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The VCFA MFA in Graphic Design Program Blog

Escape From New York

December 20, 2015

VCFA Chair and faculty member Ian Lynam wrote this essay recently for the latest issue of Slanted about New York, Vermont, death, life and VCFA. He also published this homage to our school on Medium, as well.

An excerpt:

Say we rewind the clock back to 1764 — New York was immensely bigger. It stretched farther north than it does in the year 2015, and for a scant thirteen years encompassed the area wherein resides the state we now know as Vermont. Public conceptions of Vermont?

Vermont: home of maple syrup

Vermont: home of Burton Snowboards

Vermont: (former, kind of) home of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream

Or for me:

Vermont: land of 1,000 weird memories, land of one-third of my current income, and land of 80% of where I devote my time from across the world…

You can read the whole shebang here.affiliate tracking url | Jordan

The Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design is one of the nation’s first low-residency programs in graphic design that is built around a student’s individual interests and goals.

The MFA in Graphic Design is an immersive two-year graduate program that synthesizes five intense, one-week residencies with four six-month semesters of independent study with a range of faculty mentors. We educate students towards the broader context of design in order to investigate and reveal relationships. We see Graphic Design as a social tool and design education as a process of social transformation.

Our innovative, highly effective pedagogical model has its roots in the progressive educational philosophies of John Dewey. Our student-centered approach allows students to develop individualized study plans, addressing design issues that support their particular interests, values, and goals.

MFA students in our Graphic Design program will develop skills in form, content and craft, deepen and expand critical ability, build fluency in contemporary design discourse, and expand their ability to drive content with their work.

Graduates emerge with new research methods, critical acumen, and a body of design work that is personal and relevant; one which enhances their professional and academic path. They will have learned to continuously rethink design by considering cultural context, relationships between designers and their work, and the nature of education within design.