Unique Interdisciplinary Curriculum
Individual-Focused Instruction
Boston: The Extended Classroom

Unique Interdisciplinary Curriculum
At the SMFA we recognize that disciplines converge and influence each other, and that contemporary art is truly interdisciplinary. We encourage all students to build solid foundations and acquire skill sets in numerous disciplines in order to create new possibilities and forms of artmaking.

In the Pre-College Summer Studio you will explore painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, installation, video, digital photography, as well as sound art and performance, so that you may take your artmaking to the next level. These core courses will encompass basic skills, experimentation, conceptual thinking, problem solving, critique, and discussions. Click here for more information about the curriculum.

Individual-Focused Instruction
Highly skilled and experienced artists/teachers will instruct you in studio work and lead you in discussions about the artmaking process. Our unusually low student to faculty ratio (6:1) ensures that you will get the attention you need as you evolve your artwork. You will also be matched with a graduate student mentor in the Master of Fine Arts program who, during regular meetings throughout the Pre-College Summer Studio, will help you further develop your individual vision.

Inspiring and encouraging, the program’s dedicated faculty, teaching assistants, and graduate student mentors will create a space in which you will have the opportunity to:

• Experience the intersection of disciplines as part of the artmaking process,
• Advance your technical skills in all subjects,
• Learn to work both independently and collaboratively,
• Experience how artists engage through interaction with each other and the wider community,
• Gain self-confidence around your own creative process, and
• Develop critical thinking skills by learning how to ask questions and productively critique yourself and others.

Boston: The Extended Classroom
Visits from renowned artists and excursions in the Boston area will provide opportunities for direct engagement with the local art and culture scene. You will participate in off-site interactive tours at several area museums such as SMFA's own Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Institute of Contemporary Art, MIT's List Visual Arts Center, and Harvard University's museums. You will also attend special programs at local studios and galleries, including GASP (Gallery Artists Studio Projects) and the Berwick Research Institute.

Just across the street from the SMFA, you will have access to the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and, a short shuttle ride away, the collections of the Tufts University Art Gallery/Aidekman Arts Center are available to you.