MFA 2021 Freak Out Forum

[SocialKonstruct]

On 11/11/2020 at 2:50 PM, Eric from America said:

Hi SocialKonstruct! The average day for me at VCUarts right now is that we have full access to our studios 24/7, and then 99.9% of classes meet over Zoom. Some people are choosing to work remotely from their home studios, whether in different cities, states, or countries. We still use exhibition spaces like crit rooms, student galleries, local galleries, etc. but just invite fewer people at a time for social distancing, we wear masks in common areas, etc. We have visiting artists doing lectures and/or studio visits over Zoom maybe once or twice a week. (I am actually typing this while also watching a Zoom artist roundtable.) 

That's all different of course from the "normal" way things were up until last spring.

And, yeah, definitely everybody will meet new people and can make new friends and contacts. All of VCU's MFA departments are pretty small, admitting from like 2 to 6 people per year, so there's not any real chance of being lost in a huge class, and there are also chances to meet people outside your own department, by taking each others classes, going to each other's shows, helping each other on projects, etc. All of that is probably true of most any art school, or at least most similarly-sized art schools. 

So yeah, VCU has done in my opinion a good job during this time, of keeping things safe and healthy while also giving me a great MFA experience. I hope that answers your question. Let me know if that's helpful or if anyone's got other questions.

Eric, thanks so much for your insight. I am curious if any VCU MFA graduates were able to connect up to the NYC or LA contemporary art world/markets? Richmond looks very nice but apart from ADA gallery I am unsure about career paths post graduation from there.

[SocialKonstruct]

Attended the Yale Open House for sculpture. If you have any questions about what I learned, you can PM me. Thanks

[Eric from America]

8 hours ago, SocialKonstruct said:

Eric, thanks so much for your insight. I am curious if any VCU MFA graduates were able to connect up to the NYC or LA contemporary art world/markets? Richmond looks very nice but apart from ADA gallery I am unsure about career paths post graduation from there.

Yeah, too many to list, but some VCUArts MFA alums that were on my mind when I applied to VCU included Teresita Fernandez, Diana al-Hadid, Tony Cokes, Tara Donovan, etc. It seems like every week there's a VCU alum, student, or faculty member having some cool show in New York or Los Angeles or London or whatever. Recent MFA grads with recent shows in New York just in the last couple months that I recall include:

Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya at Sargent's Daughters https://www.sargentsdaughters.com/ruben-ulises-rodriguez-montoya

Grace Weaver at James Cohan https://www.jamescohan.com/exhibitions/grace-weaver2

Loie Hollowell at Pace  https://www.pacegallery.com/artists/loie-hollowell/

Ander Mikalson at Essex Flowers https://essexflowers.us/WINDOW-BOX

That's just a few that come to my mind, based on things I'm paying attention to, not a representative, exhaustive, or scientific list by any means!!! VCU has been ranked as one of the top 5 art schools for like the past 10+ years, so there's no way I can do justice to even a decades's worth of alumni based just off the top of my head, but I hope I've given you maybe a helpful start.

 

[SocialKonstruct]

9 minutes ago, Eric from America said:

Yeah, too many to list, but some VCUArts MFA alums that were on my mind when I applied to VCU included Teresita Fernandez, Diana al-Hadid, Tony Cokes, Tara Donovan, etc. It seems like every week there's a VCU alum, student, or faculty member having some cool show in New York or Los Angeles or London or whatever. Recent MFA grads with recent shows in New York just in the last couple months that I recall include:

Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya at Sargent's Daughters https://www.sargentsdaughters.com/ruben-ulises-rodriguez-montoya

Grace Weaver at James Cohan https://www.jamescohan.com/exhibitions/grace-weaver2

Loie Hollowell at Pace  https://www.pacegallery.com/artists/loie-hollowell/

Ander Mikalson at Essex Flowers https://essexflowers.us/WINDOW-BOX

That's just a few that come to my mind, based on things I'm paying attention to, not a representative, exhaustive, or scientific list by any means!!! VCU has been ranked as one of the top 5 art schools for like the past 10+ years, so there's no way I can do justice to even a decades's worth of alumni based just off the top of my head, but I hope I've given you maybe a helpful start.

 

I appreciate your advice as I know someone from Utah right now who is attending VCU painting very happily. Apparently the advice told me was that VCU sculpture was the only thing going for it and that was off base apparently. I am curious about the VCU photography program. Hard to tell what comprises it based on the website.

[youraveragejoe]

I saw that VCU was intensely promoted on here. Here is my first-hand account of VCU.

