does MFA program welcome people without BA/BFA ?

[emiemi]

and still admitted by top 20 or maybe top 30 MFA program  ? 

 

All the program state that BA, BFA is not required, but when I look into their graduate students bio, everyone has a BA/BFA. 

 

I am not an art major, not even related to art. It was not something I could control at that time  ... Is it an hopeless application at all ? anyone know people in top MFA program without BA/BFA ?

 

Thanks ! 

Edited August 20, 2014 by emiemi

[Xxanderr]

All art schools care about is your art portfolio, to be honest. If your art portfolio is strong, then you should be okay. However, one of the freak-out forums,  I read how some none  BA/BFA applied too post baccalaureate programs because there portfolio wasn't strong enough. Mind posting your portfolio? I would advise posting it in the 2015 Freak-out forum for more responses.  

[emiemi]

All art schools care about is your art portfolio, to be honest. If your art portfolio is strong, then you should be okay. However, one of the freak-out forums,  I read how some none  BA/BFA applied too post baccalaureate programs because there portfolio wasn't strong enough. Mind posting your portfolio? I would advise posting it in the 2015 Freak-out forum for more responses.  

will be posting it in a month or so, undergoing now Thanks much! 

[works_on_paper]

My own case is kind of odd--I'm 47 years old, with a BA in History and Anthropology.

 

I would like to get into a top MFA program for drawing/painting, and have decided to apply for fall 2016 or '17. And I think this is perfectly do-able. 

 

That said, I toyed with the idea of going back to school for a postbac BFA, just to get back into "student mode," and perhaps to give my application a boost. I took a printmaking class at my local university this summer as a non-matriculated student just to test the waters. And while the class was great fun and gave me a creative kick in the pants, I've decided not to go for the postbac degree.

 

My skill level is generally high (after all these years it should be, darn it). I read artist bios and books on art history and contemporary art for fun. I go look at art whenever possible. I've made friends in my local arts community. I finally have a clear idea of what I'm painting about, and can talk intelligently about that.

 

I'm sure there are things I could get out of the BFA experience, but at this point my art would be much better served by simply making more of it and getting it out there in the world much more often. I don't have a very disciplined studio practice right now, and I could be much more productive if I worked on that. I ought to put together a website by the end of this year, because I have zero internet presence. My work is already good enough to go pro; I just need to start acting like a professional artist, and doing things to build a resume. Having two years of sales and exhibition history, and maybe a few juried show awards, and a big, fat body of coherent, professional work, and a nice website that shows it all off will do me a lot more good than coughing up tuition for another degree. 

 

Short version: Go make art. Be an artist! Build your portfolio. Apply. Don't worry (HA!).

 

As far as MFA candidates' all having BFAs? Well, of course they do. Most people who decide they want to be artists make that decision very early in life, and by the time they get into an MFA Program they have been on that trajectory for years. But just because the current batch all have BFAs doesn't mean there are never non-BFA holders in that program, or that you can't be the exception in your cohort. 

 

Good luck!

[emiemi]

My own case is kind of odd--I'm 47 years old, with a BA in History and Anthropology.

 

I would like to get into a top MFA program for drawing/painting, and have decided to apply for fall 2016 or '17. And I think this is perfectly do-able. 

 

That said, I toyed with the idea of going back to school for a postbac BFA, just to get back into "student mode," and perhaps to give my application a boost. I took a printmaking class at my local university this summer as a non-matriculated student just to test the waters. And while the class was great fun and gave me a creative kick in the pants, I've decided not to go for the postbac degree.

 

My skill level is generally high (after all these years it should be, darn it). I read artist bios and books on art history and contemporary art for fun. I go look at art whenever possible. I've made friends in my local arts community. I finally have a clear idea of what I'm painting about, and can talk intelligently about that.

 

I'm sure there are things I could get out of the BFA experience, but at this point my art would be much better served by simply making more of it and getting it out there in the world much more often. I don't have a very disciplined studio practice right now, and I could be much more productive if I worked on that. I ought to put together a website by the end of this year, because I have zero internet presence. My work is already good enough to go pro; I just need to start acting like a professional artist, and doing things to build a resume. Having two years of sales and exhibition history, and maybe a few juried show awards, and a big, fat body of coherent, professional work, and a nice website that shows it all off will do me a lot more good than coughing up tuition for another degree. 

 

Short version: Go make art. Be an artist! Build your portfolio. Apply. Don't worry (HA!).

 

As far as MFA candidates' all having BFAs? Well, of course they do. Most people who decide they want to be artists make that decision very early in life, and by the time they get into an MFA Program they have been on that trajectory for years. But just because the current batch all have BFAs doesn't mean there are never non-BFA holders in that program, or that you can't be the exception in your cohort. 

 

Good luck!

Thank you, that's really encouraging!