Jill Randall - MFA candidate in 2016 at Saint Mary's College of California; photo by David Gaylord
This week, dancer Sydney Skybetter began a conversation online about the state of MFA programs in the United States. To support this conversation, I quickly compiled a list of the 41 existing MFA programs. Today, I share a few other related ideas that are on my mind this week. Please join in!
An MFA is the "terminal degree" for artists, in particular those who wish to teach within a college or university. MFA programs currently vary widely in terms of time commitment (whether low res or full-time for three years), the average age range of the students, and whether the program is geared towards seasoned artists or students who just completed a BFA with little career experience. Programs differ in terms of the thesis - its content and length (choreography, projects, or research papers).
In 2015, I invited MFA (and MA) programs throughout the United States to share a profile about their programs. Read more here about 20 programs:
http://blog.lifeasamoderndancer.com/2015/11/masters-programs-in-the-united-states-a-list.html
For these spotlights on masters programs, I did boldly ask each department to share the age range of the graduate students, as this, in my opinion, needs to be openly discussed with potential MFA students. As someone looking at graduate programs in my mid-thirties, I personally wanted to know how many of my potential cohort would be coming into the program with years of real-life experience as well. (Masters programs who would like to be featured on the blog in 2016 should write me at randalldanceprojects@gmail.com.)
Throughout the 130 artist profiles on the blog, many artists shared about returning to graduate school and what that work provided in their lives. Daniel Charon shared this about his time earning an MFA at CalArts:
Graduate school proved to be a very important stage for my artistic development. I think it was really valuable to do this later in my career, after I had worked professionally for about 17 years. It really served as a time of growth where I was able to put my needs and desires first. This was different than dancing with a company where I put my main energy toward the organizations I was working with. It came at a good time in my career journey as well, after I had freelanced for a couple of years. I really saw it as a retreat and a time to concentrate and question my own work and what I was trying to say. It was wonderful to not have the distractions of the run around in New York. It felt like a stepped out of my real life and entered a time of reflection.
Looking at the 130 artist profiles to date on Life as a Modern Dancer, here are some details about these artists and their degrees:
- 61 artists have an MFA degree
- 4 artists have a PhD in dance, dance education, or performance studies
- 9 artists have MA degrees in dance or a related field of study such as education or physical therapy
- Nearly 15 of the artists featured on the blog teach part-time at a college or university without a masters degree, but have extensive experience as performers and choreographers
The 130 artist profiles are listed here. When an artist lists her degrees, I also ask that she write down what age she was in graduate school. Click on any name to explore this topic further. After an extensive career performing and choreographing, dancer Sara Rudner headed back to graduate school at Bennington College in her fifties. Now in her seventies, Sara described her 50s as:
In my 50s: I had a total hip replacement. Freedom of movement was once again within my grasp; another divorce and the necessity of supporting Eli and me (with help from Eli’s father) diverted my energies to salaried work in Theater and Opera, and finally led to my MFA studies at Bennington College under the guidance of Terry Creach, Dana Reitz and Susan Sgorbati. At the end of my final year of study, Danspace Project celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1999, and I was invited to participate in the celebration. I chose to create another dance marathon in 1999 this time featuring 20 dancers. I collected material I had been working on for a decade and invited working and former dancers to participate. I also became the Director of Dance at Sarah Lawrence College the same year, which made it possible to maintain my household. I thus began an adventure in education that became a source of inspiration and dancing collaborators.