First of all, funding has changed considerably from last year (see last section below). It was known as the fully-funded program that was at the top of the USNews list, and now for Painting it has been demoted to #12 within one year.

Second of all, please re-check the faculty you are interested in working with, since some may have retired or are no longer available. Also, VCU is a place where who knows your faculty matters a lot. Of course, this is true for most MFA programs.

Third, you absolutely will not have the same network as someone who studies in LA, San Francisco, NYC, DC, or Boston.

Here are some other factors:

Richmond: Not a safe city! https://richmondalarm.com/security-tips/most-dangerous-cities-virginia This is particularly important since there is no VCU campus because the buildings are widely spread throughout the city’s downtown area.

Campus community: NONE. Each building functions individually so you only interact with the graduates in your program, so opportunities do not abound to interact with grads outside of your cohort.

There are an abundant number of interdisciplinary MFA programs in the US. For some of us, the attractive feature of VCU's MFA was the opportunity to concentrate on a specific field. This has changed somewhat in recent years. E.g. Very few students are accepted to each specific field, so to lose one of those spots to a student who works in another field is unfair for those who were left out. Open House this year features an MFA Painting+Printmaking student who works with neither, instead using digital media, sound, and video production. This is particularly troubling since there is a VCU MFA in Kinetic Imaging program that works perfect for that.

Also, the program is quite theory-heavy, so you are really pressed for time between assigned readings, crits, and teaching duties. My guess is that most MFA programs are like this, though I expected to have more time to work on advancing my practice.

Funding has decreased. They used to have full tuition remission plus a great stipend guaranteed for all students for both years, but now not everyone receives a TA-ship and the package is not assured for the second year. Aside from counting fees, health insurance, cost of materials for each semester, etc. take into account that living in Richmond can be expensive and that you will probably need a car, which will add to the costs (parking at VCU is always a hassle). Since you are expected to work in your studio over the summer, cost of living is for 12 months. Yes, for some of us, this means loans.

✌️ ✌️ ✌️ these comments are made with goodwill, as I sincerely hope this helps to have a more balanced picture of the real VCU. It is important to weigh the pros and cons of any program.

[SocialKonstruct]

3 hours ago, youraveragejoe said:

I saw that VCU was intensely promoted on here. Here is my first-hand account of VCU.

First of all, funding has changed considerably from last year (see last section below). It was known as the fully-funded program that was at the top of the USNews list, and now for Painting it has been demoted to #12 within one year.

Second of all, please re-check the faculty you are interested in working with, since some may have retired or are no longer available. Also, VCU is a place where who knows your faculty matters a lot. Of course, this is true for most MFA programs.

Third, you absolutely will not have the same network as someone who studies in LA, San Francisco, NYC, DC, or Boston.

Here are some other factors:

Richmond: Not a safe city! https://richmondalarm.com/security-tips/most-dangerous-cities-virginia This is particularly important since there is no VCU campus because the buildings are widely spread throughout the city’s downtown area.

Campus community: NONE. Each building functions individually so you only interact with the graduates in your program, so opportunities do not abound to interact with grads outside of your cohort.

There are an abundant number of interdisciplinary MFA programs in the US. For some of us, the attractive feature of VCU's MFA was the opportunity to concentrate on a specific field. This has changed somewhat in recent years. E.g. Very few students are accepted to each specific field, so to lose one of those spots to a student who works in another field is unfair for those who were left out. Open House this year features an MFA Painting+Printmaking student who works with neither, instead using digital media, sound, and video production. This is particularly troubling since there is a VCU MFA in Kinetic Imaging program that works perfect for that.

Also, the program is quite theory-heavy, so you are really pressed for time between assigned readings, crits, and teaching duties. My guess is that most MFA programs are like this, though I expected to have more time to work on advancing my practice.

Funding has decreased. They used to have full tuition remission plus a great stipend guaranteed for all students for both years, but now not everyone receives a TA-ship and the package is not assured for the second year. Aside from counting fees, health insurance, cost of materials for each semester, etc. take into account that living in Richmond can be expensive and that you will probably need a car, which will add to the costs (parking at VCU is always a hassle). Since you are expected to work in your studio over the summer, cost of living is for 12 months. Yes, for some of us, this means loans.

✌️ ✌️ ✌️ these comments are made with goodwill, as I sincerely hope this helps to have a more balanced picture of the real VCU. It is important to weigh the pros and cons of any program.

Thanks... that is a huge shift... however many folks tell me that to make it in LA or NYC then going to Yale or UCLA (maybe Columbia) are the programs for kingmaking for the contemporary art world. Granted after some research many Yale graduates in photography have done super well in their careers like being featured in ArtForum or winning the Aperture Portfolio Prize.

