School of Art and Design

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Detailed Information

In its graduate studio programs, the School of Art and Design strives to maintain a vital, creative environment in which developing artists with strong motivation develop a clear, mature, and professional focus. The core of the program involves frequent, sustained contact with professional faculty members and fellow students. Work is supported and extended through formal studio courses and studies in the history of art as well as through access to the many resources and possibilities available at a large, multipurpose university.

The School of Art and Design has a very robust graduate assistantship program. Assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis. These assistantships are allocated based on the students’ abilities to carry out a specific position with a high degree of efficiency, effectiveness, and professionalism. Every attempt is made to provide all graduate students with an assistantship, but it is the students’ responsibility to seek out those assistantships for which they are most qualified.

The faculty members select promising national and international candidates; provide them with a professional studio environment; and encourage self-discipline, high standards, and productivity. A high level of creative inquiry is developed through peer exchange. A variety of career goals are addressed, ranging from preparation for an academic career to sustaining oneself as an independent artist. The School of Art and Design encourages diversity and dialogue and favors no single style or ideology. The School also recognizes the importance of addressing art issues from a global perspective, which Southern Illinois University Carbondale fosters in part through the multinational composition of its graduate student community. A solo thesis exhibition documents the graduate’s experience.

M.F.A. candidates, as well as other interested graduate students, are eligible to enroll in the certificate program in art history. A modest amount of additional course work in art history can significantly enhance graduates’ academic knowledge, skills, and employment prospects.

The School of Art and Design is housed mainly in five buildings spread across the campus. The most central building is the Allyn Building, which contains the administrative offices, art history and art education offices, printmaking facilities, and classrooms dedicated to painting, drawing, art history, and art education. The industrial wing of Pulliam Hall houses ceramics, metals, blacksmithing, and glass programs, areas that have all recently been renovated. The former Good Luck Glove Factory was thoroughly rehabbed in the early 1990s and recently renovated to accommodate the Foundations Program. The Glove Factory is also the location of the Surplus Gallery, a large, urban-style gallery space suitable for a broad range of traditional exhibitions and experimental installations. Pulliam and “The Glove” provide excellent individual studios for M.F.A. students and faculty members. Additional buildings around the campus house more studio facilities for glass, small metals, and sculpture, including a sculpture foundry.

Quarter-time and half-time teaching research assistantships and fellowships are a source of financial support for most students. Assistantships and fellowships come with full tuition waivers. Students who are accepted into the graduate program are automatically considered for assistantships and, whenever possible, are placed in positions that reflect their studio strengths. Assistantships are awarded on merit and according to programmatic needs. The School recommends that applicants with undergraduate GPAs of 3.5 and above include recent GRE scores with their applications so they may be considered for competitive campuswide fellowships. Special financial assistance, for first-year students only, is available through the Master’s Fellowship, the Graduate Dean’s Fellowship, and ICEOP and PROMPT Fellowships for members of minority groups and women. Applications are available on request.

In-state graduate tuition is $328 per credit hour in 2009–10. Out-of-state tuition is 2.5 times the in-state tuition rate ($820 per credit hour). Graduate students with at least a 25 percent appointment as a graduate assistant receive a tuition scholarship. Fees vary from $589.03 (1 credit hour) to $1557.50 (12 credit hours). Students with a graduate assistantship receive a 50 percent reduction in the primary care medical fee. New graduate students from Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee qualify for the alternate tuition rate, which is equivalent to the in-state graduate tuition rate.

For married couples, students with families, and single graduate students, the University has 690 efficiency and one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments that rent for $499 to $720 per month in 2009–10. Residence halls for single graduate students are also available, as are accessible residence hall rooms and apartments for students with disabilities.

The School of Art and Design at Southern Illinois University Carbondale is located in Carbondale, a small city approximately 60 miles north of the southern tip of Illinois. Students from northern Illinois find Amtrak (train) and Interstate Route 57 the fastest and most direct routes. Students also have access to Williamson County Airport, on Route 13 east of Carbondale. Carbondale is about 110 miles (a 2-hour drive) southeast of Lambert–St. Louis International Airport, St. Louis, Missouri, and 330 miles (a 6-hour drive) south of Chicago, Illinois.

