mmav

This probably isn't an issue that affects art departments as much since most aren't dependent on federal funding, but saw on the gradadmissions reddit that it seems like a lot of STEM programs are withdrawing acceptances that hadn't committed yet as spots fill up due to limited funds.....scary times for those pursuing grad school for sure

Yeah of course! If that's what you're looking for, I'd recommend meeting up with professors in those programs and ask them about the specific philosophy or curriculum of the program -- ie, how grad seminars work, who teaches them, are there theory classes available, etc. You get a good feel for the vibe of a program (and what they're focused on) by talking to the people who teach in them

What do YOU want to get from grad school? For me, it was primarily time/space/resources to dig into a general research niche I'd already developed the beginnings of an outline for -- I knew I wanted to gain xyz technical skills, and do a overseas research trip inbetween the two years. I'm interested in pursuing a PhD after, so I wanted a program that would allow me the freedom (time and resource wise) to build towards that. For me, having a fully funded program and no debt would just make me working towards those goals psychologically easier (the award at the program I'm leaning towards is giving me a salary stipend without requiring me to TA my first year). Time to flesh out and create new work during grad school is something I'm prioritizing. If you're prioritizing gallery representation, that's another thing that some of those more expensive private schools have. Maybe you envision yourself teaching with an MFA, maybe you want to be a full time working artist, or you want to go into the gallery scene, or arts admin/museum scene...ask questions about how a program can help you get there. Some schools have teaching fellowship pipelines for grads, some have prioritized applications to certain residencies, some are part of larger R1 research institutions, some have studio visits from NYC/LA art scenes, etc

I've been talking to a bunch of faculty at the different programs I got into, as well as past professors and mentors, and one of them gave me a really prudent piece of advice when choosing where to go that I wanted to share: "A big factor is finishing school without debt so you can devote as much energy to making work and exhibiting as possible. The ability to spend a year or two after school pursuing residencies and traveling for shows is key to leveraging your grad school projects into a career."

I emailed UC San Diego and they told me that if you are accepted off the waitlist you're given the same base full funding package as other students (which is their TA employment rate). I'm not sure about private schools though

I also just got in! They also only gave me 18k a year (which is a joke for how much tuition + cost of living is in NYC) so I will also be declining lol

lowkey need UCLA results to come out so people can commit to offers already....(so potential UCSD spots open up for waitlisted peeps)...April 15th is coming up..

Ditto! If y'all are getting funding offers I would def recommend asking/searching up where that money is coming from (is it from federal grants or fellowships etc). If it's a fellowship (bonus points if its got a donor name attached to it), it's most probably safe since that's usually a private donation/endowment. Also, idk if y'all are keeping up with the news, but Columbia isn't doing too hot right now with how much funding they're losing across all departments from the federal gov (and how much they're being influenced by trump to fire/expel/rescind degrees from students who protested..not a good sign) Lots of schools right now are just also very unsure about how it's going to affect them, like everything is still up in the air.

