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View Full Version : BA/MFAPhoto-----Are you there yet?????



Raymond Bleesz
11-Nov-2005, 08:06
Recently, I contacted my alma mater, & inquired about their photo dept program. The university offers the typical degreed programs for a 20 year old.

Recent national demographics have shown that alumni, recently retired peoples are going back to "campus" to live out their "golden years". I am one of those who is giving thought to this move.
I received a BS degree & did post grad work (history/education) in "67/8" before the "green machine " took me & now I think I would like to be a student again--perhaps finish up what I was not able to finish or look at the BA/MFA photo program.

However, I had asked the department head (Photo/Art), if an old war horse such as myself, with photo credentials, years of working at photography, exhibitions, portfolios, recommendations, etc, etc, etc, if a special program existed for "older photogs" & if a specific, direct course could be arranged to obtain a "degree" without going through the basic A thru Z program which a 20 year old would need to do to achive a degree . The answer was "no".

I am aware that a "title" does not make a photographer. There are very talented people on this forum--those who write on technical photo matters, those who have extensive exhibitions & portfolios, those who are photo educators, some who have learned photography from the bootstraps of hard nocks----those who have taken extensive photo workshops----the list goes on and a good number of you may not have a degree/s in photo--nor perhaps did you search one out.

Whatever. I would like to know if your alma mater (perhaps you do not have one)(please name the institution) has a degreed photo program directed & aimed at "old war horses" such as ourselves? What are your thoughts on this matter of higher education in today's society fitting the needs of the "Baby Boomers--Post WW11)

Erik Eks
11-Nov-2005, 08:44
Hi Raymond,

Not quite an old warhorse yet but halfway there.

I'd like to ask you what you hope to achieve with the degree. Is it a degree for degree's sake i.e. for the sake of a title/diploma to hang on a wall or a degree because you hope to study or learn something new?

Since you already have a BSc., I gather an MFA would be more your cup of tea and you would qualify to gain admittance to an MFA.

Are you looking for studio type courses i.e. more skill-based or are you looking for something more intellectual i.e. more thinking about your kind of photography?

What do you hope to do with the MFA? Teach or exhibit?

I ask you these questions because it will help you to find the programme for you.

The Milton Avery Graduate School of Bard College, Annondale, New York, allows a professional artist to balance a working life with working towards an MFA. Students spend summers in Annondale studying and meeting with their professors and supervisors. They spend the rest of the 'academic' year away from campus working on their projects. Perhaps this is more in line with what you are looking for.

And then there are the MFA degrees where photography is studied as a speciality within the field of visual arts such as painting, sculpture, new media, printmaking, etc. and not on its own as a separate discipline. Some departments see photography as a branch of printmaking. MFA degrees in photography require a fair amount of courses in art and photography history, and critical theory these days. Is this what you want?

It is a very broad question that you are asking. Most MFA degrees are steeped in critical theory and there are papers to write!

ronald lamarsh
11-Nov-2005, 09:18
Personally I feel I can learn more at a BETTER price through workshops.

Scott Davis
11-Nov-2005, 09:43
Look into the Continuing Ed program at your Alma Mater. I took courses at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) through their continuing ed program, for graduate credit. They had a certificate program you can do which is not a degree, but still verifies that you have completed a certain amount of coursework in your chosen field of study. I was taking all my classes there for graduate credit, on the assumption that since I did not have a BFA, it would be a good way to prove I was capable of enrolling in an MFA program. I did an extra 20-25% more work for each class, but the courses were almost exclusively populated by working professionals, suburban housewives, and retirees looking to expand their experience. We had the occasional 20-something undergrad brat in the class who needed to pick up some extra credits for whatever reason. That may well be a better alternative for you to do it that way, and then you can also do it at your own pace, if you don't have a fully free schedule, or a limited budget.

Donald Brewster
11-Nov-2005, 11:14
Not sure what you mean by A-Z. I don't see why you wouldn't be able to find an MFA program to take you. If you went the BFA route, most colleges won't make you redo Freshman English, etc. since you already have a bachelors degree. You would have to do whatever photo degree requirements were left. And I'm sure there will be some programs that will give you credit for certain of your life experiences, but it will depend on the school (most likely a private rather than a state college in these cases). Good luck -- sounds like a great goal.

Craig Wactor
11-Nov-2005, 12:49
I agree. An MFA sounds right for you. There are plenty of "old war horses" in college, in the same program with the kids, especially in art departments.

paulr
12-Nov-2005, 15:00
Izaak is asking the right questions. What do you want to achieve?

As far as skipping the photo a-z part, what that all includes would depend on the program you're looking at. being an old pro probably means you know a lot of what they'd teach in a trade school kind of program. It wouldn't go far at all in an MFA program where the focus is on theory and on developing new bodies of work.