Founded in 1869, Southern Illinois University is currently home to more than 20,000 students, including 4,000 graduate and professional students. In keeping with the state’s master plan, and with a commitment to enhance its Carnegie II Research status, the University’s objective is to provide a comprehensive educational program meeting as many individual student needs as possible. The University comprises a faculty and the facilities to offer general and professional training ranging from two-year associate degree to doctoral programs. The School of Art and Design has sustained a strong national reputation for many years, with a stable graduate enrollment of about 50 students–one third of whom graduate each year with an M.F.A. degree.

Applicants are evaluated and selected by the faculty members of the specific studio discipline to which they apply. The portfolio should include a statement of intent, fifteen to twenty slides of recent work, transcripts, and three letters of recommendation. GRE scores are necessary only for students interested in applying for fellowships and are not necessary for all other forms of financial aid. The School affirmatively seeks to attract to its faculty, staff, and student body qualified individuals of diverse backgrounds.

• Najjar Abdul-Musawwir, Associate Professor; M.F.A., Southern Illinois Carbondale, 1997. Drawing, painting, core curriculum. (E-mail: mekka@siu.edu)
• Steve Belletire, Professor; B.F.A., Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1971. Industrial design. (E-mail: sbell@siu.edu)
• Barbara Bickel, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., British Columbia, 2008. Art education. (E-mail: bickel@siu.edu)
• Pattie Chalmers, Assistant Professor; M.F.A., Minnesota, 2001. Ceramics.
• Peter Chametzky, Associate Professor and Director; Ph.D., CUNY, 1991. Art history. (E-mail: pchamet@siu.edu)
• Harris Deller, Professor; M.F.A., Cranbrook Academy of Art, 1973. Ceramics. (E-mail: ga4252@siu.edu)
• Elina Gertsman, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Boston University, 2004. Art history. (E-mail: gertsman@siu.edu)
• Carma Gorman, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Berkeley, 1998. Art history. (E-mail: cgorman@siu.edu)
• Sally Gradle, Assistant Professor; Ed.D., Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2004. Art education. (E-mail: gradle@siu.edu)
• Sun Kyoung Kim, Assistant Professor; M.F.A., Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. Metalsmithing, jewelry. (E-mail: sunkim@siu.edu)
• Jiyong Lee, Assistant Professor; M.F.A., RIT, 2000. Glass. (E-mail: jiyong@siu.edu)
• Alex Lopez, Assistant Professor; M.F.A., Alfred, 1998. Foundations/sculpture. (E-mail: alxlpz@siu.edu)
• Robert Lopez, Assistant Professor; M.F.A., Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2000. Industrial design. (E-mail:roblopez@siu.edu)
• Jerry Monteith, Professor; M.F.A., Cranbrook Academy of Art, 1978. Sculpture. (E-mail: monteith@siu.edu)
• Erin Palmer, Associate Professor; M.F.A., Yale, 1993. Drawing, painting. (Contact: Art Office, 618-453-4315)
• Mark Pease, Assistant Professor; M.F.A., Pennsylvania, 2003. Digital media. (E-mail: markpease@siu.edu)
• Aaron Scott, Assistant Professor; M.F.A., Purdue, 2008. Industrial design. (E-mail: aaronsiu@siu.edu)
• Xuhong Shang, Professor; M.F.A., Temple, 1992. Painting. (E-mail: xuhong@siu.edu)
• Edward Shay, Emeritus Professor; M.F.A., Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1971. Painting, printmaking, drawing. (E-mail: shay@siu.edu)
• Stacey Sloboda, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., UCLA, 2004. Art history. (E-mail: sloboda@siu.edu)
• Rick Smith, Associate Professor; M.F.A., Southern Illinois Carbondale, 1992. Metalsmithing, blacksmithing. (E-mail: rshotforged@gmail.com)
• Kay Zivkovich, Professor and Assistant Director; M.F.A., 1973, M.Ed., 1979, Southern Illinois Carbondale. Communication design. (E-mail: kmpzivko@siu.edu)

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