MFA Skills Requirement

The program leading to the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree in the book arts is a 2.5–3 year course of study with specializations in hand bookbinding, letterpress printing, and the whole book. The emphasis is on developing craft skills based on historical principles and techniques, as well as on artistic expression.

The general goal for the M.F.A. program is to develop professional artisans who are technically proficient in the book arts and cognizant of the historical background in which these various crafts evolved and of the professional environment in which our graduates will work. To reach this goal, the school has created the following two specific goals and enabling objectives.

1. To provide students with an education that inculcates craft skills required for proficiency in the book arts, and that develops a sound foundation for the aesthetics and methodology of these arts:

  • Provide each student with fundamental technical skills in each of the crafts comprised by the book arts

  • Ready each student to apply these skills and techniques in the marketplace

  • Provide advanced technical skills in each student’s area of professional specialization

  • Create in each student a desire to acquire and upgrade skills beyond the formal program

  • Provide and reinforce in each student an appreciation for the aesthetics of the crafts

  • Facilitate the choice by the end of the first semester of an initial professional specialization in either printing or binding

  • Maintain a faculty whose members are recognized leaders in their fields

2. To enhance the professional status of artisans engaged in the book arts:

  • Acquaint students with the heritage, responsibilities, trends, and standards of the profession

  • Instill in students a concept of the interrelationship of the book arts

  • Enlist faculty to assist the book arts community by helping to establish standards, by supporting professional organizations, by offering continuing educational opportunities, and by serving as consultants and lecturers

  • Encourage faculty to publish and exhibit original works whenever appropriate

  • Encourage faculty to conduct research and disseminate findings to practitioners and teachers in the book arts community