MFA 2020 Freak Out Forum

[incoming first year mfa]

hey all, what is everyone doing regarding covid-19 restrictions for mfa programs in the fall?

[SocialKonstruct]

On 6/30/2020 at 10:53 AM, incoming first year mfa said:

hey all, what is everyone doing regarding covid-19 restrictions for mfa programs in the fall?

Nothing really. One of the artists who lives around me is just going to be attending Yale program this fall just as usual. I guess just wear a mask and do the social distancing type of thing.

[985435678]

On 6/30/2020 at 9:53 AM, incoming first year mfa said:

hey all, what is everyone doing regarding covid-19 restrictions for mfa programs in the fall?

I'm really struggling with deciding what to do. I have to let the school I've been accepted to know in a week and its hard to commit knowing that theres a good chance that at least part of the year will be online. 

[linamfafilm]

I am just starting to look at grad schools and after some lurking here and research (plus an eye-opening meeting at Tisch where I learned very few applicants make it and they're all mostly older and experienced), I'm unsure what to do...my undergrad is theater design/tech, although definitely more design than tech.  I'm  at a flagship university in the South, will graduate next May and although I love the theater, I have fallen in love with film production. I've been trying to beef up my portfolio  and while I've worked on several short films, have a few awards, am doing what I can here-  I feel it's a thin portfolio and I don't have any professional experience (and no internship this summer, obviously).   Should I even bother to apply to MFA programs this fall? These are the schools I'm interested in:  Brooklyn College, Tisch (dream school), plus UT-Austin, University of Miami and some schools in the west. If I wait and work, I'm not sure how I could even get a job or internship in film production, with the pandemic and the uncertainty.  Thanks for any advice!

 

 

 

 

[Jaux]

On 6/30/2020 at 11:53 AM, incoming first year mfa said:

hey all, what is everyone doing regarding covid-19 restrictions for mfa programs in the fall?

Still planning on going! I was really going back and forth for a bit when I didn't even know if it'd be online or or not but it's good for now! My program will be a mix of online and in person as needed. But I'm also in design so a lot of stuff can be done online with more ease than full studio work. If it was only online that would have been a more difficult choice for sure, but I figure this seems as good a time as any to shelter from Covid a bit as well as making work during all these changes. 

I'd also strongly recommend to anyone attending this round to speak to your school and ask for more funding given the circumstances - especially if you've actually been financially impacted in anyway, or some of your funding is tied to work study/TA stuff. Worst they can do is say no, best is you get a little bit more and can feel a bit more secure. 

Edited July 12, 2020 by Jaux

[SocialKonstruct]

On 7/12/2020 at 12:11 AM, Jaux said:

Still planning on going! I was really going back and forth for a bit when I didn't even know if it'd be online or or not but it's good for now! My program will be a mix of online and in person as needed. But I'm also in design so a lot of stuff can be done online with more ease than full studio work. If it was only online that would have been a more difficult choice for sure, but I figure this seems as good a time as any to shelter from Covid a bit as well as making work during all these changes. 

I'd also strongly recommend to anyone attending this round to speak to your school and ask for more funding given the circumstances - especially if you've actually been financially impacted in anyway, or some of your funding is tied to work study/TA stuff. Worst they can do is say no, best is you get a little bit more and can feel a bit more secure. 

Which program is it btw?

[Paula Meninato]

On 1/21/2020 at 6:25 PM, nbh said:

Hello! My name is Nick. I just discovered this community and I'd like to participate in sharing information.

You can see my work at: www.nickhobbs.art

I applied for the painting programs at:

- Tyler School of Art (Invited for interview)

- Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

- New York Academy of Art

- Virginia Commonwealth University

- School of the Art Institute of Chicago

- University of N.C. Chapel Hill

- University of Arkansas

- University of Mississippi

 

No word yet from any of the schools except Tyler. Good luck everyone!

I went to Tyler. Not sure what happened but please reach out if you have any questions. 

[Paula Meninato]

On 12/2/2019 at 7:16 PM, RedPoppy said:

Hey folks! Is anyone else thinking about programs outside of the U.S.? Particularly Royal College of Art (London)... would love to know if anyone's heard about interviews from the first round of applications?

RCA is highly competitive and doesn't offer much (if any) financial aid for international students as far as I'm aware. 

[silvsiara]

Long-time lurker here and I have applied to MFA/MA programs two years in a row and been accepted, but financing/family issues and now the pandemic have forced me to defer my studies to next year. I got into RCA but there is no funding from the School unless you are a UK/EU resident, or being admitted to a specific program which has a limited number of scholarships. Scotland has Saltire Scholarships for students from certain countries, Canada being one of them, and Glasgow School of Art also offers some international scholarships. You are better off asking for funding in your home country, as there may be a number of scholarships to study abroad. Also, if your work is representational (and also not digital), the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation offers grants to students who are pursuing an MFA/MA in Fine Arts and the stipend is quite generous.  

[craftthought]

On 1/21/2020 at 11:19 AM, cixelated said:

Cranbrook is actually pretty well funded-- I was extended quite a bit during my acceptance to attend for Sculpture. They go out of their way to give you initial aid, and during the latter portion of the year you can sumbit for greater funds. In addition to this, they have fellow ships that bounce between the programs (I would look on the website to see what exactly you need to be considered-- as it varies). I am a low-income student without a car here so I can attest that your best bet is to own a car, and frequently get off campus. The issue of the school being semi-monastic is very real however, I would also state that we have a large event at the end of the year where we sell work, (Ceramics sells cups to private collectors, print media sells prints and so on.) By and large though the programs that receive the most from the event are Painting and Sculpture as many collectors are looking to decorate their homes and or look for investments that will accrue value (as per the norm of most collectors). 

