BlackSheepCollective

Otis definitely has TAing available. I'm doing 3 this semester. There's no limit to how many you can do. You can be the TA in a class that you're in. There are TA opportunities at the graduate level, upper level undergrad level, and other various positions at the school like being able to run the social media or running the gallery.

Yes at Otis they'll give you an institutional scholarship which covers 50 percent of costs and some smaller scholarships that will cover a little bit more. However, as an outlier it must be said that Otis made headlines in the art world because during our commencement for those graduating in 2022, Evan Spiegel the CEO of Snapchat gifted all the graduates by paying off all their student debt for their time here whether you were an undergrad or graduate student. Spiegel never went to Otis, he went to Stanford, but took courses here before doing his thing. Obviously you can't expect some benefactor or donor to bestow these things every school year, but it did set a precedent. Who knows how that will go moving forward. It's understandable if people want low cost programs. If you want to be in the LA area, I'd look at UC Irvine which has a rich history in art and from talking to faculty, Long Beach was a very good program as well and those are lower cost programs. Otis for the representation they have in galleries or museums in LA whether it's alumni or faculty, Otis itself doesn't fund raise mainly off of Fine Arts. They're the only LA art school with a fashion design program and really the only program in the country that has Toy Design and they really promote and fundraise off of those programs. Art Center vs Otis is just a matter of taste and what you want. I have a really good friend that's an Art Center alum. The faculty from all these programs are graduates of all the other programs. At Otis, our faculty went to school at UCLA, Cal Arts, Art Center, some went to Otis, UC Irvine, SAIC, RISD. The important thing and it's something you don't fully understand until you're in an MFA program, is you should really look at the faculty because they are the ones that are working with you for those 2 years. And if their work inspires or moves you, it can only help you get better. Not all great artists are great mentors or teachers so that needs to said as well. I know our MFA program, you get a lot of time spent covering your work at crit. We're talking 3-4 hours of analyzing your work and it's thoughtful, not outlandish attacks. One of the other very useful things they teach you is being able to talk about your own work. So many programs including Otis have some sort of Visiting Artist Lecture Series where artists come to talk about their practice. Otis stresses the ability to replicate that because for an artist that's one of their sources of income is talking at other schools about their practice. I just want to also say that age is no factor at least at Otis. I'm in my thirties, half my cohort is in their thirties. One of the new first years is in their fifties. The thing that really matters when applying is being able to explain what your art practice is that isn't essentially just about making pretty objects. Undergrad is for technique, graduate school assumes you know what you're doing and professionalizes your practice.

Currently an MFA student at Otis. Graduating in the Spring. I looked at this forum when applying. For anyone thinking of Otis. Can't speak highly enough of the faculty itself. A lot of experience between them all where they've done or are still doing the gallery scene, biennials, etc. The faculty keeps it real if you want to navigate the art world especially the LA scene. That's what their Professional Practices class teaches you and just speaking with them during studio visits. What I didn't know beforehand but has been great is knowing that at Otis you get studio visits with faculty every week and from visiting artists based in LA who will talk with you about your work and current projects. What I didn't realize but talking with faculty is that a lot of MFA programs, the faculty barely will meet with them during the semester. I've heard some programs they'll only visit once or twice a semester with you. If studio visits is something you value, Otis is a great program for that. The program doesn't split up into disciplines so, if you're in the program your crit is with everyone in the MFA program no matter what their specialization is. But I will say the majority are painters, so if you are a painter which I am not, then this is probably a program you can look into. Also, they started taking less in their cohort. Probably around 10 these days, but in crit sessions and other classes first and second years are together.

I see you also applied to Otis College of Art & Design too for the MFA in Fine Art/Social Practice. I can tell you that they are interviewing last week and this week. I did my interview today. Kade Twist is just an all around honest, down to earth, cool dude to chat with. Very honest about the program and you could ask him anything. The cohort is apparently around 5 people. I asked him about timeframes for decisions and he told me I was accepted and this was a formality. I absolutely appreciated his honesty. Good luck to you and I hope you interview with Otis. I was unsure about them at first, but I attended one of their virtual open houses and their pitch was great.

If anyone wanted to apply to Maryland Institute College of Art, the application fee has been waived until Dec. 19th. You have 4 more days. Application fees pile up from Slideroom and the University itself and transcripts. I know between USC and UC San Diego it's cost me $300.

It's cool I stumbled upon this forum. I'm also in the process of applying to MFA programs. I have BA in Film from UNLV and a BFA in Art from Arizona State. The programs I'm applying to are USC, UC San Diego, CCA, Otis, and University of Arizona. It's unfortunate UCLA isn't taking anyone in for photography. USC was highly recommended to me by my professors at ASU. They had the controversy but the program has had a complete overhaul and the faculty are really serious artists with real credentials. Plus their studios are in the Arts District in Downtown LA. UCLA and Otis are also in the Arts District but in Culver City. I mainly picked schools where art is thriving with the exception of Arizona only because the faculty there meet my interests in art. I will say after speaking with my professors that a lot of them at the well known schools know each other and that helps a lot in the process especially if they are writing your rec letters. I've gotten intros and have had zoom meetings with people in certain programs because my professors know a lot these art professors around the country. Just like anything in life, it's who you know. Don't get me wrong, the portfolio and artist statement are the main factors, but it doesn't hurt to have a foot in the door already. This same professor also didn't recommend Cal Arts to me because of the cost and lack of funding and she used to teach there. I actually appreciate the honesty. This professor was frank with me and said the rankings are always shaky because of professors coming and going from the programs. The main advice was look at the faculty at a school and look at their work. Is that someone you want to work with in your time there. CCA funding may not be the best, but I like San Francisco. Same with Otis. Main I reason I'm applying to Otis was I liked their pitch when I went to their virtual info session. But we'll see. I see a lot of people are specializing in photo/moving image/video which is what I'm doing. If that's the case University of Arizona is really good. I know I said rankings shouldn't matter but they are #3 if you want to do photography. University of New Mexico was also highly recommended to me but I don't think I can do Albuquerque. It's great if your work is very environmentally themed. Good luck to everyone in the process. It's a strange year to apply.