The Visual Design MFA in Photography is a 60-credit, 2- to 3-year program of study. Our program is based on the belief that photography has a unique ability to merge new technologies as well as cultural and historical influences with artistic production. Placing our degree within the Design context allows the MFA Photo candidate to gain access to a broader array of faculty conversant with new technologies and design theory which in turn enables candidates to acquire and utilize a more professionally oriented degree and skill set. MFA candidates develop a thesis project based on their own unique research. The thesis requires both visual and written components which are intellectually, formally, and technically rigorous. Students form a committee based on their thesis topic, choosing from faculty who provide a wide variety of viewpoints and expertise. In addition to access to the photographic facilities on the main campus-which include a state of the art media lab with 48'' Epson color printer, black and white darkrooms and professional lighting studio-MFA students are supplied with graduate studios at our Star Store campus in New Bedford. This downtown arts campus houses all disciplines in graduate study, fostering a communal artistic environment in which multi-discipline projects and collaborations are possible.