mfahopeful

How long has it been since you got your undergrad degree? I also come from a liberal arts background (a weird double major that combined studio art/humanities/foreign language), but have worked a few years professionally as a graphic designer. I'm going to VCU in the fall for their two-year MFA. I think it comes down to your timeline and finances. If you're fresh out of undergrad and not worried about the finances, the post-bacc programs might not be a bad way to go. You could get a really great foundation, but then have more options to apply again to 2-year programs, including the school where you're doing the post-bacc and others. You'd also possibly be a little more clear about what you want in an MFA program—more focus on theory, discourse and experimental approaches, or a focus on more traditional approaches; rigid curriculum or loose framework for independent exploration. I've heard good things about the MICA post-bacc—I interviewed there for the two-year program and was given a tour by a current student who had done the post-bacc before moving into the MFA. He also had a liberal arts undergrad degree. He had nothing but good things to say about both programs. It does seem like the post-bacc students are kept separate from the MFA students to a certain degree, kind of living in between the undergrad and grad students, which I guess makes sense. The facilities are amazing there, as I'm sure you saw. Another benefit to the MICA program is that it seems well connected to the east coast design scene. Ellen Lupton is a co-director of the MFA program, and she keeps the students involved in the latest discourse, frequently involving them in publication and curatorial projects. I didn't look much into the programs at SAIC, Pratt, and CCA, so I wouldn't be able to make much comparison there. The upside to a three-year program like CCA (or RISD or Yale or a provisional year at VCU) is that there would be continuity between your foundation year and the final two years. You would already have your community of other students and professors at the end of your first year, and you would move seamlessly into the MFA. The downside to the post-baccs at MICA and SAIC is there's no guarantee that you'd be admitted into their MFA programs if you wanted to stay, as far as I understand. So it's almost like you'd be putting effort and money into that foundational year without the security that you could continue on in the MFA. I would certainly hope you would have a leg up at that point, though. Good luck with your decision!

It's really strange and opaque—I saw someone earlier say that they'd interviewed for the 3-year program at RISD and that there were 2-year people interviewing that same day. It seems like most folks on this forum who applied for the 2-year program weren't invited to interview, myself included. (That said, I know this is a really small sample size and the RISD program is very selective. I also read that they admit some people without interviews.) I wish they were a little more transparent about the process! @mfaokay and @Wondu, which other programs are you considering?

Did you apply for the 2-year or 3-year program? Also, did you interview there?

Thanks. Good luck with RISD!

RISD 2-year graphic design is the only program I haven't heard anything from. I also didn't get an interview there. At this point, I'm just curious to see what happens. I've already made the decision to go to VCU. My final results: VCU: Accepted + full tuition coverage and grad. student assistantship stipend (Going here!) Iowa: Accepted + full tuition waiver and stipend MICA: Accepted with about 1/3 scholarship NC State: Accepted, no word on funding Edinburgh College of Art (University of Edinburgh): Accepted (There are several decent scholarships for international students that you apply for after being accepted. Also, sticker price there comes in lower than private art schools in the US, and lower than out-of-state public tuition in some cases.) Yale: Rejected RISD: Presumed rejection

I haven't heard anything from RISD about the 2-year program. Here's where I stand everywhere else: VCU: interview two weeks ago, accepted with funding Iowa: accepted with funding NC State: accepted MICA: interview today RISD: nothing yet Edinburgh College of Art: nothing yet Yale: rejected

I think maybe each department at VCU has its own timeline. I got an email invitation a couple days ago to interview for graphic design. I think painting folks found out a week or more before that. It seems like all of my updates have come within the past week: Yale: rejected (2/5) VCU: interview (emailed on 2/8, scheduled for 2/19) Iowa: really good vibes through email (2/9) MICA: interview (emailed on 2/10, scheduled for 3/4) RISD: nothing yet (assuming rejection based on earlier posts) NC State: nothing yet Edinburgh College of Art: nothing yet

Oh, cool—congrats! I applied to the two-year program at RISD. Either I'm out of the running, or they're contacting people at different times. Just got my first piece of good news though—I got an interview at VCU!

conny, how did RISD notify you? I applied there too for graphic design and haven't heard anything yet.