The MFA Book Arts Program is a 60-credit hour course of study in the fine art and traditional practices of making books by hand. Individual artistic expression is cultivated through the development of craft skills based in historical principles, practice, and technique. Courses in letterpress printing and publishing, typography, hand bookbinding, hand papermaking, artist books, and the history of the book provide training and context for the role of the book as a medium for expression in art and society. Our emphasis is on the book as an integrated unit which combines materials, processes, and format with visual and textual voice, although there are opportunities for students who wish to pursue specific interests in one or more of these areas after the initial year of general study.