Quality is good but apparently the name of where you got your MFA makes a huge difference in where you land in the art world.

[Eric from America]

On 11/13/2020 at 11:57 PM, SocialKonstruct said:

I appreciate your advice as I know someone from Utah right now who is attending VCU painting very happily. Apparently the advice told me was that VCU sculpture was the only thing going for it and that was off base apparently. I am curious about the VCU photography program. Hard to tell what comprises it based on the website.

Yeah, I can tell you some of what I know about VCU's Photo + Film program: It is pretty selective and competitive, only accepts about 3 students per year, and has some really good faculty members — Jonathan Molina Garcia and Sonali Gulati are a couple that come to my mind but definitely look into and google the faculty at any school and program you are interested in. I have had several classes with Photo + Film MFA students and they've all been cool people doing some really cool work, but I can't really compare it to other photography programs. My general advice with any program is to look really closely at their faculty, current students, and recent former students, and see if you think you'd be interested in spending 2 years working and talking with people like them. I hope that helps.

 

 

 

[SpillToBuilt]

1 hour ago, Eric from America said:

Yeah, I can tell you some of what I know about VCU's Photo + Film program: It is pretty selective and competitive, only accepts about 3 students per year, and has some really good faculty members — Jonathan Molina Garcia and Sonali Gulati are a couple that come to my mind but definitely look into and google the faculty at any school and program you are interested in. I have had several classes with Photo + Film MFA students and they've all been cool people doing some really cool work, but I can't really compare it to other photography programs. My general advice with any program is to look really closely at their faculty, current students, and recent former students, and see if you think you'd be interested in spending 2 years working and talking with people like them. I hope that helps.

 

 

 

Everyone here should totally heed that advice in bold. So important!

Edited November 16, 2020 by SpillToBuilt

[SocialKonstruct]

Today i attended the NYU Steinhardt Open House MFA presentation.

[lizavetar96]

Hey, everyone!
I am new to this forum, but I am applying for Photography/Studio Art programs for Fall 2021 and it is paramount to me that all of them should be fully funded and give teaching stipends. 

I am wondering if any of you know if any Boston-located schools give good financial aid? I am specifically looking at MassArt and I emailed them but they were extremely wishy-washy. 

Here is the list of schools I am applying to, do any of you know much about them in relation to finances? 

UNLV (gives full ride plus teaching stipend according to the website),

Tulane (gives full ride plus teaching stipend according to the website),

USC (not sure about financial package yet),

SVA (it is kind of a reach as they do not give 100 per cent scholarships, so I am trying to look into some other outside grants that can help me fund it),

UT (gives full ride plus teaching stipend according to the website)

CalArts (I was told that it grants 1 fully funded application, but I am not sure if they are doing it this year, any thoughts?)

and finally I think of maybe applying to UCLA for New Genres program but their website is very small and does not really tell a lot of they expect from their New Genre applicants. Maybe any of you know?

 

 

[SocialKonstruct]

13 hours ago, lizavetar96 said:

Hey, everyone!
I am new to this forum, but I am applying for Photography/Studio Art programs for Fall 2021 and it is paramount to me that all of them should be fully funded and give teaching stipends. 

I am wondering if any of you know if any Boston-located schools give good financial aid? I am specifically looking at MassArt and I emailed them but they were extremely wishy-washy. 

Here is the list of schools I am applying to, do any of you know much about them in relation to finances? 

UNLV (gives full ride plus teaching stipend according to the website),

Tulane (gives full ride plus teaching stipend according to the website),

USC (not sure about financial package yet),

SVA (it is kind of a reach as they do not give 100 per cent scholarships, so I am trying to look into some other outside grants that can help me fund it),

UT (gives full ride plus teaching stipend according to the website)

CalArts (I was told that it grants 1 fully funded application, but I am not sure if they are doing it this year, any thoughts?)

and finally I think of maybe applying to UCLA for New Genres program but their website is very small and does not really tell a lot of they expect from their New Genre applicants. Maybe any of you know?

 

 

UCLA New Genres is top notch and probably the best. However much of it will be focused on rather experimental practice so traditional photography would be out. I know that SVA is pretty decent with funding and I have a friend who is at CalArts in their Arts and Tech program. However, if you want great funding I would recommend NYU Steinhardt which funds their students (every one) at 2/3 tuition as well as Rutgers!

[lizavetar96]

On 11/19/2020 at 7:49 PM, SocialKonstruct said:

Today i attended the NYU Steinhardt Open House MFA presentation.