Is anybody having whiplash with choosing programs? I'm considering between two right now with the difference mainly in funding and focus. I'd love to get thoughts! (also @kamlee hope this also provides some perspective for what kinds of fully funded offers there are -- all of the programs I've gotten accepted or waitlisted at are public research universities so they're all tuition remission, the amount of stipend/salary for TAship differs) About me: BSA in Biology 2023, new media focus with interests in expanding social practice (interest in Southeast Asian contemporary art/history). My goals for my time in an MFA program are to expand my theoretical/research background for my work (so schools with strong departments outside of just art), and gain more technical skills in new media (creative coding, microcontroller, sensor interactivity etc etc). I'd love for a cohort to also be an asset in helping me grow/providing valuable and nuanced crit. PROGRAM 1: UC Santa Barbara FINANCIAL PACKAGE: 1st year: 32k fellowship (no TA required, but if spots are available, could TA for extra $$) 2nd year: 5k summer stipend, guaranteed TA spot for academic year ($3,777k/month for 20hrs/wk) + 10k stipend guaranteed spot in grad housing (rent is fixed at $956/month) PROS: Livable wage, would not have to take loans or get a second job for either years decent sized studios Santa Barbara is gorgeous. The beach is literally right there. 1.5 hr drive (w/o traffic) from LA UCSB has a Media Art Technology MS/PHD program that I could cross register with to take electives that would provide me opportunities to expand my new media toolkit CONS interdisciplinary program (not entirely a con, but I've met some of my potential cohort and current grad students at the site visit they flew us out to, and I'm not sure if they're the kind of fit in terms of medium and content for what I'm trying to do with my practice. The professors are very kind and warm, but also not fully new media focused although some are adjacent to that area. they don't seem to have a strong theory department/program (the professor who used to run it in the MFA program retired a few years ago and curriculum kind of went with him). PROGRAM 2: UW Seattle New Genres FINANCIAL PACKAGE: the way they broke it out was really confusing but basically it shakes out to be about $18k per year (that's including TA ship salary). There's potential to get travel money/grant money once you're in the program, or directly try to work with a professor as a research assistance for more money. I've brought the UCSB offer to them to negotiate and they're working on the response right now but I doubt they can match (also due to just all the funding questions higher ed instiutions are facing with the Trump policies against DEI etc etc) Rent in Seattle is crazy expensive. Def more around $1.5k a month (that's WITH roommates) I would def need a second job/or loans. PROS: I really like the vibes of the new genres faculty and department. Flint (the chair) is super warm and attentive and has been working with me to answer my questions and connect me with grad students and faculty. I know that the faculty are strong advocates for their students and are invested in supporting their success. They're also a younger demographic, still in the the midstage of their practices/teaching careers. They connect students to new media specific opportunities like residencies etc. UW Seattle is a top tier research university with adjacent programs in AAPI studies and CS and Design departments that are hella strong. They also have a PHD program in DXArts (basically new media art tech stuff) that you could cross register classes at as an MFA. Based on what Flint told me about the current cohort and potential incoming cohort (they accept 3 new genres ppl per year), I align with the kind of content and mediums those people are doing more than the UCSB cohort. I could see myself having really interesting convos and collaborations with them. They have an established theory dept, with theory classes specifically for new genres (and just in general more new genres specific curriculum vs a interdisciplinary program) Seattle is a bigger city than Santa Barbara -- more DIY scene to explore there CONS: Seattle is expensive and the package requires me to be more scrappy with funding Further away from large art centers like LA (although they do fly out their grads to bigger cities for gallery visits etc) Sorry if this is long, but I feel like I'm going crazy trying to decide...I've gotten into VCU as well but their program is less funded than UW's (only 7k a year really) and doesn't have an "it" factor to draw me away from the more funded programs. I'm waitlisted from UC San Diego but I know they are 3 year fully funded with TAships that pay the same rate as UC Santa Barbara. I'm torn between the insanely well-funded UC Santa Barbara offer (that the UW chair himself said was a very rare opportunity to do an MFA debt free), and the potentially better intellectual fit of UW...I'm interested in pursuing PhD programs in new media (of which both schools have) and teaching (again, both programs provide emphasis and training for teaching)....I know I'm extremely lucky to be in this position during my first app cycle but lowkey kind of wish the "right" choice was easier to make. I'm going to get connected with UW current students to really get their feel for how they're affording life and if the program is worth that. But I'm also confident that I could still succeed at either program, it's only a matter of what I'm willing to sacrifice more. Any feedback/insight would be really appreciated! I didn't realize how neurotic this part of the process was going to make me.

I've been pretty upfront and straightforward with my negotiations since I have a really good funding package from a program that I've been using for leverage at less funded programs, but if you don't have a funding offer in hand (unless you're just waiting on results from a funded program), maybe just straight up email them and ask for more (and cite cost of living/your current financial situation/inflation/whatever other circumstance that's relevant) and at the same time, stating how much you truly want to go to the program, and how Columbia is THE place for you to be bc x, y, z, and how much the program would help your artistic goals etc. Also not to be like pro-chat bots, but tbh asking Chat GPT about how to word those kinds of emails also helps if you're having trouble with the tone.

Have you filled out FAFSA? I would also ask if there are opportunities to apply to grants/fellowships or graduate assistantships or research assistantships on campus (although the research world funding at Columbia right now is kinda up in the air for a lot of projects), if there are, how much they pay you.

Hunter is pretty well regarded for their painting program (and other traditional media). Their grads make some cool work. I remember you saying that you are doing more art/tech work though, so I'm not sure how strong Hunter's program in that area is. When I was narrowing down schools for new media, I specifically looked at the work of their faculty and their facilities/other departments that could support that work (ex, schools that also had PhD programs in media art technology that MFAs could register courses with) -- I'm not sure if Hunter has that or not.

Does anybody know how much money the stipend at UCSD is? I'm trying to decide if I should stay on the waitlist or consider my other funded options more.

And, waitlisted from UCSD-- now I'm only waiting for Parsons. Almost final tally: Rejected: Northwestern, UMichigan, CMU, UCLA DMA, UC Irvine (no interviews for any) Waitlisted: UC San Diego (post interview) Accepted: UC Santa Barbara, VCU Kinetic Imaging, UW Seattle New Genres Waiting on: Parsons

Just got a call from UW Seattle's New Genres chair -- I got in! They're also going to offer me "their highest recruitment package" which seems like $$ but how much $$ idk yet and will have to wait for the letter offer to see...but very excited! This whole results season is such an emotional rollercoaster.

