I visited SMFA in the spring. They're graduate studio structure is kind of strange...from what I understand it works like this: First year graduate students get a space that's about ten feet by ten or twelve feet feet. The ceilings in the studio building are really tall, but the studios are divided up by drywall structures that are maybe ten feet tall. Second year grads get two of these spaces together, so that your space grows to ten feet by maybe twenty feet. Most SMFA students opt for their program to be three years, which is not really spent in studio classes or group crits but instead just preparing for their thesis exhibitions, finishing up academic requirements, and most are provided with TA or teaching positions. Only SOME of these third year students receive studios, depending on if the program decides that their work needs the space. The other third years are expected to work outside of school and in the "thesis prep room", which they share with the other students in their thesis show for the weeks before installation happens.
Hope that helps.
