MFA 2023 Freak Out Forum

[azumarill]

33 minutes ago, Gaara said:

Thanks for the info! Maybe photography was the first wave for U of O. That gives me a little hope. 

That is a quick turn around though, you received an interview invite via email on Feb 1st, then interviewed a day or two later? They didn't give you much time to prepare. What questions did they ask you? 

Yeah! Hope you will hear from them soon!

They emailed me asking if I had 10 or 20 minutes to discuss my work and application between now (Feb 1st) and Feb 6th and I chose Feb 3rd (don't want to take up my and anyone else's weekend) Definitely freaked out a little about the quick turnaround.

The faculty who interviewed me was very nice though. He asked general questions like why UO, what do I expect from the MFA program, what are my artistic influences and two more portfolio specific questions. It was a quick talk for around 10 minutes.

[Miso]

16 minutes ago, azumarill said:

Yeah! Hope you will hear from them soon!

They emailed me asking if I had 10 or 20 minutes to discuss my work and application between now (Feb 1st) and Feb 6th and I chose Feb 3rd (don't want to take up my and anyone else's weekend) Definitely freaked out a little about the quick turnaround.

The faculty who interviewed me was very nice though. He asked general questions like why UO, what do I expect from the MFA program, what are my artistic influences and two more portfolio specific questions. It was a quick talk for around 10 minutes.

Thanks for letting us know this! This info is very helpful

[geminilibraaquarius]

Hi 

just checking to see (again) if anyone has heard from

University of Illinois- Chicago

Univ Wisconsin- Madison

SUNY Buffalo

 

THANK YOU!

[geminilibraaquarius]

Oh I should say I received a request for an interview from University of Iowa on Thursday. Also I attended Hunter's BFA program and they don't interview for MFAs until March is my understanding.

 

Thanks

[cornchip]

I know it's Saturday and no one is sending emails but I can't stop refreshing lol. I also keep looking at my website analytics and seeing that people are viewing in the cities where I applied to school!! AH!

[Veneralia]

20 minutes ago, cornchip said:

I know it's Saturday and no one is sending emails but I can't stop refreshing lol. I also keep looking at my website analytics and seeing that people are viewing in the cities where I applied to school!! AH!

My friend just got an email for an interview for Iowa so they do send them on the weekends!!

[reallyfamousartist]

just want to say-- super happy i found this forum and wish i would've discovered it a few months ago lol -- my friends and family can't relate to this process, so sharing the feelings of hopefulness, excitement, and anxiety with people across the world who are also waiting on life-changing news has made me feel a lot less alone < 3 

[edgecase]

Yes, it is really nice not to feel alone in the waiting and have companionship in this process... thank you all. 

My update: UC Davis - accepted. Interviews completed and waiting to hear back from UW Madison, U of Arizona, ASU and UT Austin. No word from UCLA or Irvine. Expecting an eventual no from U of Oregon since other people have had interviews.

Hardest interview question so far, that I was unprepared for: What makes your art contemporary? 

[futuredesigner]

Apparently Yale had sent interview invites on a Saturday morning in February (based off of previous freak out threads), so I was hoping I had received an email from them when I woke up but I guess not...

Me when Yale didn't release preliminary decisions yesterday or today: ?

[rhonda89]

Everyone who applied to Tyler at Temple, check your portal! I hadn't received an e-mail or any correspondence from them and checked my portal on a whim this morning only to find out I had gotten accepted a few days ago!!

[rhonda89]

On 2/2/2023 at 7:35 PM, slickjaketheruler said:

Current tyler print MFA here. Happy to answer any questions about painting faculty/program since I’ve had frequent studio visits with them, or put you in touch with first year painters that can help you with good info on the program. 

Hey, that would be great! I just got my acceptance from them and am super curious about what the next steps look like in regards to navigating financial aid, assistantships, etc, along with other practical things like class sizes, faculty/student ratio and whatnot. I guess the most pressing question is how long after acceptance did you get info about financial aid? If you could put me in touch with some current painters that would be absolutely incredible I would really appreciate it!

[risaurus]

Hi guys! An international applicant here. I have my first ever design school interview tomorrow for MFA Graphic Communication Design. Really nervous and clueless.

May I ask what kind of questions are usually asked? And if you guys have any advice also, that'd be great.

Thank you!

[edgecase]

ASU and Davis gave questions ahead of time to prepare. For the others: Why X school? Why an MFA? What would you in particular add to the program? What are your influences and references? What might your studio practice look like if you came (ideas for art making)? Where do you see yourself as an artist in 5 years? What makes your art contemporary? What are some recent exhibitions you've seen?

[futuredesigner]

Decisions for Yale 3-Year MFA just went out. Rejected ?

[slickjaketheruler]

1 hour ago, rhonda89 said:

Hey, that would be great! I just got my acceptance from them and am super curious about what the next steps look like in regards to navigating financial aid, assistantships, etc, along with other practical things like class sizes, faculty/student ratio and whatnot. I guess the most pressing question is how long after acceptance did you get info about financial aid? If you could put me in touch with some current painters that would be absolutely incredible I would really appreciate it!

