Overhead view of the 100-Woman Wall in SoHE

The focus of the MFA degree is on creative performance in design. Its goals are to promote strong and creative conceptual thinking, exploration, interpretation, innovation, and overall excellence in design execution.

Students interested in the MFA should refer to the named option in Design Studies.

Students apply to the MFA in Human Ecology through its named option:

Graduate School Resources

Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid. Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.

Program Resources

Funding opportunities for Human Ecology graduate students are available and made possible, in large part, by generous donations to SoHE. Every year, these funds are used to fund teaching or project assistantships, award academic excellence scholarships, and provide students doing their masters or doctoral research or final MFA project with conference travel scholarships and graduate research scholarships. See the School of Human Ecology Enrollment Policy on Funding Eligibility and view current funding opportunities on our program website for more information.

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

Review the Graduate School minimum academic progress and degree requirements, in addition to the program requirements listed below.

Major Requirements

CURRICULAR REQUIREMENTS

Minimum Credit Requirement 60 credits
Minimum Residence Credit Requirement 24 credits
Minimum Graduate Coursework Requirement Half of degree coursework (30 credits out of 60 total credits) must be completed graduate-level coursework; courses with the Graduate Level Coursework attribute are identified and searchable in the university's Course Guide.
Overall Graduate GPA Requirement 3.00 GPA required.
Other Grade Requirements The Graduate School requires an average grade of B or better in all coursework (300 or above, not including research credits) taken as a graduate student unless conditions for probationary status require higher grades. Grades of Incomplete are considered to be unsatisfactory if they are not removed during the next enrolled semester.
Assessments and Examinations Before beginning substantial work on their thesis, all MFA students must receive approval of their thesis proposal from their MFA committee after satisfactorily completing at least three full-time semesters of coursework and passing the MFA Interim Qualifier. The thesis proposal is intended to describe the creative work or project that will be at the core of the thesis, to demonstrate the student’s broad knowledge in areas that relate to their thesis, to explain how their work or project relates to the work of other designers and artists, to demonstrate their awareness of relevant theories and methods as reflected in their literature review, to explain their methods and materials, and to outline a detailed schedule for the completion of the thesis.

Upon approval of their thesis proposal, students are expected to register for 9 credits that will represent thesis writing and production. These credits are generally research and thesis credits, independent studies, or required seminars; they must be at the 500 level or above.

All MFA students are required to present their work at least once per academic year in a Group Review Session attended by faculty and the other MFA students. First year students can present their work that they submitted for their application, or work from a course that they have taken. Second year students should present work from their Focus Area student work, or their advanced General Studio work. Third-year students should present their thesis work in progress.

The Group Review Sessions have several goals.

*Enable MFA students to see what other MFA students are working on.
*Enable the MFA faculty as a whole to see what all of the MFA students are working on.
*Enable MFA students to receive constructive review of their work.
*Enable MFA students to gain experience critiquing and receiving critique.
*Enable MFA students to gain experience presenting their work.

All MFA students are required to successfully prepare and present a thesis that includes a studio component, a written component, and an oral defense. These are Research and Thesis credits with the student’s advisor.
Language Requirements n/a
Doctoral Minor/Breadth Requirements All doctoral students are required to complete a minor.

Required Courses

Select a Named Option for courses required.

Named Options

A named option is a formally documented sub-major within an academic major program. Named options appear on the transcript with degree conferral. Students pursuing the Master of Fine Arts in Human Ecology must select the following named option:

Graduate School Resources

Take advantage of the Graduate School's professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career. 

Program Resources

The School of Human Ecology Graduate Program values the professional development of graduate students and provides financial awards to those who are invited to present at professional conferences/exhibits. The purpose of the support is to encourage participation in professional development, scholarly research, and/or creative endeavor and to help cover expenses not covered by other sources. Students may receive a maximum award of $650 for travel ($750 for international travel) to support conference participation in a single academic year. Students are encouraged to seek conference and travel funding from the Graduate School as a first step and apply for supplemental funds through SoHE as needed.

In addition, each academic department within the School of Human Ecology may offer additional professional development grant opportunities. See the program Events Calendar for the most up-to-date information on professional development opportunities.

  1. Articulate challenges, frontiers and limits with respect to theory, knowledge or practice within the area of study.
  2. Formulate ideas, concepts, designs, and/or techniques beyond the current boundaries of knowledge within one's area of study.
  3. Create research, scholarship or performance that makes a substantive contribution to one's field.
  4. Foster ethical conduct and professional guidelines.

Students should refer to the named option for policy information:

Human Ecology Directory: listing of all faculty, staff, and graduate students; searchable by association, department, and name 

Department of Civil Society & Community Studies (Civil Society & Community Research: CSCR graduate program) 

CSCS Faculty/Staff

CSCR Graduate Students

Department of Consumer Science (Consumer Behavior & Family Economics: CBFE graduate program) 

CS Faculty/Staff

CBFE Graduate Students

Department of Design Studies (Design Studies: DS graduate programs) 

DS Faculty/Staff

DS Graduate Students

Department of Human Development & Family Studies (Human Development & Family Studies: HDFS graduate program) 

HDFS Faculty/Staff

HDFS Graduate Students