Degrees Offered

BFA in Ceramics

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Ceramics program at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture offers students an unparalleled combination of accessibility, diversity, technology, collaboration, affordability, professional preparation and—most of all—opportunity for creative exploration and growth.

Led by a faculty of practicing artists in state-of-the-art facilities, Ceramics majors work in a close-knit environment, side-by-side with graduate students, as they explore traditional and experimental clay techniques. The program draws on the energy and resources of the urban landscape of Philadelphia, a city with a longstanding clay culture and vibrant visual art scene, to forge community partnerships that lead to broader, inclusive perspectives, conversations and exchanges of ideas.

Tyler's Ceramics BFA program explores the discipline’s many forms and fosters diverse perspectives on process, including the use of digital technologies. It encourages community-based collaboration, interdisciplinary exploration and the development of hybrid work. Due to the complexity of materials and processes, the curriculum incorporates aspects of chemistry, technology and kiln and furnace design and construction. Students learn product design and production, studio management and gallery installation, as well as critical thinking and problem solving—transferable skills that help prepare them for success in any artistic discipline or profession, including as educators, gallery operators, architectural designers, curators and more. Students also have opportunities for internships in Philadelphia’s densely networked clay community.

 

BFA in Ceramics with Entrepreneurial Studies

In partnership with Temple University’s Fox School of Business, Tyler offers a BFA with Entrepreneurial Studies as an option for students who want to learn skills for entrepreneurship, from innovative thinking to how to start a business, as part of their art education. Program coursework is a focused and interdisciplinary blend of art, art history, business, entrepreneurship and other courses, as well as open electives. The BFA with Entrepreneurial Studies gives students the skills needed for success as entrepreneurs in the studio discipline of their choice and the necessary preparation to pursue graduate studies in their studio discipline, entrepreneurship or related professions upon graduation.

MFA in Ceramics

The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Ceramics program at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture fosters mastery of the discipline through access to internationally recognized faculty, state-of-the-art facilities and Philadelphia’s rich clay culture, resulting in work that challenges the medium’s traditional boundaries.

The close-knit Ceramics MFA community is connected to the extended Tyler MFA cohort through mentorship from a faculty of socially conscious artists, technologists, designers and art historians. The Ceramics faculty engage one-on-one with students to develop individual direction and encourage the exchange of ideas—in the studio and across Philadelphia—supported by the resources of Temple, a large public research university.

Using a studio-based approach complemented by art history seminars, Tyler’s rigorous MFA Program empowers students to engage deeply and develop a holistic practice with supportive research and interdisciplinary exploration.

As members of the region’s preeminent Ceramics program, Tyler MFA students partner with organizations in Philadelphia—a city with an established clay tradition and a thriving contemporary art scene—as well as other major cultural centers nearby, including New York. Philadelphia also offers opportunities for students to join a thriving arts and culture community and work as practicing artists and professionals.