Department of Design

Main Office
Art Building, Room 237

Mailing address:
1155 Union Circle #305100
Denton, TX 76203-5017
940-565-3621

E-mail: design@unt.edu
Web site: www.art.unt.edu

Hepi Wächter, Chair

The MFA in design with concentrations in fashion design, design research and interior design seeks to effectively prepare individuals with professional experience to become specialists, managers and educators. The curriculum is divided into two separate, but related, sequences: pedagogy and studio/research. Through pedagogy course work and observation, MFA candidates learn basic educational practices such as the development of outcome objectives, grading criteria, and university practices. The studio/research sequence is designed to help candidates identify and develop a research agenda necessary for success both professionally and within the university environment.

Applicants for the Master of Fine Arts in the design department must hold an earned bachelor’s degree in a related field of study and have professional experience in the proposed area of concentration.

Research

Pursuing research in the Department of Design at the master’s level of study in the College of Visual Arts and Design challenges students to critically examine, analyze and derive knowledge from a variety of design processes and methodologies as a means to positively catalyze a wide variety of social, technological, environmental and political initiatives. Design research undertaken and conducted within the master’s programs in the Department of Design will facilitate knowledge creation and thought leadership that can be applied in both professional practice and academe.

MFA application requirements

Prospective applicants for graduate degree programs must obtain admission forms from the UNT Toulouse Graduate School (at gradschool.unt.edu) and information from the College of Visual Arts and Design (at www.art.unt.edu). Admission deadlines are as follows:

Fall or Summer term/semester: February 1
Spring term/semester: October 1

MFA application requirements are two-fold.

Applicants must apply for and be granted admission to the Toulouse Graduate School.
1. Applicants must supply official GRE scores.
2. Applicants must supply official transcripts.
3. Applicants for the MFA programs in design with concentrations in fashion design, interior design or design research must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. institution or equivalent degree at an international university in the specific area of design or in a closely related field.
Applicants must also apply separately to and be accepted by the Department of Design into the concentration of fashion design, interior design or design research.
1. Applicants for the MFA programs in design with concentrations in fashion design, interior design or design research must have a minimum of two or three years of professional experience in their area of study.
2. Applicants must submit a statement of purpose that details their research interests and the goals they hope to achieve by obtaining the MFA degree (500–800 words).
3. Applicants must supply a professional resume that should list all relevant work experience, affiliations, etc.
4. Applicants must submit at least two reference letters from persons familiar with their academic or professional work.
5. Applicants must submit a portfolio of work relevant to their concentration area that includes representative professional work that exhibits their design knowledge and skills. Applicants should identify their responsibility for any submitted work completed as part of a team.

MA application requirements

Fall term/semester: February 1
Spring term/semester: October 1

Applicants must apply for and be granted admission to the Toulouse Graduate School.

Applicants must supply official GRE scores (TOEFL/IELI for only international applicants).
Applicants must supply official transcripts.
Applicants for the MA programs in design with a concentration in design research must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. institution or equivalent degree at an international university.
Applicants must also apply separately to and be accepted into the design research concentration with the following:
1. Applicants must submit a statement of purpose (500–750 words).
2. Applicants must submit at least three reference letters from persons familiar with their academic and/or professional work if applicable.
3. Applicants may submit a portfolio of work relevant to their discipline or concentration. Applicants should identify their responsibility for any submitted work completed as part of a team.
Applicants must also apply separately to and be accepted into the interaction design concentration with the following:
1. Two samples of the applicant’s writing that effectively convey his/her ability to 1) engage in critical thinking and analysis, or to 2) strategically plan and execute an initiative that requires significant input of knowledge and skills from a diverse array of people, or to 3) understand the cultural, socio-economic, or political viewpoints of others, or 4) some combination of these. These writing samples can consist of published or unpublished work and can include a wide variety of material, from office directives to planning documents to blog posts to books. Bottom line: writing samples that reveal how and why the applicant thinks and acts as he/she does are most desirable.
2. (If available) two to four examples of project-based work that reveal the applicant’s abilities to operate the knowledge and skills necessary to create or co-create effective, user-centric interactive EXPERIENCES. These can include but are not limited to: user interface design work, examples of service design programs or experiences, information architecture diagrams or schematics, or descriptions of protocols or processes the applicant has created or co-created and implemented that have improved how complex information is processed, organized, shared/routed or displayed. It is important that applicants SUCCINCTLY communicate the types of roles they played on these projects, and the nature of the contributions they made toward their successful realizations.
3. A letter/statement of intent that articulates, in between 450 and 800 words, what the applicant hopes to achieve by completing the course of study of the MA program in interaction design. This letter should make clear how the knowledge and skills the applicant will acquire during this graduate experience could help him/her attain key life and career priorities and goals. This letter should also attempt to answer the question: “Why does the applicant have the career/life agenda that he/she has?”
4. At least two and preferably three letters of recommendation from some combination of the following: former professors or instructors at the collegiate level, project managers/directors or collaborators/colleagues, clients, work supervisors, or design or creative directors.

Funding

Each term/semester the department is able to provide a limited number of teaching assistant/teaching fellow positions for graduate students. If interested, the student should complete an application and submit it to the department by the deadline for each term/semester: January 5 for fall and October 1 for spring.

New graduate students have the opportunity to apply for a limited number of scholarships when they apply to their program. See the college web site for additional information about these opportunities.

Additional funding opportunities may be available through the Toulouse Graduate School.

Programs

Master’s Degree

Courses

Design

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