Stamps recognizes that art and design are global in its scope and impact. With funding support, each MFA student conducts a self-directed summer project in an international or national context that is meaningful to the work they are doing. Students choose to participate in a variety of artist residency programs, skill-based workshops, exchanges with other academic institutions, mentorship opportunities, and curated trips to sites that are relevant to their work. These trips result in new artist works, writing, research, and connections that support students in their thesis work and beyond.
Past graduates’ international research has included studying the residual effects of colonialism in South Africa; recording sound in Egyptian temples; developing film in Iceland’s volcanic baths; exploring the politics of border-cultures within communities at the US/Mexico border; performing new rituals based on existing ones in Poland; and participating in artist residencies in Lithuania, Mexico, Morocco, Czech Republic, and many more locations.
Students receive support from faculty and staff during their investigation of potential research sites, identification of partnering institutions and contacts, grant-writing, and with travel and housing logistics. Stamps provides $4,500 to cover expenses related to the project and students are often successful in obtaining additional funding from other University sources.