The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Visualization is a technology infused visual arts oriented degree that complements the existing Master of Science in Visualization by expanding post-graduate opportunities to include university level faculty positions, self-employment as a contemporary artist, and art direction in digital media. Students master the use of artistic visual communication and expression through the combined use of digital and analog mediums. The curriculum is highly interdisciplinary and encourages development of new technologies and creative applications to create deeper insight and understanding. Graduates are equipped with an uncommon balance of artistic insight and technical prowess that sets them apart from their peers. The MFA in Visualization is unique in the State of Texas, and one of only a handful of programs of this kind in the United States.

For detailed information about the Departmental Requirements for the MFA program, please see the Master of Fine Arts in Visualization webpage.

Program Requirements

• Student's Advisory Committee
• Degree Plan
• Credit Requirement
• Transfer of Credit
• Limitations on the Use of Transfer, Extension and Certain Other Courses
• Final Presentation and Written Document

Student’s Advisory Committee

After receiving admission to graduate studies and before completion of the first semester of the second year of coursework, the student will consult with the graduate program coordinator or head of the department concerning appointment of the chair of his or her advisory committee. The student’s advisory committee for the master’s degree will consist of no fewer than three members of the graduate faculty, representative of the student’s fields of study and research. The chair or one of the co-chairs of the advisory committee must be from the student’s department, and at least one or more of the members must have an appointment to a department other than the student’s major department.

The chair, in consultation with the student, will select the remainder of the advisory committee. The student will interview each prospective committee member to determine whether he or she is willing to serve. Only graduate faculty members located on Texas A&M University campuses may serve as chair of a student’s advisory committee. Other graduate faculty members located off-campus may serve as a member or co-chair (but not chair), with a member as the chair. The chair of the committee, who usually has immediate supervision of the student’s degree program, has the responsibility for calling meetings at any other time considered desirable.

If the chair of a student’s advisory committee voluntarily leaves the University and the student wants the chair to continue to serve in this role, the student is responsible for securing a current member of the University Graduate Faculty, from her/his academic program and located on the respective Texas A&M University campus, to serve as the co-chair of the committee. If the committee chair is on an approved leave of absence, s/he can remain as chair without a co-chair for up to one year with written approval of the Department Head or chair of the intercollegiate faculty. Extensions beyond the one year period can be granted with additional approval of the Dean.

If the chair of the student’s advisory committee is unavailable for an extended time in any academic period during which the student is involved in activities relating to an internship, thesis or professional paper and is registered for courses such as 684, 691, 692, or 693, the student may request, in writing, that the department head appoint an alternate advisory committee chair during the interim period.

The duties of the committee include responsibility for the proposed degree plan, the research proposal, the final presentation and written document. In addition, the committee, as a group and as individual members, is responsible for counseling the student on academic matters, and, in the case of academic deficiency, initiating recommendations to the Graduate and Professional School.

The committee members’ approval on the degree plan indicates their willingness to accept the responsibility for guiding and directing the entire academic program of the student and for initiating all academic actions concerning the student. Although individual committee members may be replaced by petition for valid reasons, a committee cannot resign en masse.

Degree Plan

The student’s advisory committee, in consultation with the student, will develop the proposed degree plan. The degree plan must be completed and filed with the Graduate and Professional School prior to the deadlines imposed by the student’s college or degree program, and no later than 90 days prior to the date of the final presentation of the student’s body of work.

This proposed degree plan should be submitted through the online Document Processing Submission System located on the website https://ogsdpss.tamu.edu.

Additional coursework may be added to the approved degree plan by petition if it is deemed necessary by the advisory committee to correct deficiencies in the student’s academic preparation. No changes can be made to the degree plan once the student’s Request for Final Examination or Request for Final Examination Exemption is approved by the Graduate and Professional School.

Credit Requirement

A minimum of 60 semester credit hours of approved courses is required for the Master of Fine Arts in Visualization degree.

Transfer of Credit

A student who has earned 12 hours of graduate credit in residence at Texas A&M University may be authorized to transfer courses in excess of the limits prescribed above upon the advice of the advisory committee and with the approval of the Graduate and Professional School. Graduate and/or upper-level undergraduate courses taken in residence at an accredited U.S. institution or approved international institution with a final grade of B or greater might be considered for transfer credit. This is permissible if at the time the courses were completed, the student was in degree-seeking status at Texas A&M University or at the institution at which the courses were taken. Further, if the courses would be accepted for credit toward a similar degree for a student in degree-seeking status at the host institution, that coursework may be considered for transfer credit. Otherwise, the limitations stated in the preceding section apply. Coursework in which no formal grades are given or in which grades other than letter grades (A or B) are earned (for example, CR, P, S, U, H, etc.) is not accepted for transfer credit. Courses appearing on the degree plan with grades of D, F or U may not be absolved by transfer work. Credit for thesis research or the equivalent is not transferable. Credit for coursework submitted for transfer from any college or university must be shown in semester credit hours or equated to semester credit hours. An official transcript from the university at which the transfer coursework was taken must be sent directly to the Office of Admissions.

Courses used toward a degree at another institution may not be applied for graduate credit. If the course to be transferred was taken prior to the conferral of a degree at the transfer institution, a letter from the Registrar at that institution stating that the course was not applied for credit toward the degree must be submitted to the Graduate and Professional School.

Grades for courses completed at other institutions are not included in computing the GPA.

Limitations on the Use of Transfer, Extension and Certain Other Courses

Some departments may have more restrictive requirements for transfer work. If otherwise acceptable, certain courses may be used toward meeting credit-hour requirements for the master’s degree under the following limitations.

