YEAR TWO : THESIS YEAR
MFA THESIS The MFA Thesis core course is two semester sequence of work on a capstone project that is the intellectual and practice expression of a student’s professional and creative interests. Projects are mentored in 1:1 meetings with the Thesis faculty and with guest critics. The Thesis Year begins in the summer after Year One with research and a draft proposal due August 1. Faculty feedback guides students to their finished written proposal and visual presentation that is formally presented in the first week of classes.
1:1 WITH THESIS FACULTY Year Two is a pivotal year for students to imagine their place in the practice of illustration. The weekly 1:1 meetings are a place for the student and faculty to go deep into discussion on the individual work giving feedback on the Project progress, and guiding the students in fulfilling their Project plan. The Thesis Project opens up the opportunity to test and prove ideas, as well as examine where their ideas fit in a professional realm.
Thesis Projects have included animated shorts; picture books for children; wordless books for adults; graphic novels, comics and zines on standards or beauty, feminist theory, dystopia and recycling, space fiction; cultural and gender identity, imaginary histories, and family tragedies; storytelling with clay; children’s clothing; surface designed products; automata illustration; and a handlettered lost alphabet.
GUEST CRITICS Critics from the fields of illustration, design, art direction, publishing, and more are invited to meet with students individually to give additional feedback. They also give a 45 minute Lunchtime Lecture open to the MICA community. See our list of esteemed guests to date on our Critics page.
THESIS FORMATS The Thesis Formats course focuses on professional development part of working as an illustrator. The tools learned in Thesis Formats are essential in understanding basic principles of business, marketing, networking, promotion, intellectual property, and pricing to establish an independent studio. These principles are immediately applicable to promoting the Grad Show, creating a website, and developing a brand/identity for entry into working with other professionals.
GRAD SHOW 2 MICA’s Grad Show 2 is a campus wide exhibition of work by graduate illustration and design students. The exhibition opens each April to the public. The ILP students are challenged to imagine their Thesis Project expanded into a 3-dimensional space in order to show express more about their idea.
ILP Grad Show thematic installations have included feminism, futurism, identity, travel, loss, nostalgia, ecology, chance, and the American Dream.
THESIS BOOK The Thesis Book is both a document and record of the student’s progress and realizations during Year Two. This 36+ page book includes writing, process photographs, sketches and final art images that are presented in a manner to reflect the individuality of the student and their project. A PDF copy of each student’s Thesis Book is archived in the MICA Decker Library.
ART MARKET is a 4-day marketplace where students, faculty and staff sell artist products. Although Year Two student participation is optional, most all continue to sell at Art Market, many generating new products. This marketplace engages students in considering the ethics of packaging waste, display, inventory management, customer relations, and sales while they simultaneously observe how customers interact with products created by everyone in the cohort.