of intent, transcript and recommendations.
In general, not more than six credit hours of transfer credit apply to the M.F.A. in art. However, if the applicant has an M.A. in studio art, up to 30 credit hours may be transferred to the SMU program with the approval of the faculty and the head of the graduate program. In any case, a minimum of 36 hours must be taken at SMU.
Scholarships and Financial Aid
Undergraduate
All undergraduate students who apply for dual admission by the deadline to the University and to the B.A. in Art or B.F.A. degree program are considered for artistic scholarships based on artistic merit. Continuing scholarships are reviewed each year based on satisfactory progress toward the degree. To receive an award for artistic merit, students must submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (www.fafsa.ed.gov) or a waiver, and a CSS/Profile (www.collegeboard.com).
Graduate
Each year up to six Meadows Scholarships are reserved for incoming graduate students, awarded based upon artistic merit. These awards are for up to full tuition and fees remission and include teaching assistant stipends of $5,000 per academic year. A number of other grant programs offer significant funding for projects, materials and travel in support of creative research.
Aside from receiving a scholarship, students can apply for the following travel and scholarship opportunities: Meadows Travel Grant, Doolin Grant, Zelle Grant, Jones Grant and Moody Graduate Student Travel Grant.
Meadows School of the Arts is entitled to retain as many as one piece of work by each student. The intention is to honor the successful candidate and to provide evidence of student success in lieu of the usual formal thesis. These works enter the University art collection.