TROY|Department of Art and Design

Guidelines:      Senior Thesis for Studio Arts Majors 

              CONGRATULATIONS! So, here you are, senior, studio arts major.

              For years you have been preparing yourself for a life as an artist, designer, or      for some other creative position.

              Now is your appointed time to prepare for one of the most important events          yet– YOUR SENIOR EXHIBITION! This is and should be an exciting time for        you. I know it is for us. This is where you can brightly shine and publicly     proclaim that you have something important to offer the world.

              The fact is that YOU DO have something valuable to offer to the rest of us. I          hope you have already discovered this for yourself. Let this Senior Thesis     course be the venue for showcasing the best you can offer. You deserve the

              opportunity and the world needs you to do your very best.

Introduction:

The Senior Thesis course is required of all 72-hour art studio majors and is an important aspect of your academic growth as an artist. Through this course, you will not only be exhibiting finished works of art, but you will be revealing much about yourself as an individual artist.  The ability to research, to think critically, to explore those who’ve gone before you in similar quests of knowledge, working diligently at your craft, learning from not only your instructors but from your peers and even from other subject areas- these are just a few of the numerous attributes that should compose this experience called Senior Thesis.

Final Presentation:

The final presentation will consist of the following:

§          Your work displayed in the Malone Gallery in the appropriate manner

§          A formal portfolio presentation of work designed in the studio art program

§          A business card designed and printed (to be displayed in card holder next to work)

§          An artist statement to be mounted on the wall accompanying your work

Step One:

Determining a Theme

Student should pay particular attention to proposing a “theme” which best expresses a personal interest, academic achievement and professional aspiration. The selection of media and theme is highly critical to the success of the project. Students are required to make their work “theme and concept based” rather than media or subject-only based.  It is recommended that you meet with one of the Art and Design faculty to discuss your ideas. This meeting focuses on identifying the student’s individual strengths as a studio artist critical to the direction of the theme.  Strategic factors concerning the projects are discussed at this level.  This meeting should occur one semester before the student begins to write the proposal.

Meet with an Advisor: The student should designate ONE faculty advisor. The appointment of this advisor should be first discussed and mutually agreed by each party.  Both the student and the advisor should determine meeting dates and schedule. The student also should include a "needs" list (what do I need my advisor to do with me?). It is imperative that the student meet with the advisor on a regular basis. If the advisor is not available--it is the students' responsibility to persist.

Meetings and Schedules: Students are required to prepare a schedule in advance for meetings and deadlines (see template for scheduling).

Step Two:

Writing the Proposal

Prior to the beginning of the semester in which the project is to be undertaken the student will submit a proposal to the Instructor of Record (Pam Allen). The proposal will be discussed and reviewed by an advisory committee.

The proposal MUST be word-processed and checked for structure, spelling, and grammatical accuracy before submission.  The following format identifies the criteria of the Written Proposal

CONTENTS of the PROPOSAL:

§          COVER SHEET: Title of the project, name/email address of the student, and advisor.         

§          THEME: This introduction should describe what the theme is about in great detail.

§          PROJECT GOALS: Written description of what the body of work will be or look like (i.e.) paintings, prints, sculpture, etc. to include dimensions and number of works to be produced. Provide support material: drawings, sketches (can be thumbnails), relevant prototype materials, etc.

§          PROJECT MATERIALS: The nature and quantity of materials expected to be used to complete project. This should include framing, presentation materials , pedestals, stands, etc.

§          TIMETABLE: Dates, schedules that identify progress of project to include meetings with advisor to gallery presentation.

§          PROJECT RESOURCES: Preliminary research documentation of theme, topic, issues, artists, and artist’s works, techniques, and additional factors that will influence the project.

§          ESTIMATED COST: Costs of materials necessary to complete the project.

§          COMPILED DOCUMENTATION: Students should include additional support material necessary to make the proposal complete.

The proposal should be designed as a bound (spiral) report and should be well designed and packaged. Anything less than this will result in a FAIL grade. This proposal should be a minimum of four word processed pages and checked for spelling and grammatical errors.

Student Check List for Proposal:

Faculty Review and Evaluation:

The faculty of the Department of Art and Design will review all proposals. Students should submit proposals one week prior to the oral presentation to the committee. During the orals, the review committee will critique the project and process. The review committee will be highly critical during this stage of the process. The review committee will articulate concerns and suggestions well in advanced during this process. If committee members disagree on specific issues, it is up to the student to resolve and decide which direction to take. The committee is encouraged to provide MULTIPLE and diverse criticisms.

The review committee will be asked to submit a written critique and grade evaluation.

The grade evaluations are as follows:

-          PASS

-          PASS WITH CONTINGENCIES

-          FAIL

If the majority of the faculty vote to PASS or PASS WITH CONTINGENCIES, then the proposal has been officially approved. Once the faculty review committee approves the proposal, the student should immediately embark on developing the final report and visual work.

If the faculty review committee FAILS the proposal, the student should meet immediately with the primary advisor to discuss problems, issues and solutions. Student will have 7 weekdays to revise and reschedule a second review with the review committee.

If the faculty review committee AGAIN does NOT approve the proposal, the student will be asked to withdraw from the course and to apply for graduation the following semester. Typically proposals will not be approved if time has not been spent on research, presentation or consistent consultation with the primary advisor.

Step Three:

Working on the Project

Once the proposal has been approved the student should immediately begin writing and developing visual work for the project.

Contents of the Manifesto: The manifesto is a personal statement on your philosophy of art.  It should be a MS Word document, 10-page minimum, 12-point Times Roman font, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on all sides.

§          COVER SHEET: Title of the project, name/email address of the student and advisor.

§          MANIFESTO: An artist manifesto is about your philosophy of art. It is a way for you to express what art means to you as well as what your art means. Why do you make art? What are your passions?  The content of this manifesto starts with you embellishing on the ideas formulated should describe the selected theme, the research involved and the process of execution and analysis throughout the entire process.

§          SUPPORTING MATERIALS: Students should include additional support material necessary to make the report complete, (i.e.) illustrations, photos

§          BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES

§          A FINAL CDROM PRESENTATION OR SLIDE SHEET OF ALL WORK

The final manifesto should be bound (spiral) and should be well designed. Anything less than this will result in a FAIL grade.

Student Check List for Manifesto:

Information to come:

1.      Photographing and Documenting your Work

2.      Gallery Preparation and Presentation

3.      Making name cards for your work