Please note: Due to late revisions, some text on this page differs from what appears in the printed version of the USC Catalogue. The changes appear below as highlighted text, with corresponding explanations appearing in the right margin.
Graduate Degrees
Master of Fine Arts
A two-year program administered in collaboration with the Graduate School, the Master of Fine Arts is a professional degree in the practice of art preparing students to pursue careers as professional artists. With an influential and innovative faculty and expansive new facilities, the M.F.A. program is one of the most ambitious, energetic and forward-thinking M.F.A. programs in the United States. In addition to close, constant interaction with the permanent faculty, students participate in regular seminars, lectures, discussions, and studio visits with leading artists, critics, curators and theorists from around the world. The school’s immersion in the contemporary art community is a critical component of the M.F.A. program.
The opportunity to gain experience as a teaching assistant is available on a competitive basis. All incoming students, regardless of country of citizenship, are considered for departmental funding and teaching assistantships; a separate application is not required.
Program Requirements
At least 48 units are required for the Master of Fine Arts, to be distributed as follows: FA 515 Visiting Artist Forum, 6 units, FA 520 Individual Studies, max 16 units; FA 555 Seminar in Art Theory and Criticism, 8 units; FA 550 Seminar: Contemporary Issues, 4 units; FA 551 Fine Art and Interdisciplinary Studies, 8 units; 400 or 500-level electives outside of Fine Arts, 4 units; 594abz Master’s Thesis, 4 units.
Master of Fine Arts students are evaluated by faculty during reviews held near the end of each semester. Before a student is recommended for the Master of Fine Arts, a comprehensive review of past work and professional goals is held. An exhibition of work at the end of the course of study and a written thesis, documented with visual material, complete the Master of Fine Arts program. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 on all graduate work is required for the Master of Fine Arts degree.
Complete details can be found in the Roski School of Fine Arts Graduate Studio Guidelines, obtainable upon admission to the program.
Master of Public Art Studies
The Master of Public Art Studies program is a two-year master’s degree program administered by the Roski School of Fine Arts in collaboration with the Graduate School. The program is designed to prepare students to pursue careers in the organization of art projects and exhibitions situated in the public spaces of cities and other environments (as curators or administrators working in museums, alternative spaces, municipal organizations and other cultural contexts), or as critics, writers and scholars whose focus is the public realm and public space. The program is a laboratory for rethinking the role of art in the public sphere and analyzing the impact of artistic engagements in social space, with a focus upon both the theoretical and practical challenges facing artists, curators, organizers, administrators, critics, theorists and others who seek to re-imagine the public sphere and public space. Immersed in a cross-disciplinary curriculum, students utilize readings from art history, architectural history, urbanism, social theory and other disciplines, and engage in a curatorial/organizational practicum, cultivating the necessary balance of intellectual and organizational skill sets.
Admission Requirements
Admission to the Master of Public Art Studies program is granted through the USC Office of Graduate Admission, which receives and processes all applications, evaluates credentials and issues notification letters. The Master of Public Art Studies program, in conjunction with the Roski School of Fine Arts, establishes and monitors the standards under which students are admitted, in tandem with the USC Office of Graduate Admission.
Requirements for admission are: (1) a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Fine Arts degree or its equivalent from an accredited college or university comparable in standards to that awarded at USC; (2) a 3.0 overall GPA; (3) three letters of recommendation; and (4) writing samples. Credentials for admission must include a complete record of all previous colleges or universities attended. More information is available at: roski.usc.edu/pas/admission.html.
Thesis Requirements
A master’s thesis committee comprises three members: the director of the program, a primary reader and a secondary reader. The thesis committee is established and contingent upon satisfactory completion of the second semester’s course work. Advancement to candidacy will be determined by the director of the program, in consultation with other faculty.