My biggest and quite shared complaint is that if you are a person of color you will be a part of a very non-diverse class (there are literally 5 black students in a body of 136-- I am the only black sculpture student and the only black painter left last year). There are some very large complaints being levied by the minorities on campus at the moment so I would steer left if I were you if you fit into my category. The second biggest complaint is due to our small size there is a hellish gossip enviornment where people kind of are each others necks pretty often.We support each other dearly here and if you're looking for a competitive enviornment to build yourself you can do it here-- I just wouldn't be here if you are an introvert-- the enviornment is one that largely supports those that are socially adept and can communicate regularly. If you can't you will find hard to find your place here as much of the enviornment is discourse based and leans heavily on talking to other students about your practice.

I should also add that depending on your department you may get a different work ethic with a mantra cross-collaboration. For instance, painting mandates around 30 hours a week in the studio. Sculpture does too, but the other departments only mandate that you show up for crit, produce halfway decent work and work hard. Most if not every student here is a high achiever and is highly respected in some regard (though there are exceptions to this) many students come in with excellent work that is diversified by the rigor of the programs. Other departments have their own rules and edicts that function mainly based on their overall project load and their way of working.

If you have a specific major you're thinking of I can aid in telling you more about that. I'm a painter in the Sculpture department so that should tell you a lot about how diverse this school is by the way.

Hi~ Thanks for all this info! I just applied to Cranbrook, but was really disturbed to see that (all??!) of their artists in resident are white. And to your point, the student body isn't diverse either.  Are students making any headway with complaints/calls for change? Would be very curious to hear if the school has made any meaningful moves on this.

[cixelated]

2 minutes ago, craftthought said:

Hi~ Thanks for all this info! I just applied to Cranbrook, but was really disturbed to see that (all??!) of their artists in resident are white. And to your point, the student body isn't diverse either.  Are students making any headway with complaints/calls for change? Would be very curious to hear if the school has made any meaningful moves on this.

Yes and no. 

There's been a huge change in the populace as of this post. Now there are close to 15 black people on campus. We also have our own meetups (with an organization dedicated to black people and another POC, and another to the Queer populace on campus) to change and shift directions in departments that don't by intervening in crits introducing strategies to challenge potentially racist cohorts and department heads (words out on that as many will not be publicly to save face). There's also a racial guidance coordinator assigned to the school. There's also classes directly pointed at fixing many of the problems that occur on campus and crit. While I would say that the gossip culture has changed in a much more positive range (as I am about to graduate) but I'd take a second glance. There are quite a few of us now so if you have questions I'd be more than willing to Zoom call you about it as there's a lot to mention and go through in that realm.

Is racism gone on campus? No it was founded by a white man and is surrounded by some of the richest people in Michigan and has a high school with an elite status that has attracted some of the worst conservatives. As for the quality of education in terms of the all white members? That's an issue that I personally and others have noted but there was a black AiR a few years ago for the photo department-- she just catapulted in fame and really couldn't take the labor of being a department head. There are people of color at this point in all departments (which I can only reckon was because of recent events over summer) but we actively promote and change the landscape of the art scene around campus. 

But the biggest change I would say that is coming is that the highly disliked Director announced her retirement (all of the aformentioned things have gotten worse with her around and she didn't prioritize our education even during the quarantine) and that the head of the School Board has also resigned but not before acquiescing to our demands for a better enviornment (with coordinators and lessons and such).

[SocialKonstruct]

On 1/18/2021 at 3:17 PM, craftthought said:

Hi~ Thanks for all this info! I just applied to Cranbrook, but was really disturbed to see that (all??!) of their artists in resident are white. And to your point, the student body isn't diverse either.  Are students making any headway with complaints/calls for change? Would be very curious to hear if the school has made any meaningful moves on this.

I think Cranbrook has improved a lot recently...

[bunnie99]

On 11/15/2019 at 9:59 PM, jermainenorthrup said:

Cu Boulder isn't advertised well but they've got great facilities and most departments have full funding plus a stipend.  You're given a class to be the instructor of record, so you've got very little oversight teaching and can design your class as you wish. The current stipend is around 2200 a month plus full tuition remission. Plus you get gold health insurance, bus passes (which are good for the bus to Denver as well) and family and faculty housing is available and pretty decent.  I was amazed more people don't know about this program. I actually found out about randomly.  Boulder is super nice and has access to all the art activities you can desire in Denver and obviously tons of outdoor opportunities. It is a 2.5 to 3 year program depending on the department. Nice woodshop, CNC machine, metal shop, great printmaking facilities, strong in painting, and sculpture, and is highly ranked in Ceramics, private studios in a well ventilated building,.  They usually take 2 to 3 people in each department every year. I think applications are due in Dec, but check the website for more details. 

 

Downsides is that Boulder is pretty expensive to live in, but if you're rooming with others you can find a place for around 800 a month. A single in student housing runs around 1250 a month. The school tends to be quite conceptual, however if you take a glimpse at the website you'll see that students make a lot of different work. 

Hello! Sorry to bother you when this post is so old, but do you happen to know if the info you gave is still accurate? Also, where is the ceramics program ranked? As in, who ranks it?