Applying for programs for the first time: all advice welcomed

[Childofcalamity]

Hi Everyone,

I've been lurking on this forum for a couple of months now, following some interesting threads, and have decided that its time that I just dive in and introduce myself.

I graduated from Bard College in 2008 with a degree in literature. I never took an art class as an undergrad and only decided to pursue art seriously after graduating.

This will be my first year applying to grad programs.

I'd love to discuss my art, what type of art I'd like to study, what programs would suit me best etc, but I figure I'll save that topic for an upcoming post.

For right now, I'd like to ask;

What should I be doing right now?

Is there some sort of 'checklist' you'll create for yourself while applying?

I live in NYC and feel that there must be some really great resources I can take advantage to help me become better informed about schools/ narrow down the search.

Are there any grad program fairs/open houses I should be putting on my calender?

Thanks in advance.

It's forums like these that make me really love the internet.

Childofcalamity

[TheStranger]

That's cool your transitioning from literature to art. Not a lot of people realize that lit/English majors share a lot of the same with art majors. I am also going to be applying for the first time next year. It's good that you graduated from Bard. It's in New York and has a good, though not top tier, program in art. New York is the center of the art world...you are fortunate! LA, however, is an up and coming place for art and many argue LA is producing more interesting work right now. LA is going to have a HUGE art event in October if you're interested in getting to know LA art. You can keep Bard as a good backup school...though it depends on your goals in relation to "top schools" and which schools fit your style. What you should be doing is working on a portfolio of work (10-20 on average...USC asks for more than most). You should know what your theme is. Be able to compare your work to contemporary artists and art.

There are portfolio days available where many school participate in reviewing your work before you apply. But you live in New York so you are in a really good area already to scout out schools. I recommend going to school websites and seeing when they have galleries, showing of MFA student work. I suggest you look into what professors from schools you admire.

Good luck!

[silverhalide]

I too am applying for the first time to art grad programs. I am looking at photography mfa programs. What program are you applying to?

I am also curious what advice people have who have done this before.

[pjm1289]

"Are there any grad program fairs/open houses I should be putting on my calender?"

There is a Graduate Portfolio Day at Parsons on October 29th. http://www.portfolioday.net/content/view/98/50/

[gentlebreeze]

Not just NYC!

Graduate Portfolio Days

Sunday, Oct. 9

San Francisco, California

San Francisco Art Institute

Saturday, Oct. 29

New York, NY

Parsons

Sunday, Nov. 6

Chicago, IL

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Does anyone have any idea which schools will be attending the Graduate Portfolio Days? Is it every one of the programs on the list of schools that has a graduate program/major listed on this site - http://www.portfolioday.net/content/view/24/38/ or a more narrowed list than that? Unfortunately the website doesn't have nearly as much info about the graduate days as the undergrad ones.

Sat, Oct 29: New York GRADUATE Portfolio Day, Parsons The New School for Design

Time: TBA

[Childofcalamity]

gentlebreeze and Pjm, thanks for the heads up about the portfolio day at Parsons. It's something that I will put on my calender.

Silverhalide, right now, seeing as this is my first year applying, I'm going to be applying pretty widely to a wide variety of schools.

Most of my work is figurative or at least figurative based.

Sangram Majumdar is one of my favorite contemporary artists. He teaches at the Maryland Institute College of Art, which I think I will apply to simply because I would loooove to work with him.

He also went to University of Indiana where Eva Mansdorf teaches, who I also admire a lot. I will be applying there as well.

As far as recommendations go, would you guys recommend having only professional artist write them over people who are not artists but know you better?

I know a few Lit professors from undergrad who I'm sure would write me a great recommendation but I doubt they would be speaking about my body of work. Maybe I should go with a combo of both?

Thanks again

[TheStranger]

As far as recommendations go, would you guys recommend having only professional artist write them over people who are not artists but know you better?

I know a few Lit professors from undergrad who I'm sure would write me a great recommendation but I doubt they would be speaking about my body of work. Maybe I should go with a combo of both?

I always assumed it had to be an artist or art professor in your field that wrote about your art, but some school sites actually don't specify that.

[michaelwebster]

I always assumed it had to be an artist or art professor in your field that wrote about your art, but some school sites actually don't specify that.

I would try to stick to people in the art field, but most schools just skim the letters of recommendation anyway, you just don't want it to say something bad.

[TheStranger]

I would try to stick to people in the art field, but most schools just skim the letters of recommendation anyway, you just don't want it to say something bad.

"Bad" pretty much meaning having a letter of rec that's extremely generic and cut & paste. If you're out of people to ask for letters, you can ask your mom. Haha.

[kyapata]

Hey,

I too will be applying for MFA Painting Fall 2012. My problem is that my graduate degree is in Engineering. My work ex is also in engineering. I do not have anything solid to put on my resume about art except that I have exhibited my work in a couple of local art exhibitions here in India. I have been painting regularly but i have no degree/qualification in art to support it. Any suggestions as to what my approach should be while writing my resume would be great help.

