The
Yale School of Art is one of twelve constituent schools of
Yale UniversityYale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale has produced many notable alumni, including five...
. It is a professional
art schoolArt school is a colloquial term for any educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, especially graphic design, illustration, painting, photography, and sculpture...
, granting only
Masters of Fine ArtsIn the United States, a Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring two to three years of study. In the United Kingdom, a typically requires two years, whereas a is usually one year of study....
degrees to those completing studies in graphic design, painting/printmaking, photography, or sculpture.
According to a 2003 survey "of deans and department chairs, one per school, at 213 master of fine arts programs" conducted by
U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report is an American newsmagazine published in Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek, it was for many years a leading news weekly, although it focused more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
, the School shares a number one ranking with the
Rhode Island School of DesignThe Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877 and is currently located at the base of College Hill and contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources...
and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for Masters of Fine Arts programs. Any student applying to the school must have an exceptional undergraduate record as well as a complete body of work for presentation.
The
Yale School of Art is one of twelve constituent schools of
Yale UniversityYale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale has produced many notable alumni, including five...
. It is a professional
art schoolArt school is a colloquial term for any educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, especially graphic design, illustration, painting, photography, and sculpture...
, granting only
Masters of Fine ArtsIn the United States, a Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring two to three years of study. In the United Kingdom, a typically requires two years, whereas a is usually one year of study....
degrees to those completing studies in graphic design, painting/printmaking, photography, or sculpture.
According to a 2003 survey "of deans and department chairs, one per school, at 213 master of fine arts programs" conducted by
U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report is an American newsmagazine published in Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek, it was for many years a leading news weekly, although it focused more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
, the School shares a number one ranking with the
Rhode Island School of DesignThe Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877 and is currently located at the base of College Hill and contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources...
and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for Masters of Fine Arts programs. Any student applying to the school must have an exceptional undergraduate record as well as a complete body of work for presentation. This is further followed by an essay and recommendations from established members of the art world. The complete process for an applicant requires great preparation and the process must be completed in accordance with strict guidelines established by the school The
Yale Daily NewsThe Yale Daily News is a newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut since January 28, 1878. The paper's first editors wrote:...
reported on Thursday, February 1, 2007 that 1215 applicants for its class of 2009 sought admission to fifty-five places. The Yale Alumni Magazine reported in its November/December 2008 issue that the School admitted sixty-five from among 1142 applicants for its class of 2010, and that fifty-six of them enrolled.
History
The study of the visual arts at Yale began with the opening of the
Trumbull GalleryThe Yale University Art Gallery houses a significant and encyclopedic collection of art in several buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Although it embraces all cultures and periods, the Gallery possesses especially renowned collections of early Italian painting,...
in 1832. The Gallery was founded
by patriot-artist Colonel
John TrumbullJohn Trumbull was an American artist during the period of the American Revolutionary War famous for his historical paintings including his Declaration of Independence, which appears on the reverse of the two-dollar bill.-Early years:Trumbull was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, to Jonathan Trumbull,...
, one-time aide-de-camp to
General WashingtonGeorge Washington was the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the first President of the United States of America...
, with the help of Professor
Benjamin SillimanBenjamin Silliman was an American chemist, one of the first American professors of science , and the first to distill petroleum.-Early life:...
, the celebrated scientist.
Augustus Russell Street donated funds for the establishment of an art school in 1864. The program was placed under an art council, one of whose members was the painter-inventor Samuel F. B. Morse, a graduate of
Yale CollegeYale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...
. Yale alumnus
Andrew Dickson WhiteAndrew Dickson White was a U.S. diplomat, historian, and educator, best known as the co-founder of Cornell University.-Family and personal life:...
was petitioned by the school's faculty to become the first dean, but instead opted to be the first president of
Cornell UniversityCornell University is a private university located in Ithaca, New York, USA, that is a member of the Ivy League.Cornell counts more than 255,000 living alumni, 28 Rhodes Scholars and 41 Nobel laureates affiliated with the university as faculty or students...
. When the School opened in 1869, it was the first of its kind affiliated with a tertiary institution in America. Classes in drawing, painting, sculpture, and art history were inaugurated.
Architectural instruction was begun in 1908 and was established as a department in 1916 with Everett Victor Meeks at its head. Drama, under the direction of George Pierce Baker and with its own separate building, was added in 1925 and continued to function as a department of the School until it became an
independent schoolThe Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theatre...
in 1955.
The department of graphic design (initially called graphic arts) was begun in 1951 under the direction of
Alvin EisenmanAlvin Eisenman was an influential American graphic designer and educator throughout the last half of the 1900s. He is most notable for founding and heading Yale University's graduate program in graphic design beginning in 1951 — the first graduate program in graphic design in the United States...
. It was the first graduate program in graphic design in the United States.
In 1959 the School of Art and Architecture was made a fully graduate professional school. Four years later the
Art and Architecture BuildingThe Yale Art and Architecture Building is one of the earliest and best known examples of Brutalist architecture in the United States...
was opened to much controversy. Designed by Paul Rudolph, it falls under the category of brutalism in modernist architecture.
In 1972 two separate schools, the School of Art and the
School of ArchitectureThe Yale School of Architecture is one of the constituent professional schools of Yale University. It is generally considered one of the most prestigious architecture schools in the world.- History :...
, were established. They continued to share the Art and Architecture building until 2000. In 2000 a new building opened up for the art school at 1156 Chapel Street near the Rudolph building. It is called Green Hall and houses BFA students and MFA students in photo and graphic design. The painting MFAs have their own building behind Green Hall, and the sculpture MFAs remain in Hammond Hall across campus. However, a giant new sculpture building is currently being built on Howe Street.
Study
The degree of Master of Fine Arts is the only degree offered by the School of Art. It is conferred upon recommendation of the faculty after successful completion of all course work in residence and after a faculty-approved thesis presentation. The minimum residence requirement is two years. All candidates’ work is reviewed by faculty at the end of each term.
The School of Art offers professional instruction in four interrelated areas of study: graphic design, painting/printmaking, photography, and sculpture.
The graduate student’s primary educational experience is centered on studio activity. Supporting this are structured courses such as drawing, filmmaking, and the relativity of color.
External links