Make the work only you can make.
Five studio-based MFA programs, one working philosophy: rigorous critique, real facilities, and the time to find out what your work is actually about.
Programs
Five degrees, five studios, one program-wide commitment to critique. Each panel below is its own discipline — think of it as a group show, not a course catalog.
Graphic Design
Design as critical practice — typography, systems, and the language of images.
A two-year MFA built around studio critique and independent research. Coursework spans typography, editorial and identity systems, motion, and code, but the throughline is developing a personal design language you can defend in a crit room, not just a client meeting.
Painting / Printmaking
Two studio traditions under one roof — paint, plate, press, and everything between.
Painting and printmaking share facilities and faculty here, which means your practice can move between canvas and plate without switching departments. Private studios, visiting critics each semester, and a program small enough that everyone knows your work.
Photography
The camera as a way of thinking, not just a way of recording.
Equal weight on technical fluency (large-format, lighting, darkroom, digital workflows) and conceptual rigor. Weekly seminars sit alongside open studio hours, and the program pushes students to articulate why an image exists, not just how it was made.
Sculpture
Materials, scale, and space — building work that exists in the room with you.
Full shop access — wood, metal, casting, and digital fabrication — plus a program that treats installation and public work as seriously as the object on the pedestal. Studios are yours for the full two years.
Film / Video
Moving-image work grounded in studio practice, not a production schedule.
For artists working in film, video, and time-based media who want a studio-critique environment rather than a production-line one. Access to shared equipment and edit suites, with crits that treat a finished piece the same way a painting crit treats a canvas.
How to apply
Four steps, start to finish. Dates below are placeholders for this concept — check the real program for current deadlines.
Submit your portfolio
Jan 5
Up to 20 images or 10 minutes of video, plus a short statement of purpose. No slide-deck theatrics needed — we're looking at the work.
Interview
Late Feb – Mar
Shortlisted applicants meet with faculty from their program, in person or over video. This is a conversation about your work, not a defense.
Decision
Mid-March
Admitted students hear back with financial aid details attached to the same letter — not a separate process you have to chase down.
Enroll
Apr 15
Confirm your place and get your studio assignment before the semester starts, so you know exactly where you're working from day one.
Exhibitions & events
A running calendar of thesis shows, screenings, and visiting artist talks. Placeholder listings below — styled like the announcement cards you'd actually get taped to a studio door.
Thesis Open Studios — Painting / Printmaking
6 – 9 PM
New Work: Photography MFA II
Opens 5 PM
Visiting Artist Lecture — Speaker TBA
6 PM
Sculpture Outdoor Install
All day
Film / Video Screening Night
7 PM
Graphic Design: Group Critique Show
5 – 8 PM
People
Faculty and staff, placeholder roles for this concept. Hover (or tap) a tile for the title.
Questions
The things prospective students actually ask us.
Up to 20 images of recent work, or 10 minutes of video/time-based work — whichever fits your practice. We'd rather see 12 strong, resolved pieces than 20 that feel padded out.
No. Shortlisted applicants can interview over video or in person — it's the same conversation either way, and distance isn't a factor in the decision.
Most admitted students receive some form of funding or assistantship. Financial aid details come attached to your admission letter, not as a separate process you have to track down afterward.
The portfolio deadline is Jan 5 for this concept's placeholder calendar — see the Admissions section above for the full timeline through enrollment.
Yes. International applicants go through the same portfolio and interview process as domestic applicants, with additional visa and funding documentation handled after admission.
Rarely, and only case by case. The program is built around a specific two-year critique sequence, so most students complete it in full rather than transferring in credit.