MFA-IA G5 Semester Tips

January 25, 2012 ↓ Comments (0)
For students in the MFA-IA program at Goddard College

Congratulations. You’ve made it this far. G5 is where you sink or swim. Students sometimes pass through four semesters only to be stopped in the final weeks of their G5 on some strange technicality. Don’t let that happen to you! And don’t worry. If you’ve sailed under the radar, not made waves, and haven’t questioned authority, you should have no troubles.

Choose Wisely

Your advisor can make or break your G5 semester. If possible, choose an advisor who knows and likes you and your art work. It’s best if you have had that advisor once in the past. Working with a new advisor means they have to do extra reading to learn about your work.

Here for You

In G4 tips I suggested to make sure your advisors are going to be around for your G5 semester. Having an advisor who is traveling while you are working on your portfolio is frustrating. You want someone who has time for you without being distracted by experiencing another culture.

Ask Questions

At the start of your G5, ask your advisor about their take on the portfolio. What does it need to do? What is critical that you must include? What questions do they have about you or your art work? Press for actionable advice. Flowery language won’t help you.

Get Answers

Keep in constant contact if you must. Call your advisor if you have to. Ask until you get the answer. The last thing you want in your G5 semester is vague advising. Don’t accept nebulous suggestions. You need clear communication. Demand it!

Write Daily

Set aside a time to write each and every day. Work on some aspect of your portfolio during that time. Expect that your whole semester will be spent writing, organizing, and processing. Plan to be writing for the entire semester. The worst that can happen is you finish early and have to come up with something else to do.

Think Big Picture

Do your best to turn in a full draft of your portfolio as soon as possible. If you don’t have a full draft up front your advisor might start you down the extension path and it’s very difficult to get them out of that mindset once they go there.

Reward Yourself

After a full day of writing, go for a nice walk. Do something special for yourself. With each packet you turn in, take a day off and do nothing. Then get back on the computer and bust it out!

Be Careful

Certain advisors don’t like to read anything that could potentially be interpreted as appropriation while others will nail you if you use a euphemism that has a deeper meaning to them. For example, if you’re a white guy who practices non-white guy art or if you describe yourself as a “modern woman” then you might end up extending if you don’t explain yourself properly.

Keep It Professional

Beware of the ‘personal information’ trap. Your portfolio isn’t about your relationship with your dog/mother/brother/spouse unless you explicitly made art about them. Talk about your art. Talk about your process. Leave the personal stuff in your diary.

Avoid the Rabbit Hole

If your advisor starts to suggest a lot of new research for you, don’t do it. You should have enough research from the past four semesters to fill the portfolio. If they don’t like your previous research then that’s their opinion and it shouldn’t warrant more work, especially if you’ve gotten credit for your research in previous semesters. Instead of starting fresh and spending your precious time going down a rabbit hole, rework and reiterate your argument and support it with an academic trail in the form of concise citations. Make yourself clear and highlight the value of the research/work you’ve already done.

Edit

Some students hire an editor or have a family member read it for clarity. Having it read by an outsider is always good practice. If you cut stuff out, save it as you might need that information again later.

Talk to Your Classmates

Keep in touch with your graduating classmates throughout your G5 semester. If possible, trade rough drafts at each packet point. Seeing what others are have written and sharing what you’re doing is very helpful for everyone.

Take the Compromise

As gatekeepers, your advisor and the secondary reader might want you to tweak what you’ve turned in. If they’ve given you specific feedback then just do what they say. In the end it’s your degree that will open doors for you more so than your written portfolio.

Pay the Piper by Turning All of the Stones

If you questioned the Goddards or Goddesses, be prepared to be questioned in return. However much you poked the system, the system can poke back (and then some). The more noise you made the more you need to cover your butt. For you, familiarize yourself with the degree criteria and address all of them. Some students don’t do this. Do it. They can halt your entire life and keep you for an extension semester or more. Cover your butt as you escape!

Feed the Academics

Cite everything. This shouldn’t be a problem if you’ve done it all along. If you think there might be a question, or that your advisor might argue a point you make, then support that information with a citation. For this document, you don’t have original ideas. You were inspired by someone great who came before you and you can pinpoint the spot in a book that proves it.

Unique

“Everyone is different and will be evaluated individually,” means they won’t know how to guide you unless they see something from you. That’s how it works. Give them something and they’ll help you shape it. This is about them as much as it is about you. Just finish and graduate. You’re one semester away from doing whatever you want.

Ownership

Graduates have expressed the feeling that they did not own their final written portfolio. Instead it was a means to the end. You can design and define what art means to you as long as you also argue and explain why that meets the degree criteria. G5 is one of the few places where advisors get up in your grill. They want to mold you into something of which they can be proud. While sometimes it feels like their suggestions are from another planet, they often have valid points worthy of your consideration.

Stand Up for Yourself

The G5 semester is the only place where advisors get to see your academic oeuvre in its entirety. This can be too much for some advisors if they haven’t worked with you before because they have to accept your credits from previous semesters, even if it upsets their personal artistic sensibilities. Sometimes they’ll try to steer you into a new direction or get you to make up for learning they feel you missed during previous semesters—all during the last minutes of your G5. Remember, you are writing about work for which you already earned credit. Prove that your previously complete and credited work fulfills the degree criteria.

Your Audience

In order of importance: primary advisor, second reader, the program director, you, your classmates, future students, everyone else.

If You Fail

Appeal immediately. Follow the official process exactly as it’s described in the student handbook. Stay on it. Get receipts for the documents you turn in. Cover yourself. Back up your argument with facts. Good luck and—as they tell you—don’t take it personally.

Rake the Evaluation

Your portfolio was accepted and you’re going to graduate. Congratulations! Your advisor will submit their final evaluation into the SIS. Go and check it for spelling errors. Look for inconsistencies and poor English. Make sure that the way they describe your art is how you want your graduate school work to be represented for all eternity. Goddard advisors generally write a nice review knowing that it will be part of your permanent record. While my evaluations were flattering, I spotted some spelling errors that would have lived on my transcript for the rest of my academic life. We’re all human so double check it to be sure.

The End

When it’s all said and done, that thing you wrote is going to sit on a shelf somewhere. More than any other semester, G5 seems to be more about the process than the product.

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