The Sculpture Department at SUNY New Paltz invites students that are willing to challenge the conventions and parameters of the field while articulating an individual vision through experimentation, inquiry, rigorous making, and risk-taking.
The State University of New York at New Paltz (SUNY New Paltz) is located in the Hudson Valley, 90 miles (or 1 1/2 hours) north of New York City and within close proximity to other major sculpture sites including: Storm King, Socrates Sculpture Park, Art Omi, DIA Beacon, and Mass MOCA. The abundant local resources as well as an extensive Visiting Artist Lecture Series provide students with comprehensive exposure to contemporary art. Students are encouraged to use the local resources for fieldwork or independent study. Several sculpture students have completed fieldwork with area artists such as Judy Pfaff, Jean Shin, Robert Morris, and Martin Puryear as well as interned at the Sculpture Center, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, and the Women's Studio Workshop. Similarly, the Sculpture Faculty have worked closely with the on-campus Center for International Programs to attract Fulbright scholars, offer new study abroad opportunities (such as the Grand Tour 2007) and encourage undergraduate students to utilize the Center for a semester of study abroad.
SUNY New Paltz is a highly affordable university and the Sculpture Program is comparatively small allowing greater access to the faculty and the generous facilities. Class sizes typically range from 12-15 students. Students have access to a wide range of tools and digital facilities. Students are encouraged to take elective courses with over 30 full-time faculty comprising the Art Department. Similarly, students are uniquely situated within the context of a liberal arts university to inform their sculptural practice through other areas of study, such as the sciences, sociology, history, and communication. The success of our program can perhaps be best measured by the recent accomplishment of the sculpture alumni and faculty in the field. Please see our news page for a list of alumni accomplishments.
The Degrees offered:
MFA (60 credit)
MA in Studio Art (30 credit-full-time study required-contact faculty for further info)
BFA, BS, and BA
