Graduate Certificate in Ceramic Arts

Achieve a professional level of proficiency in Ceramic Arts!

The Hood College Graduate Certificate in Ceramic Arts is a post-baccalaureate program designed to provide advanced studio experience for local, regional, national and international students. Our program places special emphasis on the unique requirements of teaching ceramic arts at a variety of levels. Focusing on universal design principles, the development of technical proficiency and the refinement of personal expression, you will produce a comprehensive body of work. Through study, studio production and subjective analysis, you will learn to face the challenges, demands and opportunities of careers in ceramics and related art fields.

How will I benefit from the Graduate Certificate in Ceramic Arts?

Whether you’re an art teacher pursuing the Post Baccalaureate Teaching Certification in Secondary Education or an established artist seeking a higher level of instruction for personal creative developement, the Graduate Certificate Program in Ceramic Arts offers subject area courses that will enhance your career. We also offer studio arts courses to supplement the new master’s degree in the humanities.

For teachers:

For recent graduates seeking advanced course work, the program provides the comprehensive study required for successful admission to a formal M.A. or M.F.A. program.

This inclusive program meets the needs of art teachers requiring continuing education credits to maintain teaching certification and facilitate career advancement.

For artists:

Artists often seek advanced instruction as they strive for more sophisticated and innovative methods of expression.

Professional artists can pursue increased skill, efficiency and aesthetic development.

“I’ve been a professional potter for 11 years, but I’ve always thought about going into teaching. With Hood’s Graduate Certificate in Ceramic Arts, I’ll be prepared, no matter what I decide to do.”

Program-specific admission requirements:

An essay, including a statement of goals, related experiences and images of your current work, are required to assess the level of experience of each applicant and to determine placement or the need for prerequisite courses. The statement of goals also helps professors advise students seeking a specific career direction.

Required Courses

ARTS 501 Glaze Application
ARTS 502 Eastern Coil
ARTS 505 Masters Throwing
ARTS 508 Ceramic Sculpture (prerequisite: ARTS 502)
ARTS 511 Properties of Clay
ARTS 521 Properties of Glaze (prerequisite: ARTS 501)
ARTS 570 Graduate Seminar in Personal Studio Research

Optional courses

ARTS 500 Ceramic Handbuilding/Sculpture
ARTS 503 Ceramic Wheel: Intensive Throwing
ARTS 504 Ceramic Decoration
ARTS 506 Ceramic Wheel: Masters' Throwing II (prerequisite 505)
ARTS 507 Plates and Platters (prerequisite 503 or 505)
ARTS 509 Throwing Large Forms (prerequisite 505)
ARTS 510 Brushmaking
ARTS 512 Eastern and Western Techniques in Trimming
ARTS 515 Ceramic Arts Throwing Lab
ARTS 517 Dynamic and Asymmetrical Wheel
ARTS 520 Photographing Ceramics
ARTS 525 Electric Kiln
ARTS 530 Kiln Technology and Firing Theory
ARTS 531 Wood Firing Theory
ARTS 532 Multichambered Kiln Wood Firing
ARTS 540 Clay and Glaze Chemistry: Theory and Practice
ARTS 542 Modeling the Figure
ARTS 543 History of Ceramics
ARTS 545 Composite Sculpture
ARTS 547 Creating Porcelain
ARTS 552 Kiln Design and Contruction
ARTS 571 Arts Management and Marketing
ARTS 575 Independent Study
ARTS 599 Special Topics Graduate Coursest

The 18 credits required to earn the Graduate Certificate in Ceramic Arts can be completed in one year, but students may take up to six years to complete the program.

For more information about the Hood College Graduate Certificate in Ceramic Arts, please contact Joyce Michaud, associate professor of art and director of the ceramics art program.
E-mail: jmichaud@hood.edu
Hood College Art Department
401 Rosemont Avenue
Frederick, MD 21701-8575
(301) 696-3456; fax: (301) 696-3531