MFA Troll

Hi, I made this account because I know many young artists get MFAs because they want to become TT professors. Being a TT professor is an amazing job, its easy, pays well and is very fulfilling. Most TT professors lucked into their jobs 20+ years ago and it is their primary source of income. They are very comfortable and are clueless about how much the art market and art labor has changed. They have had very steady incomes for a long time. In 2005 congress passed the Grad Plus Loan allowing borrowers to take out as many loans as the universities asked for. MFA programs became a cash cow for schools. Now, there are thousands of qualified, talented, and indebted candidates. Getting an mfa will enable you to get adjunct positions, but most hiring committees aren't searching from the adjunct pool. Like your friend, it's not impossible to luck into a position, but it is rare. Residencies, and shows are not 'investments.' They are part of your life as an artist, the pay off is your practice and your relationships. A residency is sort like a vacation or a club, as is grad school. Recreation shouldn't be a pejorative, but it should be more accessible to the working class. Figure out a way to make a living, live cheaply, make art and apply for teaching positions. Don't rely on adjunct jobs as your primary source of income.

yeah! congratulations! Do you mind sharing the school? I'm sure a lot of artists would be interested for next season. Def join the student union to continue the fight for a livable stipend. Livable stipends + tuition remission + healthcare should be the norm in all grad programs. The pandemic is def a great time for personal enrichment and community building since jobs in the arts are a bust. I agree that it's a great opportunity to develop marketable skills like UX design or skills out side of the arts to be more competitive in a difficult market. I'm glad the tide is turning!

Was there an excess of MFA applications this year?

Sallie Mae is a girl boss!

Try for the Rijksacademie. Free with generous stipend and their reputation envies Yale. The Netherlands is suffering through a bout of neoliberal austerity, so socially supported art institutions are suffering. Plus people hate American these days, but worth a try. LOL know I seem like a total jerk but I think its criminal to burden young artists with unsurmountable debt.

Mason Gross is one of the few art schools that provides grad students with insurance/stipeds/tuition-remission BECAUSE RU has an extremely robust union. RU is not a small school by any means. Labor solidarity is the answer to the exploitative nature of elite institutions.

Heres a telling account about adjunting. Imagine being one of the most popular and talented professors at RISD while making less than 30k and ZERO security/healthcare for a decade! Students AND teachers are disposable. https://hyperallergic.com/630152/the-new-school-faculty-denounce-skyrocketing-healthcare-costs/

U.S. New Rankings lol are you all 16 years old? Alfred is a top school?? Noooooo. The MFA ship has sailed but really, the only school that makes a difference for an art career is Yale, and only for a select few at that. Columbia, UCLA, SIAC, Bard, Hunter and VCU are helpful but not so much anymore. MICA, RISD and Cranbrook never had good reps for their MFA programs. MFA professors are a circle jerk that's what the rankings represent. The CU labor activist is right, but what they are saying applies to all schools. Go to a school with a strong GA/TA program and strong student union. Make art that rocks and support your student union. I read on here someone who's professor told them to think of the cost as an "investment." Yeah, an investment in your professor's vanity art career. When you are 50 your gig as an art handler will not look pretty. Your professors live in the clouds and theres no room for you up there...

Totally, it didn't click at first. Definitely important to consider how the right weaponizes culture.

Interesting comparison btw. The right strategically uses the "culture wars" to distract the working class from confronting the ruling class.

Thanks great! If your are looking for an antidote for Jordan Peterson, please listen to Catherine Liu.

I have to chime in about the idea that professors at expensive schools are sooooo smart lol. Yes, these schools are radically more connected than other schools, but that world is free falling. These professors are spoiled gen-xers who stubbornly worship post-modernism. Post-modernism the RELIGION of mfa programs, welcome to your indoctrination. The Whitney is the text-book definition of a "tourist museum" for example, peak post-modernism. Those of you who are questioning the hierarchy are far ahead of the game. Cathrine Liu is one of the most under-rated intellectuals working today. Take a listen, if you dare. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/whitney-lays-off-11-more-staff-members-citing-extremely-low-attendance

Its not a literal ponzi scheme, and you will defiantly make friends....

Message to artists who do not have generational wealth: Think of the mfa like a 2 year intellectual vacation. If you are prepared to step out of the work place, pay tuition and living costs for 2 years for 0 'career' return by all means dive in head first. While I believe all artists deserve this, the MFA in its current state is a ponzi scheme and you are currently at the bottom layer. These programs are on the verge of closure because they DO rely on international students to pay full tuition. If you aspire to be an art professor, thats not a job its a volunteer position (see 20K a year). The aspirational art world really ended in 2008 and now with Covid, NYC lost 66% of jobs in the arts. The 'art world,' a very modern invention, is and always has been modeled on exploitation. See this IG for an accurate view into this scene. The ruling class depends on a supply of exploitable cultural workers for their fun hobby and thats what tuition dependent MFA programs provide. https://www.instagram.com/cancelartgalleries/?hl=en https://hyperallergic.com/624669/two-thirds-of-new-york-citys-arts-and-recreation-jobs-have-been-lost-to-the-pandemic/