Hello everyone, especially Bill Lewis (belatedly, eh?)
After some contemplation, I jumped into this one earlier only to have my
message rejected. Rather than taking the hint, I will try once again to add
memories from my distant past to this discussion.
Back in the stone age when I was first tackling graduate school, the state
legislature prohibited the two state universities from offering the same
graduate degrees. Therefore, the university in one town offered an MFA (two
year degree) and the university in the other town offered an MAA (two year
degree.) The MA was a one year degree which was regarded as a handy thing
to have for teaching at less than the university level. The MAA and MFA
degrees were later changed to three year degrees. The MAA and MFA were
regarded as terminal - which meant you didn't have to pursue any additional
formal education to be recognized by academia. It only felt like death
while you were actively enrolled!
----- Original Message -----
From: Meryl Suzanne Beatri Zwanger <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2000 9:21 AM
Subject: Re: What is an MFA?
> hi all-
>
> david mentioned a professor that some years ago taught at the
> postcollegiate level with only an mfa (if i recall correctly, in art
> history). my understanding is that indeed, many years ago, an ma or mfa
> could be sufficient. but i think that by now, with the huge number of
> qualified phd candidates and various other factors, you do need a phd to
> teach at that level in art history. in studio art/art making, an mfa and
> other
> professional qualifications may be sufficient, although, a higher degree
> (the doctor of arts) does exist. this degree, in my own department,
> necessitates a performance/artistic production as well as an extensive
> discussion/literature review, etc. in the dissertation. of course, in
> education (including art education), there is also the edd, or doctor of
> education, which tends to be more curricular-based/practically-oriented in
> the dissertation
> work, while a phd tends towards the more pedagogical/theoretical.
>
> hope this helps - it seems to me, though, that a large-ish amount depends
> on the program at which you attended and what they consider the
> requirements and thinking behind the degree. i will just mention here as
> an example, how some programs require extensive reading and study for the
> candidiacy exam for phd's, while others might ask for a written
> paper/preliminary literature review. similarly, some programs have short
> descriptions of the dissertation proposal, while others ask for extensive
> literature reviews and methods sections.
>
> thanks for indulging this long email!
>
> meryl zwanger
>
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