Program Requirements
A minimum of 36 units, taken during a two-year period, is required, to be distributed as follows:
| First Year, Fall | Units |
|---|
| PAS 549 | Methodologies of Art Writing | 2 |
| PAS 555a | Practicum | 1 |
| PAS 561 | Organizational Models | 2 |
| PAS 571 | Histories of Art in the Public Sphere | 3 |
| | 8 |
| First Year, Spring | Units |
|---|
| PAS 555b | Practicum | 2 |
| PAS 562 | Curatorial Methods and Institutional Programming | 2 |
| PAS 572 | Contemporary Art in the Public Sphere | 3 |
| PAS 581 | Critical Conversations | 3 |
| | 10 |
| Second Year, Fall | Units |
|---|
| PAS 550 | Art, Communities, and Global Publics | 2 |
| PAS 555c | Practicum | 2 |
| PAS 585 | Theorizing the Public Realm | 3 |
| PAS 594a | Master’s Thesis | 2 |
| Elective | | 2 |
| | 11 |
| Second Year, Spring | Units |
|---|
| PAS 555d | Practicum | 1 |
| PAS 591 | Field Internship Experience | 1 |
| PAS 594b | Master’s Thesis | 2 |
| Elective | | 3 |
| | 7 |
Elective Requirement
Candidates for the Master of Public Art Studies must complete a minimum of 5 units of graduate level electives, chosen from any relevant area in the university, with departmental approval.
Master of Arts, Art and Curatorial Practices in the Public Sphere
The Master of Arts, Art and Curatorial Practices in the Public Sphere is a two-year master’s degree administered by the Roski School of Fine Arts, in collaboration with the Graduate School, preparing students for careers as curators, organizers, critics and scholars. The program is an interdisciplinary research laboratory that focuses upon the role of contemporary art and curatorial practices in relation to public space and the public sphere. The course of study encompasses seminars on curatorial practice/organizational methods; social, urban and media theory; critical writing; exhibition histories; and selected topics in art and architectural history. Students examine how artists, curators, organizers, architects and other cultural producers engage public space and analyze the cultural conditions of the public sphere. The program features a curatorial practicum in which students collaborate on the development and organization of a city-space exhibition project. Students are also responsible for the research and writing of a thesis that develops innovative concepts and new scholarship on the interrelationships between art, public space and the public sphere.
Admission Requirements
Requirements for admission: (1) a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, or equivalent, from an accredited school; (2) a minimum 3.0 overall GPA; (3) three letters of recommendation; (4) two writing samples (one academic paper, and the admission essay). The GRE General Test is required. International applicants are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
Thesis Requirements
A master’s thesis committee comprises three members: a primary reader, a secondary reader and the director of the program. The thesis committee is established and contingent upon satisfactory completion of the second semester’s course work. Advancement to candidacy is determined by the director of the program, in consultation with other faculty.
Curatorial Practicum Requirement
All students participate in the group curatorial practicum course for three consecutive terms (which complements the thesis requirement).
Program Requirements
A minimum of 33 units is required, taken during a consecutive two-year period, distributed as follows:
| First Year, Fall | Units |
|---|
| PAS 549 | Methodologies of Art Writing | 3 |
| PAS 561 | Curatorial/Organizational Models | 2 |
| PAS 571 | Histories of Art in the Public Sphere | 3 |
| 8 |
| First Year, Spring | Units |
|---|
| PAS 555a | Curatorial Practicum | 2 |
| PAS 572 | Contemporary Art in the Public Sphere | 3 |
| PAS 581 | Critical Conversations | 3 |
| 8 |
| Second Year, Fall | Units |
|---|
| PAS 555b | Curatorial Practicum | 2 |
| PAS 585 | Theorizing the Public Realm | 3 |
| PAS 594a | Master’s Thesis | 2 |
| Elective | 2 |
| 9 |
| Second Year, Spring | Units |
|---|
| PAS 555c | Curatorial Practicum | 2 |
| PAS 591 | Field Internship Experience | 1 |
| PAS 594b | Master’s Thesis | 2 |
| Elective | 3 |
| 8 |
Elective Requirement
Candidates for the Master of Arts, Art and Curatorial Practices in the Public Sphere must complete a minimum of 5 units of graduate level electives, chosen from either the Master of Arts, Art and Curatorial Practices in the Public Sphere program, or another relevant area in the university (with departmental approval).
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