MFA in Design Criticism: CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

MFA in Design Criticism: CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
School of Visual Arts, New York City
http://dcrit.sva.edu

Alice Twemlow, Chair
atwemlow@sva.edu

SVA MFA Design Criticism is accepting applications for Fall 2010 on a rolling admissions basis, as space allows.

Create original segments in a Radio and Podcasting Workshop with PRI's "Studio 360" senior producer Leital Molad and host Kurt Andersen; voyage deep into 20th century design with design historian Russell Flinchum; learn investigative journalism techniques with Change Observer editor Julie Lasky, curate exhibitions with MoMA design curator Paola Antonelli and Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum curator Matilda McQuaid, and find your critical voice with Ralph Caplan, Akiko Busch, and Andrea Codrington.
 
The core curriculum, which trains students to research, analyze, and evaluate design and its social and environmental implications, is supplemented by the specialist knowledge of more than 40 visiting critics and lecturers per semester. Recent guests include Sam Tannenhaus, editor of New York Times Book Review, industrial designer Ayse Birsel, documentary filmmaker Gary Huswit, Gawker.com editor-in-chief Gabriel Snyder, New York Times perfume critic Chandler Burr, author and critic Rick Poynor, and Cathy Leff, director of the Wolfsonian Museum.

We welcome applicants from a range of academic backgrounds whose diverse perspectives and experiences enrich the debate. The program is equally well suited to designers, who want to hone their skills in writing and critical thinking, as it is to journalists or filmmakers, who wish to deepen their understanding of design.

D-Crit students have interned with The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, the Museum of the Moving Image, Environmental Health Clinic + Lab at New York University, LOT-EK, Pentagram, Base Design, and OMA Rotterdam. They have also been busy publishing in influential titles such as Design Observer, AIGA Voice, Core 77, Eye, Icon, and Surface, presenting at conferences and winning awards such as the Winterhouse Awards for Design Writing and Criticism.

Admission to the two-year program is by online application and the submission of required documents. Candidates are encouraged to discuss their application with the department chair. We are also happy to arrange for prospective students to tour the department, meet some of the current students and to attend a class, a Tuesday evening lecture, or the D-Crit Conference.

Departmental scholarships are available on a competitive basis.

For more information on faculty, curriculum, and how to apply, please visit http://dcrit.sva.edu.