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Hi all, I hope the applications are coming along well! I just graduated from an incredible MFA program this spring and wanted to recommend it here one last time. Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA offers full tuition waivers and monthly stipends for ALL accepted MFA students. There are programs in Ceramics, Drawing & Painting, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, and Textiles, as well as in Art History and Art Education. Additionally there are five scholarships available to incoming MFAs (plus smaller funding opportunities during the program: I received around $5k of additional support from these smaller opportunities while attending in addition to my tuition waiver + monthly stipend). They also fund/provide a 3rd year experience which in the past has included exhibiting at Aqua Miami or attending a two-week artist residency in Ireland. https://artdesign.gsu.edu/gradinfo | IG Account: @gsu_artdesign Out of the 2021 MFA graduates, six of us obtained full time university teaching positions straight out the gate (including tenure track Assistant Professor positions, plus visiting faculty/lecturer positions at R1 universities). I left Georgia State with my first museum solo exhibition (and another on the way!), gallery representation with a 2022 solo show, and a tenure track Assistant Professor job. The guidance from faculty at Georgia State made all the difference in making this happen! On top of that, the transformation in my studio practice really shocked me. I grew in ways I never expected during my time at Georgia State. The faculty are all working artists respected in their field, and their guidance led me to develop stronger conceptual and technical approaches in my practice. There is an interdisciplinary focus and faculty from outside my area were always willing to do studio visits when invited. If anyone would like to chat about the Georgia State MFA program please email me (melissa@melissahuang.com | www.melissahuang.com) or DM me on Instagram (@melissahuangart)! I would be happy to answer any questions you may have (I was in Drawing & Painting so particularly contact me if that's your focus). You can also reach out to artgrad@gsu.edu with questions/tour requests for the Graduate Coordinator. Finally, I am now an Assistant Professor at Georgia Southern University! We have a growing graduate program. This is a hidden gem of an MFA program that offers financial support, strong attention from the faculty, and private studio space. Additionally our location between Atlanta and Savannah, GA offers many professional opportunities! If anyone has questions about this program please contact me and I would be happy to connect you with the Graduate Director: https://cah.georgiasouthern.edu/art/majors-programs/master-of-fine-arts/ I remember how scared I was when applying for grad programs, but it really is worth it. Hang in there, and good luck

Hi @BCS, I'm a 3rd year student at Georgia State University in Drawing & Painting. I've absolutely loved my experience here and would highly recommend it to anyone! You can look at the current MFA students and Drawing/Painting/Printmaking (DPP) faculty to consider if the school is a good fit for your work. Current grads are tagged in the GSU DPP Instagram profile (still needs to be updated with our three new grads!) https://www.instagram.com/gsu_drawpaintprint/ Here's more information about the Drawing & Painting program (click through to the faculty page to see faculty) https://artdesign.gsu.edu/graduate/mfa-in-studio-concentrations/drawing-and-painting/ It would probably help to take a year or so to develop a strong portfolio of personal work as the application process is very competitive (not to say your work isn't good, it's just sounds like its largely commercial illustration right now). If you do that it will improve your chances with MFA programs overall and will make it more likely for you to get some funding! I will say the best thing about GSU is that all accepted MFAs receive a full tuition waiver and monthly stipend. We have a student insurance plan, but for that students pay out of pocket (you can pay extra to cover family members). Hope this helps! I'm always happy to talk with people who are interested in GSU, especially painters! Let me know if you're in Atlanta sometime soon and I'd be happy to give you a tour of the school. Also feel free to DM me on Instagram if you have any questions: @melissahuangart

You should check out Georgia State University! Three-year program, all accepted students are funded (full tuition waiver and a monthly stipend), students have TA opportunities, and it's in the heart of downtown Atlanta. There's always something to do: artist talks, gallery openings, screenings, and more, both in the city and through the school. Lots of interdisciplinary opportunities as well if that's something you're interested in. https://artdesign.gsu.edu/graduate/admissions/masters-of-fine-arts-in-studio I'm a first year MFA student in the Drawing and Painting program and I absolutely love it. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions (melissa@melissahuang.com, or DM me on Insta @melissahuangart).

Thought I would share this one-year residency program with an approaching deadline (April 15th) in Rochester, NY. Flower City Arts Center has 5-10 artists in residence every year in three fields: Printing and Book Arts, Ceramics, and Photography and Digital Arts. I know a lot of artists who have gone through this residency program and loved it! Seems like a great program for emerging artists in particular. I know a lot of their former residents did this the year before attending a graduate program. https://www.rochesterarts.org/residencies

@carolinephoto do you know if they interview everyone? I haven't heard a peep and I'm wondering if no interview at this point means a rejection. Thank you for your intel!

Has anyone heard from Georgia State for drawing and painting? I know someone who has an interview scheduled for graphic design, but don't know if different concentrations in the art department might be on different schedules.

For anyone applying to MCAD: I emailed admissions, they're finalizing decisions and will send out letters mid next week.

PAFA applicants, check the admissions portal! I haven't received a letter or email yet, but my application status was updated with an acceptance letter and scholarship details.

@booksandprints did they update your application status online as well? I haven't heard anything from them, and my status still says "Awaiting Program Decision". I know someone else in this thread was waitlisted so I'm not very hopeful at this point. Really wish these schools were more transparent with their timelines! Good luck with the rest of your applications!

Anyone checking Google Analytics like crazy? I finally set it up over the weekend but think it's only adding to the stress. It's showing 55 sessions over the past three days from Boston, but of those 51 are new users. I'm hoping it's from the BU admissions process, but the number of new users seems a little high for that? Trying to interpret this info is making me so paranoid ? Definitely going to need a stiff drink after this.

Here are two useful tools for people wondering about school timelines for accepting/rejecting candidates! Grad Cafe has a feature where you can search your schools to see when applicants report being accepted, rejected, or interviewed (and if it was by phone, email, or snail mail): https://thegradcafe.com/survey You can also check out the College Art Association's directory of graduate programs in the visual arts. They post an annual directory with over 300 art schools including info on admissions statistics, when you should hear back, etc: http://www.collegeart.org/pdf/publications/CAA-directory-visual-arts.pdf Good luck everyone!