How did it go? I am thinking about applying. 

[SocialKonstruct]

On 11/27/2020 at 5:38 PM, lizavetar96 said:

How did it go? I am thinking about applying. 

Rather well. It's a great program. I am not applying for 2 years but I am still unsure whether the program fits my type of art practice.

[incoming first year mfa]

20 hours ago, SocialKonstruct said:

Rather well. It's a great program. I am not applying for 2 years but I am still unsure whether the program fits my type of art practice.

What kind of art practices did they engage in? Curious if you got a sense of what type of artist would benefit most from their program.

[SpillToBuilt]

8 hours ago, incoming first year mfa said:

What kind of art practices did they engage in? Curious if you got a sense of what type of artist would benefit most from their program.

You should look at current grad faculty and current/past students. Also peruse their website. 

[SocialKonstruct]

12 hours ago, incoming first year mfa said:

What kind of art practices did they engage in? Curious if you got a sense of what type of artist would benefit most from their program.

They accept all practices and encourage exploring combining anything together conceptually.

[SocialKonstruct]

We are nearing the end of the 2020 year. Has anyone had difficulties with the application process? Finding professors to write recommendations etc.?

[theundoing]

10 hours ago, SocialKonstruct said:

We are nearing the end of the 2020 year. Has anyone had difficulties with the application process? Finding professors to write recommendations etc.?

I didn't have any trouble making work but finding the motivation to write the artist's statement is much harder. 

[silverbuttons]

14 hours ago, SocialKonstruct said:

We are nearing the end of the 2020 year. Has anyone had difficulties with the application process? Finding professors to write recommendations etc.?

 

the application process has been disenchanting for me tbh. I wanted to apply to rutgers and bard but obviously it turned into just bard. It seems like they're giving the current class an extra year?

so, I feel apprehensive about the situation -- like how will studio space, funding, class size, teaching opportunities etc be impacted? its impossible to really know and keep thinking maybe this just isn't the best year to enter grad school for painting lol 

on one hand I could just apply and defer if I even get accepted? But not sure if bard even does deferrals. Might want to wait for rutgers....

overall, everything feels a bit too wobbly rn for me to feel comfortable/confident spending the money and going into debt. Just where I'm at -- would love any insight

 

 

[SocialKonstruct]

Honestly I have really very little insight. I am just a second-year undergrad so I don't apply for at least another 1.5 years. I did win a grant a few weeks ago here at https://www.workingartist.org/photography-award.html

And basically I have been making tons of art too. I would go immediately to art school without hesitation because if my art career can survive the worst of humanity then it will thrive during the better times.

What are folks putting into their artist statements?

[theundoing]

17 hours ago, silverbuttons said:

 

the application process has been disenchanting for me tbh. I wanted to apply to rutgers and bard but obviously it turned into just bard. It seems like they're giving the current class an extra year?

so, I feel apprehensive about the situation -- like how will studio space, funding, class size, teaching opportunities etc be impacted? its impossible to really know and keep thinking maybe this just isn't the best year to enter grad school for painting lol 

on one hand I could just apply and defer if I even get accepted? But not sure if bard even does deferrals. Might want to wait for rutgers....

overall, everything feels a bit too wobbly rn for me to feel comfortable/confident spending the money and going into debt. Just where I'm at -- would love any insight

 

 

Yeah, Rutgers let their 2nd years stay an extra year and since the tuition is funded (through your work as a TA) they couldn't take on a new class. I also wanted to apply to Rutgers so it is disappointing. 

I know someone at Bard. And I asked for the scoop on painting. Some things are unknown but basically when Bard went online they offered a full time or part-time track. All students who did part time will enter into Bard in the same year that they were last year. Everyone in painting opted to do the part time track. That means that the 3 students accepted last year will be first years this summer. Apparently class size can be up to 5 or 6 at Bard. I imagine that funding will be impacted but that's just speculation on my part. 

From speaking to a bunch of friends who went through the MFA app process many people get into the place they really want to go the second time that they apply. And you also learn a lot from the process itself. So might make sense to convince yourself to apply just to learn from the process? The problem is...if you apply to Bard and you get in they do not allow deferral. Some schools allowed deferral last year but most typically don't offer that. I asked my friend about this and Bard wouldn't even offer deferral to accepted students for pandemic reasons. The only option was to reapply. So I feel like if Bard is your #1 choice it might be worth it to apply? But if you want to potentially have the option to choose between Rutgers and Bard you should wait. My friend said Bard is kind of a mess right now (as are a lot of schools) But if it is your #1 choice it is a 3 year program so things will even out eventually.

