MA - Textile History/Quilt Studies Distance Learning Option III

Overview

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design offers a masters program that allows students to concentrate their coursework in textile history with a quilt studies emphasis. In consultation with a faculty advisor, each student plans an individualized course of study linking her/his background interests with the research or creative interests of departmental faculty and the educational resources of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This graduate program is offered through a combination of distance technology and on-campus instruction.

Distance students are required to have high speed Internet access.

All course work is conducted online in the Canvas virtual classroom.   A webcam and headset with microphone may be required for some courses in order to participate fully in desktop video-conferencing. Students are able to complete coursework at times convenient for them in addition to having multi-channel interactions with the instructor and other students in class.

Students are required to come to the Lincoln campus for one semester in the department (January-May) and for the internship presentation and final oral examination at the conclusion of their program.

In consultation with a faculty advisor, each student plans an individualized course of study linking her/his background interests with the research or creative interests of departmental faculty and the educational resources of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

This non-thesis degree option is a 36-credit hour program. Up to nine graduate credit hours may be transferred from another fully accredited institution in the field of textiles, clothing and design or in a supporting field including but not limited to history, art history or museum studies, subject to the approval of the supervisory committee.

Who should consider this program?

Students with an undergraduate degree in history, art history, American studies, or women's studies are best prepared for this masters program.  To be considered for admission to this masters program, a student must have successfully completed at least one undergraduate course in foundation design/design elements (basic color, two-dimensional design, basic drawing and/or three-dimensional design). In addition, applicants must have completed one year (two semesters) of one of the following course sequences: art history or U.S. history or History of Western Civilization. If a prospective student has not completed both a foundation design course and two semesters of art history or history, then the prospective applicant is encouraged to complete the coursework at a college or university near him/her before applying to this program. Applicants who do not have this necessary background will not be favorably considered. Graduates of this program are prepared for careers or career advancement in museums, historic houses, galleries, auction houses and government agencies in the areas of collections care and management, education and research. The program is designed for persons interested in examining the complex ways gender, class, ethnicity, aesthetics, politics, religion and technology find expression in the textile arts, quilt making traditions, design and culture.

What is the application deadline?

Applications to the hybrid program as they are received. Completed applications including transcripts and letters of recommendation must be received by March 1 to be considered for admission for summer or fall semester.

Required Coursework in Textiles, Merchandising & Fashion Design (TMFD) Distance Delivery Courses (18 credits):

*Denotes courses open exclusively to graduate students.

Required Coursework During Semester on UNL Campus (9 credits)

Additional Coursework (9 credits):

Note: Students may take additional coursework online or on-campus at UNL, or transfer up to 9 graduate credit hours from another fully accredited institution in the field of textiles, history, art history, interior design or museum studies (subject to the approval of the supervisory committee).

Suggested UNL courses:

Textile Seminars (TMFD 890 or TMFD 978)

Most summers at least one Textile History seminar or workshop is offered. Led by UNL faculty or guest scholars, a range of topics are explored including dating of antique textiles, cotton dyeing and printing techniques, influences on quiltmaking practices, and the quilt as a medium of artistic expression. These summer workshops and seminars are one-week, on-campus courses offered on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus

Internship

The Internship is a supervised independent professional experience under the direction of a practicing professional. Students may intern at the International Quilt Museum or at a museum, historical society, or living history site near their place of residence. This is the culminating experience for students in this program. Students should have completed their semester on campus prior to undertaking an internship experience.

Students are required to complete 150 contact hours for each 3 hours of credit. In addition, students must complete selected readings and write a summary and review about each assigned reading; maintain a daily journal; and produce a final product based upon their internship experience.

Students are expected to present all components in a tabbed notebook that serves as a portfolio of their internship experience.

Students must give a presentation about their internship experience in person or via electronic media. All Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design faculty and graduate students are encouraged to attend the presentation. Notification of the oral presentation date and time should be given one week in advance to all Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design faculty and graduate students. The internship presentation may be held in conjunction with the final oral examination.

Final Oral Examination

A final oral examination is scheduled at the completion of the internship experience. A student is not eligible for the oral examination until the internship is completed and all written materials have been submitted to his/her advisor in a tabbed notebook/portfolio.

The student’s Supervisory Committee will convene for the final oral examination on a mutually agreeable date.

The final oral examination may be held via electronic media upon request, if a presentation (live or videotaped) concerning the internship has previously been presented. The internship presentation (see Graduate Handbook for additinal information) and the final oral examination may be held on the same day. A two-hour block of time should be scheduled with the formal internship presentation (illustrated with PowerPoint slides) given first to all interested UNL faculty and graduate students, followed by the oral examination in a closed session with the supervisory committee members only.

Study Questions for Oral Examination

Graduate Handbook

Admission Requirements

The following materials must be sent to Graduate Studies by February 1 to be considered for admission fall semester. Applications to the distance learning program are reviewed once a year.

• UNL Graduate Application
• $50.00 Graduate Application fee
• Two official transcripts (from each college or university, minimum GPA of 3.00 on a 4.00 point scale)
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE) results Minimum scores: Verbal 150 (450 prior to 11/1/11); Quantitative 141 (450 prior to 11/1/11); and 4.0 Analytical Writing (200 prior to 2002)
• TOEFL scores (International Students only) (minimum scores: paper - 550; computer = 213 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Graduate Studies 1100 Seaton Hall Lincoln NE 68583-0619 Phone: (402) 472-2875 Web Site: www.unl.edu/gradstudies

Technical Requirements

High speed Internet connection is required. The computer requirements outlined below will enable you to connect to classmates and faculty, and to take advantage of the rich resources of the Internet. If you have dial-up Internet connection, you will be at a significant disadvantage as dial-up may not allow for full functionality of the courses. A webcam and headset with microphone may be required for some courses in order to participate in desktop video-conferencing.

Microsoft® Windows® 2000 and up, or Mac OS X, 10.2 and up are strongly recommended. Older operating systems (Microsoft® Windows® 98SE/ME, MacOS 8/9) or alternative platforms (Linux) are compatible, but may not have full functionality. Blackboard (My.UNL) is not currently compatible with handheld devices or Web-enabled phones.

Additional Information

For more information regarding application to the program and course registration visit the following sites:
Office of Graduate Studies
Graduate Studies Online Application

Contact Us
E-mail: Dr. Jennifer Jorgensen <jbjorgensen@unl.edu

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