Graduate Overview

Recognizing that developing narrative comics is a multi-faceted art form, the Master of Fine Arts in Studio, Comics curriculum ensures students are well-versed in various disciplines. Students are encouraged to explore and experiment across departments, including Printmedia, Painting and Drawing, Writing, and Visual Communication Design. Foundational comics seminars combined with individually selected studio electives and advisors provide an environment where aspiring comic artists’ creativity and artistic expression can flourish. 

As part of SAIC’s MFA in Studio curriculum, students will:

• Complete 60 credits hours taking courses of their choosing across studio, design, and academic departments
• Participate in graduate critiques that alternate between discipline-specific panels in the fall semester and interdisciplinary panels in the spring semester
• Present their work to their peers and to the public through the Graduate Thesis Exhibition and other end-of-year presentation opportunities

Each semester, in addition to selecting graduate advisors from within the department, students can choose from more than 100 graduate faculty advisors at SAIC. Advisors represent a myriad of disciplines, approaches, and intellectual positions. Individualized instruction is the cornerstone of the graduate studio program.

All graduate students in the MFA in Studio, Comics program are eligible for up to two teaching assistantships per semester. During their assistantships, they provide technical and instructional support to faculty in the undergraduate studio-classroom.

Panels comprised of faculty and invited guests conduct intensive studio critiques with all MFA and writing graduate students for one week each semester. During the fall, Crit Week offers students the opportunity to discuss on-going work from a disciplinary, department-specific point of view. Attention to material exploration, techniques, and ideas feature prominently. An interdisciplinary Crit Week follows in the spring. During this time, faculty, visiting artists, and peers from across SAIC departments participate in a diverse exchange addressing concepts, creative production, and histories.

Students in the Comics program have access to a vast array of world-class facilities and resources. These include a comics classroom equipped with drafting tables and digital scanner; screen printing stations; a bookbinding studio; display cases for exhibiting artwork; and much more. A wealth of other campus-wide resources such as gallery spaces, libraries, and other special collections makes SAIC an ideal place to pursue a comics education.

The Comics program’s faculty is made up of highly acclaimed professionals in their fields, including nationally and internationally renowned comic artists, authors, and graphic designers. Faculty gather from across disciplines including Printmedia, Painting and Drawing, Writing, and Visual Communication Design to help students cultivate their own unique narrative and artistic voices.

Each of the studio programs at SAIC has a unique but porous culture. Students are encouraged to engage with peers, faculty, and mentors across departments and disciplines as they develop their individual practices. Opportunities and resources to work collaboratively with others in different fields include: 

• Campus-wide gallery spaces, including SAIC Galleries, the student-run SITE galleries, and other exhibition opportunities across campus
• Graduate studios for MFA students that are spread across campus to allow for a robust exchange of ideas
• Interdisciplinary critiques with panel members including faculty, visiting artists, and fellow graduate students
• Student-run publications such as Fnewsmagazine, SAIC’s student-produced newspaper, and Xerox Candy Bar, a biannual zine and one of SAIC’s oldest student-run organizations
• Student groups, organizations, and leadership opportunities that offer countless ways to get involved across the SAIC community