ATumble

I got my BFA from a public uni and I only knew of two MFA's who got university level teaching jobs after graduation and they were all at middle of nowhere state schools. There were also a handful of MFA's who got teaching jobs at two year colleges and smaller private art academies. However there were plenty of MFA's who never got any sort of teaching post even though almost all of them had at least a couple of TAships. It seemed to me, that the ones who did get jobs were all a bit older(coincidence?) and their work was more "safe". One MFA who got a professor job had maybe the 3rd or 4th best portfolio out of all the applicants but had the best interview so he got the job. So perhaps they are looking for a combination of good work but more importantly someone who'd better at teaching/speaking? When I was in undergrad, I expressed my insecurities of going into art professionally and my prof said something like: you'll go to grad school, TA for a few classes, and after graduating you'll get a teaching post somewhere. So it's not impossible, ESPECIALLY if you are willing to live in the middle of nowhere. In places like NY, it's really hard because there are sooo many artists. Big art schools like SVA just rotate adjunct faculty because they can pay them less and there is never a shortage of qualified applicants. So there's hope! Sort of.

yeah, at first I was applying to Yale cause I knew it was a great school in general but I didn't know how good sculpture was compared to the painting dept...but so far, I've been hearing really good things. The UK would be amazing! *sigh*

Yeah, I keep thinking about what I'm going to do if I don't get in anywhere. I applied to 8 schools(Sculpture): Columbia, SAIC, Yale, Hunter, UCLA, Calarts, Univ of Washington, Slade (also UK) I was repeating that list to relatives the other day while thinking...I can't believe I only applied to the most competitive schools. UW is the least competitive but there are still at least 100-200 applicants most likely. They have a new interdisciplinary 3-d program which combined the ceramics dept (which was nationally recognized) and sculpture, public art, glass. So there might be more competition than years past. When I was picking out schools to apply to, I was thinking the same thing. Might as well apply to only the schools I would actually REALLY want to attend. Ha! I guess I'll find out whether or not that was a good idea.

Same here.

Congrats!! That is really soon. Good luck with the interview. It seems a lot of the more competitive schools do have interviews. I know I probably won't know anything til at least late Feb. but am already getting nervous... Back when I was working on my portfolio, I couldn't wait until applications were all done. Thought I would feel so great for finally being done with the horrendous application process...but I only felt relieved and happy for a few days. Now I'm back to feeling nervous and anxious.

At first I was happy only ten images were required for Hunter but now that I'm actually picking out which pieces, it just feels less cohesive and incomplete. Oh well. Someone suggested applying to VCU and it sounds like a great program but I really didn't want to live in Richmond. All the schools I'm applying to are in cities that I wouldn't mind living in, except for Yale maybe...but it's Yale. Ha! Good Luck everyone! Hopefully we'll all be hearing some good results soon.

How is the fibers program at SAIC? I was considering it as well since I use a lot of thread in my work...but I'm not sure which direction my work will take in the near future. Thanks for saying hi! There are so many Painting MFA topics thought I'd start one for Sculpture.

Hi all, I'm applying to MFA sculpture programs right now for Fall 2010: Hunter Yale Slade UCLA UW(u of Washington) Calarts Columbia SAIC I have heard all these are great schools but don't know too many specifics of why they are good/bad. Got my BFA in Painting so my knowledge on 3d programs is not as good. Anyone else applying to sculpture? Any advice or suggestions concerning certain schools?