I'm about to turn 26! I was debating whether or not to wait another couple cycles before applying but went for it this cycle with the mindset that no matter what, it'd be a good learning experience and help me prepare for future apps (and thanks to fee waivers, it didn't cost much at all). Since I didn't get a BFA, my MFA experience would almost kinda be like a fast tracked BFA for me, and I've always been interested in PhD programs in media arts (specifically USC's), so I knew I wanted to get started on that track ASAP....like others mentioned, it's a lot more common. (and preferred by some schools) for you to be well in your late 20s and 30s to go for an MFA, since it's really there to help push you into the next phase of your practice, and you need life experience to help focus on where that direction is going.

I got an email to check my portal -- also I applied to the DMA MFA, so it might be on a different timeline than the other depts.

UCLA and UC Irvine sent out their rejections today 🥴 I'm officially only waiting to hear back from Parsons DT for anything, and waiting post-interview for UCSD and UW Seattle

I also got into VCU (kinetic imaging) but am leaning away from it (despite it being a top ranked school for this discipline) because despite it being "fully funded", tuitition remission, they only are offering a TA ship for the first year (and no word on what would be available for 2nd year), and that TA ship only pays about 5.7k PER SEMESTER for 10-15hrs of work per week, on top of still having to pay student fees of 3k. I would definitely have to work a second job or take out loans to go there. On the other hand, I have a generously funded offer from UCSB (32.5k fellowship for 1st year, 5k summer stipend, and guaranteed TAship with decent salary 2nd year), which is a lower ranked program (but still a decent program with good proximity to LA). At the end of the day, like others have said, it is up to you to decide how much you want to invest in grad school but for me I knew that I did NOT want to take out loans because I don't feel like it's worth it. I'm gonna bet on myself really lock in/grind to make the most out of the opportunities I have regardless of where I end up name brand-wise, and not having to think about money too much would make that a lot easier.

I don't think the those federal level decisions are going to affect MFA funding at most programs...it's more localized to like how much money the school/ public uni system the program is a part of, most of these things do not rely on federal grants the way STEM grad programs do (since STEM grad students work in labs, which rely a lot on grants for funding). NIH specific funding cuts shouldn't affect MFA programs at all since NIH grants are for STEM research labs.

I've been transparent -- when UCSB called and were implicitly asking if I applied to other programs, I let them know that I had upcoming interviews with VCU and UCSD. The chair was very chill about it, saying how both are great programs as well. When I got into VCU and they emailed me a followup about what my feelings towards the acceptance was (I hadn't sent a final decision yet), I told them I was taking time to look at the funding packages since UCSB offered me very generous funds (and told them how much since I was trying to negotiate).

Words of caution for UT Austin admits -- I'm sure y'all are aware of the state of the current administration and its attitude towards the arts and arts funding, but for Texas, the whole anti-DEI thing has been a thing for the past few years. UT Austin itself, while relatively liberal as a public uni in a red state, is still beholden to the influences of top donors and politicians in the state (cough cough greg abbott cough cough). The state passed an anti-DEI bill a couple of cycles ago, and it resulted in the the defunding, shutdown of the Gender and Sexualities Center at UT, and other programming that is so important for so many students. They're literally having employees go through "anti-DEI" training right now to know what not to say. I work at an (privately funded) art museum in Austin and was talking to the curator of my museum and they said that at the Blanton (the art museum on campus), they literally have to censor wall text to not use words like "diversity" etc etc. Not to be all doom and gloom though, because there are so many wonderful people in the arts scene outside of UT Austin, in Austin itself, and lots of community organizers creating spaces and opportunities for queer, BIPOC folks, but you definitely have to branch out of the UT campus for that.

Just got my rejection from the University of Michigan today! I would love if the rest of my schools just sent out decisions this week too -- UCLA DMA (pretty sure rejection since I've seen a couple people on reddit get interviews), Parsons DT, and UC Irvine.

It wasn't anything super specific,, but more of a vibes thing (I was talking to this professor in the context of my list of grad schools, and I was applying to many in the new media realm, and they themselves are a new media artist and said that they were glad schools like SVA and Pratt were not on my list and that they would NOT recommend coming there). I think its more to do with the culture of Pratt rather than one specific bad toxic thing or anything. So nothing red flags esque, but more of like depending on what you're looking for in a grad school cohort/vibe -- I would recommend reaching out to current grad students if you can just to see! Also important to note that this was not specifically about the painting department either (which could be completely fine).

From what I've heard from friends in my network, if money isn't a huge factor, Columbia has a really strong visual arts MFA program just with how much visibility and networking you get -- a grad student there right now said that apparently they really try to get gallery people and what not to come to visit student studios, but that also means you might have less time than you expected working in the studio. Heard from a Prof who teaches Game Design at Pratt that it's not a great place to get your MFA if you have other options in NY. Hunter is probably the most affordable out of all of them.