Masters Degrees
 

Degree Requirements for Master of Science in Visual Studies

Residency
The minimum required residency for students enrolled in the SMVisS program is two academic years. SMVisS students do not register for summer term.

Faculty Advising
A faculty advisor from the Visual Arts Program is assigned to each SMVisS student at matriculation. The advisor will consult on the student’s initial plan of study and on each subsequent term’s choice of subjects. This individual should be a faculty member with whom the student is in close contact; changes in advisor may be made to make this possible. The advisor monitors the student’s progress through completion of the degree.

Subjects and Credit Units
Studio activity forms the backbone of the curriculum, which culminates in a thesis project. A minimum of 156 units of coursework is required, not including thesis. Of these units, 123 must be H-level graduate credits. Subjects to be taken include:

  • 4.390, Visual Arts Independent Studio, taken each term
  • 3 advanced subjects within the Visual Arts Program
  • 3 electives; one of the electives has to be an art or architecture history class or a class in comparative media studies
  • 4.388, SMVisS Thesis Preparation, taken during the second term of registration; the approved thesis proposal is a product of this subject and is due prior to fall registration of the second year
  • 4.389, SMVisS Thesis Tutorial, taken during the third and fourth terms of registration as an independent study with the thesis advisor. Registration allowed with an approved thesis proposal.
  • 4.THG, Thesis; registration for thesis takes place in the final term—in the final term, there must be no outstanding incompletes in required subjects to register for thesis

Visual Arts Independent Studio
Visual Arts Independent Studio (4.390) is restricted to SMVisS degree students and serves as the center of the curriculum. It is coordinated by one or two faculty members each term and depends upon the participation of all faculty currently advising thesis students.

First-term SMVisS students register for 24 units. They are expected to participate in all class meetings and present project work regularly.

Second, third- and fourth-term SMVisS students register for 12 units. Project work presented is related to the evolving thesis project and participation in midterm and final reviews is expected obligitory.

Thesis
Preparation for SMVisS Thesis (4.388) is taken in the second term of residency. A senior faculty member teaches the class, meeting with the students both collectively and individually. The result of this 9-unit subject is a completed and approved 15–20 page thesis proposal that outlines the artistic intention of the project, tracing its critical positions within contemporary art practice.

Students formally present their thesis outlines to the Visual Arts Program (VAP) faculty at the beginning of the fall term of the second year prior to registration for thesis SMVisS Thesis Tutorial (4.389).

SMVisS Thesis Tutorial (4.389) taken in the third and fourth terms involves independent study supervised by the thesis advisor. It supports thesis research by creating the links between the student's artistic practice and the contextual and theoretical reflections of the written thesis.

The approved 20-page proposal with thesis committee signatures must be submitted to the VAP administrator for approval by senior faculty prior to registration for SMVisS Thesis (4.ThG). Students who do not submit an approved proposal will not be allowed to register for thesis during the fourth semester. The thesis proposal should include graphic representations and/or models that explore the artistic articulation of the project as well as a bibliography of readings, a collection of visual references for the project and a thesis committee.

The thesis committee is chosen prior to the submission of the thesis proposal and is composed of two members: a thesis supervisor and a reader. The thesis supervisor must be a permanent faculty member of the Visual Arts Program. The reader may be any permanent MIT faculty member. A second reader is optional and may be from within or outside of the MIT community.

Students are expected to register for 24 units of thesis (4.THG) in the fourth and final term.

The SMVisS is awarded after two copies of the approved, archival-ready thesis have been submitted to headquarters of the Department of Architecture by the Institute deadline for master’s theses as published in the MIT Academic Calendar. Students must adhere to the Specification for Thesis Preparation published by the Institute Archives.

Policy on Incomplete Subjects
SMVisS students may have no more than one incomplete in a required subject when they register for thesis (4.THG). This incomplete can be no more than one term old (received the semester prior to thesis registration).

Students who have incompletes from several subjects or incompletes from earlier terms will be denied registration until those subjects are finished and graded. This policy applies to incompletes in subjects required by the specific degree curriculum or needed for units toward the degree

English Proficiency Requirement
All students whose first language is not English are required to take the English Evaluation Test (EET) prior to registration at MIT. Even students who satisfy the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or TOEFL requirement for admission may be required to take specialized subjects in English as a Second Language (ESL), depending on their EET results. These subjects do not count toward the required units but will prove valuable in helping students develop the skills necessary to comfortably write a thesis.

Quick Links
Academic Calendar
Specification for Thesis Preparation
English Evaluation Test (EET)
SMVisS Curriculum Chart
SMVisS Thesis Proposal Completion Form
Thesis Committee Guidelines

 
null