The University of Montana is located in Missoula, in the western part of the state. The university states that its academic program is backed up by excellent library and technology resources and claims state-of-the-art facilities. In the fall of 2007, the university enrolled a total of 13,858 students, with a graduate student enrollment of 2,059.
The School of Art at the University of Montana offers the M.F.A. with a specialty in photography. The department teaching staff is made up of graduate teaching assistants, adjunct teachers and 14-full time teachers. On average, the School of Art has 15 to 20 graduate students enrolled.
An M.F.A. degree with a specialty in photography requires 60 graduate-level semester credits, beyond a four-year college degree. Forty of those graduate credits must be taken in what the school describes as studio concentration.
To be admitted to the M.F.A. program, you need to have completed a bachelor's degree in art or an art-related field such as photojournalism. An undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) is required. A letter of intent describing your academic goals within your area of concentration is required. The School of Art also requires three letters of recommendation and transcripts from all undergraduate colleges you attended. Scholarships are available for graduate students through the School of Art.
According to the University of Montana School of Art, it approaches the study of photography as an art form that can convey an array of concepts and ideas. School facilities for the study of photography include a Macintosh digital lab, a clean room for matting and mounting prints, access to a variety of cameras and accessories, a nonsilver darkroom, a photographic lighting studio with professional equipment, a black and white darkroom with enlargers and graduate spaces.