Submissions Requested for the Promotion and Tenure Initiative

I am wondering if this is an unusual situation or if this has been experienced by other design faculty.

Is it common for administrators to question whether the MFA is a terminal degree?

There is a statement in our promotion guidelines that with a terminal degree certain promotion criteria are met.

However if the administration does not acknowledge an MFA as a terminal degree, what is one supposed to seek for a terminal degree?

Ellen -- from the upcoming AIGA DEC recommendations on P&T, now in draft form. Hope this helps.

MFA (or Equivalent) as the Terminal Degree; Other Degrees
AIGA DEC urges institutions to recognize the MFA (Master of Fine Arts) and/or equivalent degrees as the terminal degree qualification for US Design Educators, especially in the case of current, full-time appointments. However, some Design Educators may possess graduate-level degrees that were conferred prior to the wider adoption of the MFA as the terminal degree, such as the MA (Master of Arts), or the MS (Master of Science). In addition, some Design Educators may not hold graduate-level degrees at all, but have many years of full-time teaching experience and peer-recognized professional practice. AIGA DEC urges institutions to recognize the contributions of current Design Educators regardless of degree held, and to provide flexibility on this matter in P&T processes, as appropriate. Finally, while a small number of Ph.D programs in specialized areas of Design (History, Theory, Criticism, Research, etc.) do currently exist, it would be unreasonable for US institutions to require any degree higher than the MFA or equivalent as a condition of appointment, or as a condition of P&T.

Paul,

despite its age (8 years old) this article might address some of the philosophical concerns faculty have in regards to their creative production in consideration of tenure:
http://www.episodic-design.com/writings/manifesto.html (we're now in the College of Design -- still only 2 tenured MFAs in a dept. of 25 PhDs!).

I've done almost twenty tenure and promotion external reviews for other schools over the past decade; it's always enlightening to see the varied requirements and academic cultures of other programs.

Regarding the MFA as 'terminal degree' -- add up the credits. Most MA/MS/MGD degrees are in the 30-45 credit range; MFAs require 60. The PhD my dept. offers requires 65 credits, so yes an equivalent degree. One is a studio degree, one is research-oriented. Expect the European-led PhD in 'design practice' to start changing the landscape over the next few years.

Steve:
Thanks, this is exactly what we're looking for, I'm sure this will be helpful to many of our educator peers.
Paul

Steven,
The jury is still out on any doctorate degree over taking or even being necessary for teaching graphic design studio courses. I think a doctorate in design history could be useful for hiring a faculty who teaches design history lecture courses and writes on design history. However, even this is not 100% a good idea as most art history programs, where presumably a design history PhD would be gotten, rarely address design as an acceptable area for art historians. I, of course, very much disagree with that view.

Has anyone ever done, or could they do, a doctorate in design history on the emergence of American modernism in graphic design after WWI? Which dissertation committee chair with a doctorate in 17th C. European art history or Chinese ceramics could even know what to make of it?

I think rather than depth in degree levels, design programs need to be thinking in width for the next decade or more. That is, we need MS and MFA faculty to support changes in the media and technology students will be confronting in the coming years. And those years will be on us very fast. Digital paper, LED and OLED posters, portable computing, improving web technology, etc. These will most likely be people with MFA or MGD degrees or a combo of MFA/MGD and MS. There is also the important issue of incorporating sustainable design practice and general business practice for design students to learn.

Obviously, some programs will be the exception and delve more into theory and applied practice and research. But, right now, many top MFA programs already fill this role to a large extent and often, those candidates end up teaching, minus a doctorate.
Joe