MFA 2026 Freak out Forum

[Björk]

10 minutes ago, arthurrussell said:

Received my acceptance to UCSD a few weeks ago, but just wanted to post here to ask other people who also got accepted about the planned change of the program from 3 years to 2? How’s that impacting your decision? Also how’s the logistics of that (are we graduating with last year’s freshman cohort? Or are they also doing only 2 years now?) 

I’m going on a call with a faculty member next week, so hopefully they can answer my questions, but just wanted to start a discussion here!

 

Hey, you’re not alone! I’m in the same boat. While I understand the reasons behind the program changing are out of faculty’s control, as time has gone on I’ve grown more frustrated that this change wasn’t communicated until after I’d applied and gotten my hopes up. They told me during my interview and in the offer letter they were going down to two years. To me, it’s an indication that their program might be poorly managed or really cash strapped. I fear accepting and then them going back to a three-year model for a class after me, which would really upset me. I think that extra year is what *really* set UCSD apart, along with the full funding + TA salary. 
 

Still, it’s a good program rising into the sphere of greatness — seems like lots of folks are paying closer attention to the program. I am struggling because I have a similar offer from a three-year program that, while less buzzed about, seems very good. The UCSD faculty say I shouldn’t consider the other school at all, but idk, they didn’t have the rug pulled out underneath them like I did. 

[goodboycerberus]

Releasing a spot at UCLA, UW-Madison. Good luck!

[Björk]

1 hour ago, goodboycerberus said:

Releasing a spot at UCLA, UW-Madison. Good luck!

Where did you decide?

[jaeun0412]

Has anyone heard back from Columbia’s Painting MFA yet? I had my interview and am still waiting for the result. I haven’t seen any acceptance posts yet, so I’m wondering if decisions have started coming out or if I’m just hearing later..

[artdumpingground]

I got off the waitlist for Rutgers! Very excited to attend a fully funded program with such exciting faculty :)))

[BobaCannibal]

Still haven't heard back at all from UT Austin and Notre Dame MFA, not even an interview... probably cooked.

[wind55]

18 hours ago, jaeun0412 said:

Has anyone heard back from Columbia’s Painting MFA yet? I had my interview and am still waiting for the result. I haven’t seen any acceptance posts yet, so I’m wondering if decisions have started coming out or if I’m just hearing later..

Yes received painting acceptance about a week after the interview. Has anyone admitted to columbia had success negotiating for additional funding..?

[nonbinarystarshine]

Has anyone heard back from Portland States Art and social practice program or UW's MFA in painting+drawing? The ambiguous month plus long waiting game feels like slight form of hazing or a anxiety inducing social experiment..

[WHam]

On 3/13/2026 at 11:28 AM, TwhowantsanMFA said:

Quick update with final results from this application cycle:

(TL;DR from my big post: Last year I got interviews at 1 out of 5 schools, zero offers. Regrouped for a few months and then worked super hard to become a much stronger applicant)

This year:

Applied to 8 fully-funded programs at R1 universities (all provide full tuition remission and health insurance plus TA pay that more than covers rent)

Interviews at 6

2 highest ranked programs: 1 offer, 1 waitlist

2 next highest: 1 finalist visit with informal offer (withdrew before official offer to give someone else the spot), 1 waitlist

Lowest 2 where I interviewed: 1 withdrawal from consideration, 1 rejection (but they asked in interview my other applications and status and I told them about the acceptance at highly ranked program)

(The two where I didn't get interviews were much lower ranked than where I got offers, so I assume they didn't think I would be a good fit there. Fair enough!)

I feel so fortunate to have had great choices this year, which let me be much more relaxed in interviews and really assess program fit instead of just trying to get them to like me, and ultimately to get to go to a dream program with great funding.

Bottom line: It is sooooooo worth brushing yourself off if you don't get the results you want this year. Do the work to make yourself a stronger applicant, and you will be likely have a very different outcome next year. I understand the pain of rejection (last year is still fresh!) and send lots of sympathy, but it's not the end.

Why don't you just list the schools?

[sillypersimmon.21]

2 hours ago, nonbinarystarshine said:

Has anyone heard back from Portland States Art and social practice program or UW's MFA in painting+drawing? The ambiguous month plus long waiting game feels like slight form of hazing or a anxiety inducing social experiment..

I was accepted into university of Washington last week via a phone call! I interviewed in mid-February. Was told they are changing their program to be a smaller cohort this year. 

