The Sculpture department at SUNY New Paltz invites students 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 is close to other major sculpture sites including: Storm King Art Center, 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 theSculpture Center NYC, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, and theWomen'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 to 15 students. Students have access to a wide range of tools and digital facilities. Students are encouraged to take elective courses with more than 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 perhaps can be best measured by the accomplishment of the sculpture alumni and faculty in the field.
Degrees Offered
- MFA (60 credits)
- BFA, BS, and BA
Undergraduate Admissions
Graduate Admissions