Onye Ozuzu, in her artist profile, talks about getting serious about dancing during college; graduate school immediately followed for her:
My 20s: In my 20s I was only a few years into serious dance training as I started in college. So I was focusing a lot of my energy on that, taking class. I studied Jazz, Modern and Ballet as a non-major at Florida State University’s dance department. I was also introduced by a class offered by one of the program’s graduate students (Nia Love) to a West African dance class. Another of my FSU instructors (Kevin Vega) brought me to Florida A&M University where there was a repertory club/company (Orchesis Contemporary Dance Company). I was exposed there to more jazz and modern (particularly of the black dance lineage) as well as traditional West African dance and a broad range of guest artist choreographers. I progressed in many directions during this period. I completed undergraduate degrees in English Literature and Economics, and a Graduate Degree in Dance. I was married for a few years and had my first child at 23. I participated in a thriving community dance practice in West African dance and developed community dance programming for children. I began to develop my choreographic voice. I preferred working with large casts and exploring the landscape between contemporary African dance practice, science fiction, mythology, science and religion. I began to evolve an aesthetic that many saw as surreal. I matriculated through Orchesis Contemporary Dance Theatre to eventually lead as its interim artistic director. I left there and worked for two years as the Dance Director at Edison Park Elementary School for the Performing Arts in Fort Myers, FL.
Ultimately, the questions are for you. Why do you want an MFA? How does this time of study fit in with your hopes to travel, be in a relationship, start a family, or earn a steady income? Will the MFA program further what you are currently doing as an artist, or help you transition into a new phase of your career? Ideas that emerge within this conversation include:
- Recent BFA graduates who feel they need and want more training
- Dancers who ultimately want to teach at the college level
- Dancers who work within K-12 schools who will receive a move up the pay scale with a masters degree
- More "clout" for dancers who are writing and researching
- Seasoned artists who are ready for a break from their current working situation. Graduate school can be an ideal opportunity to make work within a different setting, frequently with access to proscenium stages, costume shops, lighting designers, and other tech and production elements that artists frequently struggle to fund on a regular basis.
- Seasoned artists who are ready to go back to school to deepen their artistic practice - through both studio based classes and theoretical classes.
- Dancers who would like 2 to 3 years when they can be training, choreographing, performing, and teaching on a regular basis (i.e. full-time)
Read more about graduate school decisions from artists Colleen Thomas, Gwen Welliver, Nina Haft, Cynthia Oliver, Graham Brown, Abby Zbikowski, and Katie Faulkner here.
The cost of tuition is a huge issue for dancers. Which graduate programs offer scholarships or teaching assistant positions? Which programs must you pay for in full - out of pocket or through personal loans? (And how many years will it take to pay back those loans?)
The low residency model is also a very interesting one in current times. In full disclosure, I am completing my MFA in the low residency program at Saint Mary's College of California. I came into this program at age 38, completing it within 2 years at age 40. I personally loved the part-time nature of it. I continued to work 33 hours a week at an independent middle school in San Francisco and averaged 7 graduate school credits each term. These two years have been super full and have required creative scheduling, a strong focus, and a commitment by my entire family towards completing this degree. Within this low res program, each idea from graduate school I could immediately explore, test, and consider within my real life experiences as a performer, choreographer, and teaching artist. The fluidity of theory and practice can be strong within low residency models. Read more here about 11 MFA and MA programs that are low residency.
The dialogue around MFA programs must become more expansive than simply considering this degree as the pathway towards a higher education position. Read the 130 artist profiles on this blog; read them and see how there are many uses and goals for this degree. Read profiles from professors such as Nina Haft, Emily Carson Coates, Onye Ozuzu, and Victoria Marks to understand how the path towards a higher ed position can really vary. Each artist profiled shares the dance-related titles he/she identifies with - such as performer, arts administrator, professor, or stage manager. The list of titles currently includes 28 other ideas besides the title college professor. (See the list here.)
I encourage continuing this conversation nationally about MFA programs - about rigor, content, and goals. I welcome submissions to the blog by artists who would like to share an essay on this very topic. Please email ideas to randalldanceprojects@gmail.com.
Ending on a personal note.....why did I want to get an MFA? It has always been a personal dream and goal of mine; I have considered the idea for nearly 10 years. Heading into my 40s, I knew that the degree could open more doors with teaching, pay scales, and writing projects. Graduate school would offer me time to reflect on the past 18 years and my work within the field of dance as a performer, collaborator, and teaching artist as well as offer me new skills, tools, and inspiration. I am thrilled to take this work into my new position as Artistic Director of Shawl-Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley, California as I begin this position in July 2016.
----------------------