[nonbinarystarshine]

1 minute ago, sillypersimmon.21 said:

I was accepted into university of Washington last week via a phone call! I interviewed in mid-February. Was told they are changing their program to be a smaller cohort this year. 

Thanks for the insight! I'll wait a little to see what happens.

[salad13]

20 hours ago, BobaCannibal said:

Still haven't heard back at all from UT Austin and Notre Dame MFA, not even an interview... probably cooked.

Did Notre Dame already interview people?

[Autumn2026]

Hi everyone, 

Has anyone heard from University of Colorado and Colorado State University?

[BobaCannibal]

4 hours ago, salad13 said:

Did Notre Dame already interview people?

I'm not sure, but I feel like the interview period from past years was definitely before now.

[BobaCannibal]

On 3/15/2026 at 12:58 PM, BobaCannibal said:

Still haven't heard back at all from UT Austin and Notre Dame MFA, not even an interview... probably cooked.

Yeah... got my rejection email from UT Austin today. They told me they couldn't even give me feedback for my portfolio or anything due to the volume of applications. Damn.

[orangeorangecake]

anyone heard anything from NYU? 

[RevolutionNowandForever]

1 hour ago, BobaCannibal said:

Yeah... got my rejection email from UT Austin today. They told me they couldn't even give me feedback for my portfolio or anything due to the volume of applications. Damn.

Sorry you didn't get accepted. UT Austin accepts an extremely small number of Studio Art MFA students in each discipline, e.g. maybe two printmakers, two painters (sometimes they concentrate in drawing), two in sculpture, two photography each year. They might have a total of about 10 grad students total in Studio Art. I went to undergrad there.

[yay007gd]

has anyone heard decisions from artcenter or received a financial letter from yale? for artcenter, i applied a couple hours after the preferred deadline so im not sure what the timeline is looking like for decisions. for yale, i submitted fafsa on time but the css on march 4 so im also wondering what the timeline is looking like for that.

also, these are my results so far. i haven't decided on where to go so i'm down to chat with others who are in the same boat! if anyone has any insights on these programs, i'd love to know!! anything is appreciated!!

3yr mfa gd:

calarts - accepted, no financial letter yet

yale - accepted, no financial letter yet

risd - waitlisted

2yr mfa gd:

boston uni - accepted, 30% off tuition/yr

otis - accepted, 27k/yr and guaranteed 1 semester of assistanship

pratt (comms design) - accepted, no financial offer

 

[Moodyapplier]

Still never heard back from SAIC … I know it’s a rejection at this point but why drag it out

[Moodyapplier]

@yay007gd what do you mean by 3rd year MFA gd and 2nd … are you saying this is your 3rd cycle? 

[BobaCannibal]

5 hours ago, RevolutionNowandForever said:

Sorry you didn't get accepted. UT Austin accepts an extremely small number of Studio Art MFA students in each discipline, e.g. maybe two printmakers, two painters (sometimes they concentrate in drawing), two in sculpture, two photography each year. They might have a total of about 10 grad students total in Studio Art. I went to undergrad there.

That sounds about right. I applied to the MFA in Design program, but they only take 4-8 students per cycle. Still disappointing, as I don't have a lot of funding from offers currently.

[BobaCannibal]

1 hour ago, Moodyapplier said:

Still never heard back from SAIC … I know it’s a rejection at this point but why drag it out

Which program did you apply to?

[Moodyapplier]

Painting ….but I’ve heard from a few other mutuals that they heard back rejections/acceptances 

[linesofdemarcation]

Hi all! Hope this is the right place to ask (I’m new to GradCafe).

I was recently admitted to a program and had a question about how funding is typically communicated.

I had been told that the official offer letter would include funding details, but the letter I received only listed tuition and directed me to HR regarding a possible tuition concession (based on a family member’s employment at the university, so irrelevant to department funding.)

The program website states that all students receive financial assistance, and from what I can tell, students are usually offered at least 50% tuition support, usually more.

My question is: should I assume that what’s in the letter reflects the full offer, and they’re offsetting my merit-based aid with my family member’s tuition concession? That would be surprising, given they say all students receive financial assistance, and the family member discount is not high.

Thanks all, I really appreciate any insight.

[yay007gd]

7 hours ago, Moodyapplier said:

@yay007gd what do you mean by 3rd year MFA gd and 2nd … are you saying this is your 3rd cycle? 

ah sorry, those refer to the type of program i applied to. i applied to the 3 yr mfa graphic design program for yale, calarts, risd, and artcenter instead of their 2 yr programs. and the rest of the programs i applied to were only 2 yrs with no other option for a 3 yr.