Appeal, pitch, propagandize? I had considered multiple angles for my statements to MFA programs. In my quest to transition my design practice through intensive study I sought advise, narrowed my program choices, and prepared copious notes on contributions I could add to any program, an outline, and dog-eared quotable passage from Roland Barthes and C. S. Peirce.
Selected programs included research and writing with an emphasis on design. In addition to honing form, I needed to refine my writing style, developed for research papers, from scholastic to one less pedantic and more engaging. My plan was to transition from designer operative to a producer that actively defines problems and shapes strategy.
As the deadline loomed, word count and ambiguity
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Independent study takes discipline, drive, and time-management but yields a profound return. Challenges, almost always involving time, are managed with organization and structure.
The structure of a low-residency program presents a unique challenge and requires self-reliant students, committed to their education and confident in their direction. As a non-traditional student, this is a community that I understand; a group motivated by the opportunities this approach to education offers. For us, motivation comes not only from the drive to create a robust body of work, but from the encouragement and camaraderie of participating in a collaborative process.
The schedule of this program facilitates a holistic approach to study and real-time integration of theory into practice. It facilitates the integration of teaching with my studies, and theory with practical experience. The independent schedule promotes the maturation of the community, as each individual advances toward their respective goals they enrich the shared experience with unique