1. The maximum number of credit hours which may be considered for transfer credit is the greater of 15 hours or one-fourth (1/4) of the total hours of a degree plan. The following restrictions apply:
   • Graduate and/or undergraduate courses taken in residence at an accredited U.S. institution, or approved international institution with a final grade of B or greater will be considered for transfer credit if, at the time the courses were completed, the student was in degree-seeking status at Texas A&M University, or the student was in degree-seeking status at the institution at which the courses were taken; and if the courses would be accepted for credit toward a similar degree for a student in degree-seeking status at the host institution.
   • Courses previously used for another degree are not acceptable for degree plan credit.
2. The maximum number of credit hours taken in post-baccalaureate non-degree (G6) classification at Texas A&M University which may be considered for application to the degree plan is 12.
3. A zero credit 684 or 685 course is only allowed for non-thesis option master's students. A zero credit 681 course can be used for either thesis or non-thesis option master’s students. Other courses, including 691 (Research) hours, are not eligible for zero credit.
4. Any combination of 601, 684, 685, and 690 may not exceed 25 percent of the total credit hour requirement shown on the individual degree plan:
   • A maximum of 3 hours of 601 (Research Foundations) and/or
   • Up to 8 hours of 684 (Professional Internship) and/or
   • Up to 9 hours of 685 (Directed Studies) and
   • Up to 4 hours of 690 (Professional Practice).
5. A maximum of 2 hours of 681 (Seminar).
6. A maximum of 6 hours of advanced undergraduate courses (300- or 400-level).
7. For graduate courses of three weeks’ duration or less, taken at other institutions, up to 1 hour of credit may be obtained for each five-day week of coursework. Each week of coursework must include at least 15 contact hours.
8. Continuing education courses may not be used for graduate credit.
9. Extension courses are not acceptable for credit.

10. For non-distance degree programs, no more than 50 percent of the non-research coursework required for the program may be completed through distance education courses.

11. To receive a graduate degree from Texas A&M University, students must earn one-third or more of the credits through the institution’s own direct instruction. This limitation also applies to joint degree programs.  

Exceptions will be permitted only in unusual cases and when petitioned by the student’s advisory committee and approved by the Graduate and Professional School.

Final Presentation and Written Document

The candidate must conduct a final presentation and submit a written document reflecting the presentation’s content. This is done by dates announced each semester or summer term for final exam deadlines in the Graduate and Professional School Calendar. To be eligible to conduct the final presentation, a student’s GPA must be at least 3.000 for courses on the degree plan and for all courses completed at Texas A&M which are eligible to be applied to a graduate degree, and there must be no unabsolved grades of D, F or U for any course listed on the degree plan. To absolve a deficient grade, the student must repeat the course at Texas A&M University and achieve a grade of C or better. All coursework on the degree plan must have been completed with the exception of those hours for which the student is registered.

The candidate is not eligible to petition for an exemption from the final presentation.

A request to schedule the final presentation must be submitted to the Graduate and Professional School via ARCS a minimum of 10 working days in advance of the scheduled date for the presentation. The Graduate and Professional School will be notified via ARCS of any cancellations. A student may be given only one opportunity to repeat the final presentation for the master’s degree and that must be within a time period that does not extend beyond the end of the next regular semester (Summer terms are excluded).

The final presentation shall consist of a focused body of work resulting in an appropriate form of public dissemination that reflects the student’s studies within his or her research studio. Such forms might include an exhibition, screening, or installation. A body of work customized for internet delivery must also be presented in one of these forms. A written document addressing issues pertinent to the final study is also required. The written document must be prepared appropriately for publication submission to a peer-reviewed venue agreed upon with the chair. At an agreed upon time and date the student will make a formal presentation of the body of work to members of the graduate committee. Committee members will then meet privately to review the presentation (if relevant, all visitors must excuse themselves from the proceedings). A positive vote by all members of the graduate committee with at most one dissension is required to pass a student on his or her presentation and written document. If deemed successful by the advisory committee, the student will have completed the academic requirements for graduation.

The student’s department will promptly report the results of the presentation and written document evaluation to the Graduate and Professional School via the Academic Requirements Completion System (ARCS) within 10 working days of completion of the final presentation. If an approved committee member substitution (one only) has been made, their approval must be submitted to the Graduate and Professional School via ARCS.

If the program requires the advisory committee to include at least one external member – with an appointment to a department other than the student’s major department – and the substitution is for the sole external member of the advisory committee, then the substitute must also be external to the student’s major department. In extenuating circumstances, with approval of the Graduate and Professional School, an exception to this requirement may be granted.

Additional Requirements

• Residence
• Time Limit
• Foreign Languages
• Internship or Practicum
• Application for Degree

Residence

A student must complete 18 credit hours in resident study at Texas A&M University to satisfy the residence requirement for the Master of Fine Arts in Visualization degree. A minimum of 15 credit hours of 693 must be completed as resident hours.

Students who are employed full-time while completing their degree may fulfill total residence requirements by completion of less-than-full time course loads each semester. In order to be considered for this, the student is required to submit a Petition for Waivers and Exceptions along with verification of his/her employment to the Graduate and Professional School.

See Residence Requirements.

Time Limit

All degree requirements must be completed within a period of seven consecutive years for the degree to be granted. A course will be considered valid until seven years after the end of the semester in which it is taken. Graduate credit for coursework that is more than seven calendar years old at the time of the final examination (oral or written) may not be used to satisfy degree requirements.

Foreign Languages

A foreign language is not required for the Master of Fine Arts in Visualization degree.

Internship or Practicum

An internship is not required as part of the Master of Fine Arts in Visualization degree requirement in order for the student to graduate. A student can receive credit for up to 8 hours of internship.

Application for Degree

For information on applying for your degree, please visit the Graduation section.