Also I am working on my portfolio now. My art is not in series. Would that be looked upon negatively by colleges. I am open to working on series but that is not my style. Also my work is diverse. At MFA level would they expect something more focused?

I would really appreciate some help..

Thanks,

kyapata

[Childofcalamity]

Hey,

I too will be applying for MFA Painting Fall 2012. My problem is that my graduate degree is in Engineering. My work ex is also in engineering. I do not have anything solid to put on my resume about art except that I have exhibited my work in a couple of local art exhibitions here in India. I have been painting regularly but i have no degree/qualification in art to support it. Any suggestions as to what my approach should be while writing my resume would be great help.

Also I am working on my portfolio now. My art is not in series. Would that be looked upon negatively by colleges. I am open to working on series but that is not my style. Also my work is diverse. At MFA level would they expect something more focused?

I would really appreciate some help..

Thanks,

kyapata

Hi Kyapata,

From what I've heard, you want your portfolio to be somewhat focused or "themed" (though I hesitate to use that word). I don't think this means that everything has to be a "series" but you want all your pieces to be striving for the same emotional response/ asking the same/similar questions.

As for the fact that you studied engineering, I've heard that this is can be viewed as both a positive and negative point for schools.

I know several people who have told me that studying something other than art in undergrad is good because it shows that you are a well rounded individual and that deciding to pursue another field of study for graduate work really shows that you are committed. I imagine that if your work somehow reflects your engineering background schools will find this at least compelling- allowing you stick out a bit, which is pretty much the point right?

I've also heard that studying something else in undergrad may not be a good thing because schools assume you are not as well versed in the how your art fits into the contemporary art world etc etc.

As for what you should be doing right now, I'd say: keeping working/ selecting your pieces for your portfolio. figure out who is going to write your recommendations, your artist statement, and start figuring out/ narrowing down which schools you'd like to go to.

Don't just apply to top tier schools. Throw in some safety schools as well.

hope this helps.

[R. Mutt]

Hi Kyapata,

From what I've heard, you want your portfolio to be somewhat focused or "themed" (though I hesitate to use that word). I don't think this means that everything has to be a "series" but you want all your pieces to be striving for the same emotional response/ asking the same/similar questions.

As for the fact that you studied engineering, I've heard that this is can be viewed as both a positive and negative point for schools.

I know several people who have told me that studying something other than art in undergrad is good because it shows that you are a well rounded individual and that deciding to pursue another field of study for graduate work really shows that you are committed. I imagine that if your work somehow reflects your engineering background schools will find this at least compelling- allowing you stick out a bit, which is pretty much the point right?

I've also heard that studying something else in undergrad may not be a good thing because schools assume you are not as well versed in the how your art fits into the contemporary art world etc etc.

As for what you should be doing right now, I'd say: keeping working/ selecting your pieces for your portfolio. figure out who is going to write your recommendations, your artist statement, and start figuring out/ narrowing down which schools you'd like to go to.

Don't just apply to top tier schools. Throw in some safety schools as well.

hope this helps.

I think you mean a cohesive body of work. And yes, definitely a plus in my opinion.

[kyapata]

@ Child of calamity, Thanks for the info. It was encouraging as I was a little apprehensive about my background. I can only hope that at least some colleges will look at it in positive light.

@ starling, yes, that was the word i was looking for 'Cohesive body of work'. I think my work is progressing in the right direction. And while will keep my work cohesive I don't think i will work in series as its just not me.

I will definitly be applying to SAIC,RISD, Columbia, Bloomington-HOPE, Texas-Austin, SCAD, Parsons

I will keep adding to the list eventually.

Does anyone know about the scholarships in SCAD. I cannot afford MFA without scholarship.

Any suggestions on safety schools?

[michaelwebster]

You need to think about your past as engineering as a positive because it definitely can be if you use it right. Also, I would recommend putting your work online somewhere because we can't really give you advice on cohesiveness or safety schools if we don't know your work.

SCAD should be a safety school, but I don't know about scholarships there. Scholarships are really tough to get at schools like RISD and SAIC and probably others on your list, I wouldn't expect one at most schools. An inexpensive school that isn't extremely competitive is University of North Carolina at Greensboro, they give all grads in-state tuition, so less than 10,000 a year.

[kyapata]

yeah, I think you are right. I will soon upload my work. I haven't done that as yet. As soon I do, I will post the link here. Thanks.

I read up on University of North Carolina at Greensboro, but they say:

"Requirements for admission to the M.F.A. program: The student should have 39 hours or the equivalent of undergraduate credits in studio art and 15 hours of art history."

Sadly, I don't fulfill these requirements.

[losemygrip]

Yes, and you may find this to be the case elsewhere, too. You might inquire to see if your other art accomplishments might be accepted in lieu of credits. Or, perhaps you could be provisionally accepted, come in and do deficiency work for a year, and then enter the program.