Art & Design MS - Art Education
MS Degree Requirements
MS Curriculum
MS Course Descriptions
MS Opportunities
Master of Science in Art Education
The graduate program in Art Education at UWM emphasizes the relationship between teaching practice and research with an emphasis on qualitative methodologies such as ethnography, action research, and case studies. We believe that insights gained from inquiry into educational practice can have a direct influence on policy, on the improvement of teaching, and on the development of innovative arts curricula. Students are encouraged to bring their own research interests and questions to their studies.
Current areas of study include but are not limited to the following:
- Urban Education
- Enhancing Student Engagement through the Visual Arts
- Cultural Literacy and Popular Culture
- Documentary Studies
- Working with At-risk Populations
- Art in Alternative Education
- Documenting Teachers’ Stories in Schools and Community Settings
- Media and Technology in Art Education
- Material Culture Studies
- Social Foundations of Education
- Relationship between Art Teaching and Studio Practice
Applying
To apply for admission to the Graduate Program in Art Education (MS), please download the PDF below:
Admission and Award Application Forms (PDF)
For Further Information
Kimberly J. Cosier
(414) 229-4435
kcosier@uwm.edu
Art Building 163
MS Requirements
The Master of Science in Art Education is a 30-credit program with advanced work in both studio art and art education. It is designed for experienced teachers of art and others who hold certification to teach art and wish further training as teachers-artists-researchers. The minimum requirement for the MS in Art Education degree is 30 graduate credits, 21 of which must be in the Visual Art Department. The student, in consultation with the major professor, is responsible for planning a 15-credit (minimum) program of study in art education with a specific focus in curriculum and instruction (which would include computer/video technology), exceptional education, early childhood education, multi-cultural instruction and/or museum education. Coursework should include a 9-credit (minimum) concentration of course work in studio art or, with major professor's written approval, in a related field such as art history, architecture, film, aesthetics, criticism, anthropology, sociology, or psychology.
Major Professor as Advisor
Immediately upon admission the graduate student must contact the head of the Art Education Area for initial advising and aid in selection of a major professor from the faculty of the Art Education Area.
Upon completion of 9 graduate credits, each student must make arrangements for a professor in the Art Education Area to serve as the major professor and must notify the Visual Art Department Office of Graduate Studies of that professor's willingness to serve in such a capacity. Immediately thereafter, each student, in consultation with the major professor, must organize a thesis committee. This committee consists of the major professor and two additional faculty members from the Visual Art Department.
Thesis
All M.S. in Art Ed. students must develop, present and defend a thesis to complete their degree. Three thesis options are available: a written thesis that emphasizes scholarly research; an applied study that includes the development and implementation of a significant teaching strategy or curricular model which is reported on in a written thesis; a thesis exhibition in which a student prepares a gallery presentation of a body of work created in studio courses. Thesis option must be selected by a student and approved by the major advisor before 15 graduate credits are earned.
Students who elect one of the written thesis options must have at least two members of the Art Education Area faculty on their thesis committee and one from their related field of study.
While studio courses are open to all graduate students who meet the prerequisites, those who elect the thesis exhibition option must be reviewed and accepted for thesis work by the faculty of the Area in which they wish to create a body of work to exhibit. Students must also complete a minimum of 15 credits of study in that studio area, participate in at least one Graduate Review before completing degree requirements, have at least two members of their studio area on their thesis committee, and meet the exhibition requirements of the Visual Art Department Graduate Studies Program.
Comprehensive Examination
All M.S. in Art Education students must pass a final oral examination in defense of the thesis. Students who elect the exhibition thesis option must pass both an oral and a written examination.
Time Limit
Students are required to complete all degree requirements within five years of initial enrollment.
Click here for the link to the University Graduate School bulletin for further information on the MS degree in Art Education.
topMS Curriculum
Graduate study in Art Education at UWM responds to the realities of art teachers’ busy lives:
- Offering evening, summer and intensive courses.
- Encouraging graduate students to draw upon their experiences in the classroom and the studio to formulate research questions that are personally meaningful.
- Helping teachers connect their own practice to larger contemporary issues in art education.
- Connecting graduate study to PI-34 –the new Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction law governing teacher certification.
MS Course Descriptions
Click here for MS course descriptions.
topMS Opportunities
Depending on graduate students’ teaching experience, interests, and availability the graduate program at UWM will invite students to:
- Collaborate with faculty in research and teaching projects established in both school and community settings.
- Produce and exhibit their art work as part of their program.