Each student in the IMA Program must complete two formal critique sessions by presenting work to a panel comprised of three faculty members.
Members of the faculty panel will offer verbal evaluations of work presented. Students are encouraged to take notes of their feedback. The purpose of these sessions is to offer supportive comments that will help students to effectively realize their creative and conceptual goals.
The “First Crit” (formerly called Mid-Program Crit) comes after the completion of five production classes, and the “Second Crit” (formerly called End- of-Program Crit) comes after the completion of ten production classes. Upon completing the requisite number of production classes (five or ten), students are encouraged to participate in the next critique session or choose to wait a semester before presenting their work at the relevant critique session.
A passing grade is required for a production class to count towards the relevant total needed for the First and Second Crits (and towards the MFA degree). Any grade below a B- is considered a failing grade in the IMA Program. Students are permitted to re-take a class in which they have received a failing grade.
In order to participate in the Second Crit, students must submit an Artist Statement, List of projects and their Thesis Concept Summary (1-2pages) to the IMA Program Assistant at least a week before their scheduled crit. The Second Crit Panel will primarily be giving feedback about the works presented at the crit and will touch upon your thesis concept briefly at the end of the critique.
The Thesis Concept Summary includes a one page summary of your proposed Thesis and on the same page or second page – additional information about it (listed below)
On the first page, explain your Thesis project’s proposed subject, scope, and design.
On a second page, provide additional information about your proposed Thesis:
- Advisor(s) (if secured – they don’t have to be yet)
- Anticipated semester of graduation (e.g. fall 21, spring 22, etc.)
- Sources referenced in research
- If the Thesis builds on prior work or pre-existing material, you must also:
- Articulate precisely the nature and scope of the new work; and
- If you worked on the Thesis in IMA classes, list the work completed in each corresponding course.
- If you are collaborating with another IMA student on Thesis, write briefly the collaborators’ respective roles and responsibilities.
- Any subsequent changes to the respective roles and responsibilities of the collaborators must be approved by the Thesis Advisor(s)
Each semester, Crits are held at the start of the semester.
Once a student decides to participate in the crits during a particular semester, the program schedules the sessions. Students are intentionally assigned at random to a panel, compelling them to present and make a case for their work precisely to those who may be unfamiliar with them and their work. Students will know who their panelist are a day or two ahead of the sessions. If it turns out that all three faculty panelists are faculty that the student hasn’t worked with before, the student can request switching with another student. Ideally one or two of the panelists though are faculty the student has not met before, and at least one or two of the panelists are faculty the student has had as a teacher.
Students will select work to be presented to the crit panel. The student will present visual, sound and/or interactive media work at the crit session. Written work over two pages must be submitted to the IMA Program Assistant at least one week before the crit session is scheduled, and will be considered, along with other work, during the session.
For 1st Crit –
Students must present:
- 500 word – 1 page artist statement
- Work created since enrolling in the program, all of which equating to approx 20min;
- A minimum of three pieces of work created in three different production courses; and
Student may present:
- Written work created as part of an IMA class; and
- Additional work created while IMA students but not as part of a class.
For 2nd Crit –
Students must present:
- 500 word – 1 page artist statement
- Work created since enrolling in the program, all of which equating to approx 20min;
- A 1-2 page Thesis Concept Paper
- A minimum of two pieces of work created in two different production courses; and
Student may present:
- Written work created as part of an IMA class; and
- Additional work created while IMA students but not as part of a class.
With respect to collaborative work presented at a crit session, students must address the precise nature of their creative contribution to the project.
At both Crits, students are required to provide the panel with a one-page written artist’s statement describing the work they are presenting, along with their social and aesthetic goals. The Artist Statement must be submitted to the IMA Program Assistant at least one week prior to their crit and in pdf form.
Students have twenty minutes to present work. Students should begin with a brief summary of their artist’s statement and an overview of the work they will show. When introducing each piece, students should indicate what course/es the work was completed for, what role the student had in its creation, along with the status of the piece (finished, work-in-progress, excerpt, etc.)
After the 20min of work is presented, the Crit Panel then has approx. thirty minutes to ask the student questions and to provide feedback.
For just the first crit, near the end of the session, the student leaves the room/ or zoom so that the Crit Panel can deliberate.
Once the Crit Panel reaches a decision, the student is brought back into the room. The panel Convener conveys the panel’s decision to the student, including specific feedback on the work presented and the presentation itself.
Panelists will evaluate verbally the student’s presentation according to the following criteria:
- Idea or ideas being presented: originality, poignancy, specificity, research.
- Technical competency. Capacity to use tools in order to achieve creative objectives. (visual composition; sound design; writing; graphic elements, typography, etc., as applicable)
- To what extent does this piece have a clear, identifiable voice? Is it consistent throughout? (as applicable)
- Public relevance. Does the work speak effectively to an intended audience?
- Ability to talk about and contextualize the work presented and its aims.
Overall Evaluation (Pass or Re-Present next semester):
If the faculty panelists determine that the student does not pass their first crit, the student will be required to re-present their 1st crit at the next opportunity, the beginning of the next semester. The student will be given recommendations from the panel on what to improve upon for their re-presented critique. The 2nd crit is no longer a “pass” or “represent” but it is still a requirement and we want students to take the 2nd crit just as seriously as if it were a pass/represent situation. Both crits are required before registering for Thesis.
Guests may observe crit presentations, but may not participate.
Crit Panel decisions are only appealable when a student believes the panel made a procedural error, without which the student would have passed. A procedural appeal must be submitted in writing to the IMA Director within two weeks of the Crit. If the IMA Director, in consultation with the Graduate Committee, determines that the Crit Panel based its decision in part on a procedural mistake, the Director may either convene a new panel or retroactively pass the student for the Crit in question. Examples of procedural errors include panelist confusion about the material a student is required to present, the panel not giving a student the prescribed time to present material, or a technical problem beyond the student’s control compromising the student’s presentation.
Students may not appeal Crit decisions based on their assertion that the panelists made errors of judgment. In other words, matters of opinion are not appealable.