Ay, congratulations. Happy to break these things down for you and explain these few things.

For classes all grads take a few of the same classes each semester. You will be taking directed studio practice - 3 credits that are just given to you for studio time, graduate projects - a 3 credit class that meets every Tuesday within your department, and critique and critical discourse - a 3 credit class every Thursday that mixes all the departments grads together for critiques (this is time to get feedback outside of your specialized field). One of the great things about Tyler is that they are currently and actively restructuring the way they approach critique to be more ethical and responsible with their students. 

Outside of that you will then take an elective of some sort and an art history. All first years will take a theory class their first semester and the elective can be anything you want as long as it is junior level or above. Electives and art histories aren't limited to your department either. I'm a printmaking major and ended up taking a glass class both semesters (which completely radicalized my practice). Class sizes for electives are no more than 10-15 students, for graduate projects usually it's between 5-10 people per section depending on department. Like printmaking has 6 grad students total. So our class sizes are only 6 for our graduate projects. 

For financial aid, funding, and assistantships: it really depends on the programs and what they have to offer. The university breaks down funding in a few ways. They offer fellowships that are determined outside of Tyler but through Temple as a whole. These are usually based off of academic merit, involvement, portfolio, and CV status and engagement. Each program usually has 1-3 fully funded fellows that will receive an assistantship stipend for their first year without having to work.

TA appoints and graduate intern and externships and based off of each department. Right now, I currently have 3 semesters fully funded with a print shop technician appointment for my first year, with a TA assistantship where I will be teaching a class as instructor of record my 3rd semester.

There are research and travel grants you can apply for for supplies. One of them is the deans grant for academic research. It offers up to $1000 to complete a project that otherwise wouldn't be achievable without the additional funds. They also have the project completion grant which is a $12,000 grant you can apply for your thesis/dissertation semester for funding. That one is unrestricted so can be used to help pay tuition or whatever. 

My best advice for you once the program reaches out, is to not commit until you have other offers on the table. And negotiate hard! Tell them your other offers and what those schools are offering you. It's possible that more funding can be available. I negotiated additional scholarship money in by laying some full funded offers on the table since Tyler was my top choice. 

For painting faculty, I really love Philip Glahn, Jessica Vaughn, and Gerard Brown. Philip is the smartest person I know and will really challenge you to think critically about the work you are making. He also taught my theory class this semester. Jessica Vaughn has an incredible interdisciplinary practice and always takes the time to help you understand important writings. I just met Gerard recently and he is really passionate about teaching in higher education (he teaches classes on it at Tyler for graduate students). 

Outside of painting I have really enjoyed studio visits with Amze Emmons and Hester Stinnett in printmaking (biased bc they are my program heads), Jessica Jane Julius in the Glass department, Mallory Weston and Doug Bucci in Jewelry, Jesse Harrod in fibers + material studios, Nichola Kinch in sculpture/foundations, and with Alpesh Patel in art history. 

If you want to message me here or on instagram @jakelahah, I'm happy to put you in touch with current first year painters so they can give you their honest opinion on the painting program. Hope this info is helpful for you and anyone lurking. 

[mfadoom]

50 minutes ago, futuredesigner said:

Decisions for Yale 3-Year MFA just went out. Rejected ?

did you get an email from them? I haven't gotten anything, I've checked my junk and everything 

[u54rterytuuyrtrtrty]

just received an interview request from yale! can't believe it still!!!! (Sculpture MFA) 

Edited February 5, 2023 by u54rterytuuyrtrtrty
missing info

[simulation]

first reply here (hello!)
just received the interview invitation for yale graphic design, let's see how it goes! any tips for the interview?

[Yoasianguy]

Has anyone heard back from Yale Painting/Print?

[reallyfamousartist]

 

1 minute ago, Yoasianguy said:

Has anyone heard back from Yale Painting/Print?

not yet

[thegradiest]

1 minute ago, Yoasianguy said:

Has anyone heard back from Yale Painting/Print?

nothing yet, I keep refreshing everything 

[redCat]

1 hour ago, futuredesigner said:

Decisions for Yale 3-Year MFA just went out. Rejected ?

Me too. Tbh I'm kind of relieved I don't have to do that interview haha. Good luck with your other schools though! We got this!!

[Fawn]

26 minutes ago, simulation said:

first reply here (hello!)
just received the interview invitation for yale graphic design, let's see how it goes! any tips for the interview?

Congrats!! I also got an interview invite from Yale graphic design! did not expect this at all ? especially after hearing no words from RISD and SVA

Are you applying for 3 year program or 2 year?

[hapkyukhaja]

For those who has been invited to Yale’s MFA program, I was wondering when your interview dates are?

Edited February 5, 2023 by hapkyukhaja

[mfadoom]

I just got a rejection from Yale painting/print making if other people are waiting