[SocialKonstruct]

2 hours ago, theundoing said:

Yeah, Rutgers let their 2nd years stay an extra year and since the tuition is funded (through your work as a TA) they couldn't take on a new class. I also wanted to apply to Rutgers so it is disappointing. 

I know someone at Bard. And I asked for the scoop on painting. Some things are unknown but basically when Bard went online they offered a full time or part-time track. All students who did part time will enter into Bard in the same year that they were last year. Everyone in painting opted to do the part time track. That means that the 3 students accepted last year will be first years this summer. Apparently class size can be up to 5 or 6 at Bard. I imagine that funding will be impacted but that's just speculation on my part. 

From speaking to a bunch of friends who went through the MFA app process many people get into the place they really want to go the second time that they apply. And you also learn a lot from the process itself. So might make sense to convince yourself to apply just to learn from the process? The problem is...if you apply to Bard and you get in they do not allow deferral. Some schools allowed deferral last year but most typically don't offer that. I asked my friend about this and Bard wouldn't even offer deferral to accepted students for pandemic reasons. The only option was to reapply. So I feel like if Bard is your #1 choice it might be worth it to apply? But if you want to potentially have the option to choose between Rutgers and Bard you should wait. My friend said Bard is kind of a mess right now (as are a lot of schools) But if it is your #1 choice it is a 3 year program so things will even out eventually.

Rutgers is definitely on my radar to apply for within 1.5 years. I expect art schools to get much more competitive. Places like Columbia are going to be harder to get into I suspect. Will find out sooner or later.

Artist statements/statement of intent should be interesting to write. 500 words or less I think? I plan to write a separate statement for every place I apply to.

[silverbuttons]

11 hours ago, theundoing said:

Yeah, Rutgers let their 2nd years stay an extra year and since the tuition is funded (through your work as a TA) they couldn't take on a new class. I also wanted to apply to Rutgers so it is disappointing. 

I know someone at Bard. And I asked for the scoop on painting. Some things are unknown but basically when Bard went online they offered a full time or part-time track. All students who did part time will enter into Bard in the same year that they were last year. Everyone in painting opted to do the part time track. That means that the 3 students accepted last year will be first years this summer. Apparently class size can be up to 5 or 6 at Bard. I imagine that funding will be impacted but that's just speculation on my part. 

From speaking to a bunch of friends who went through the MFA app process many people get into the place they really want to go the second time that they apply. And you also learn a lot from the process itself. So might make sense to convince yourself to apply just to learn from the process? The problem is...if you apply to Bard and you get in they do not allow deferral. Some schools allowed deferral last year but most typically don't offer that. I asked my friend about this and Bard wouldn't even offer deferral to accepted students for pandemic reasons. The only option was to reapply. So I feel like if Bard is your #1 choice it might be worth it to apply? But if you want to potentially have the option to choose between Rutgers and Bard you should wait. My friend said Bard is kind of a mess right now (as are a lot of schools) But if it is your #1 choice it is a 3 year program so things will even out eventually.

Thanks for the response! Yeah, i've heard similar things from people i know there as well, definitely all over the place right now. I'm going to wait till next year at this point -- Rutgers is a big contrast financially and I'm equally, if not more interested in that school,,,,plus not being able to defer at bard makes it too weighted for me personally. 

Good luck!

[ChippedNails92]

Passing on this info! Let me know if anyone has questions.

Georgia State University MFA Program in Photography: 

• 3 yr program
• Full Tuition Waiver
• Teaching Assistantship
• Monthly Graduate Stipend
• Solo Thesis Exhibition
• Downtown Atlanta, GA

overview: https://www.gsu.edu/program/photography-mfa/

instagram: @gsuphoto 

website: https://gsuphoto.com

There will be a zoom info session on Monday Dec 14 @ 6PM Eastern time. Open to anyone interested, no registration necessary.

LINK : https://zoom.us/j/96385815709?pwd=MC9qeU95SE55MW5jbVk0U3BxOUNZQT09

Meeting ID: 963 8581 5709

Passcode: 242363

 

[theundoing]

11 hours ago, silverbuttons said:

Thanks for the response! Yeah, i've heard similar things from people i know there as well, definitely all over the place right now. I'm going to wait till next year at this point -- Rutgers is a big contrast financially and I'm equally, if not more interested in that school,,,,plus not being able to defer at bard makes it too weighted for me personally. 

Good luck!

I would call the office and double check just in case students' understanding is wrong. But yeah...I think Rutgers is a really amazing program. Thanks and good luck to you next year!