How to Know Which MFA Graduate School Programs to Apply To

[@artprof]

Join our Art School Portfolios Group! Ongoing support & critiques, voice sessions with Prof Lieu. Get a chance to connect with other students for $30-$40 monthly. More info: artprof.org/art-school/art-school-portfolios-group/

[@clovercando]

Why does Art Prof always read my mind and come up with the perfect video just as I am thinking about it 😩💖

[@artprof]

Hahaa we're sorcerers - Mia, Art Prof Staff

[@MsLeanneO]

Thank you guys so much for doing this. It’s embarrassing to admit but I feel like my ideas of what I imagined an MFA to be were a bit of a fantasy. I’m glad I am able to let the fantasy go and have a much more realistic perspective than before. I also really appreciated the balance of frank negative and positive MFA experiences. I will be prioritizing community much more than before if I am able to pursue an MFA in the future.

[@artprof]

It's not embarrassing at all! MFAs are marketed as a kind of fantasy experience, and it's really hard not to buy into that. The only way to break the illusion is to talk about it, so thanks for being a part of the discussion, and good luck with your MFA search! :) -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist

[@rustymotionstudio4717]

I’m applying to MFA programs this year. Thank you for this information!

[@artprof]

Good luck with your application! ❤️ -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist

[@MrManuelcast]

Can you guys do a video about European MFAs? That would be really interesting for us (your European audience) 🙏

[@artprof]

None of our staff have done an MFA in Europe, so we'd need to do some research and probably bring in a guest artist to talk about it, but we'll consider it, thanks for the suggestion! -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist

[@canadianbird1185]

Honestly the best MFA are the ones that are free. Expecially the ones sponsored to you and that doesn't put you at financial risk. People who excel and have talent seem to get better careers/ promotions/ pay because of their abilities but not because of an MFA. If you wanna TEACH, then yes, you need MFA. What everyone really need are better clients. A web of connections. And the harsh reality to do 100% commercial art (Graphic Design, VFX, UIUX, Animation, 3D, etc) for the first 15~25 years of life. If you are Fine-Art Fine-Artist... do all of the above and switch into fine-art with lots of connection at a later life stage so that you have less risk.

[@artprof]

I think making connections is SO necessary when it comes to MFA programs & further learning!! I hope my art career is led down that road soon, but it'll probably take a lot of time.... - Mia, Art Prof Staff

[@dcolumbus19]

Thank you so much for this!

[@artprof]

You're so welcome! - Mia, Art Prof Staff

[@xvii_exe]

Damn it, I didn't make it to the live show. 2 hours late.

[@artprof]

Sorry, for some reason the KZbin schedule switched it to look like it was happening at 3pm rather than 12 pm! We changed it to the correct 12pm time, but I think not before people assumed it was suppose to be at 3pm. -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist

[@annaspeer8734]

Hi! I’m only about 10 minutes into the video right now- but I was wondering if I could have anymore specific information about your experience with NYAA? I went there for their Summer Undergraduate Residency Program (I’m in the second year of my BFA) and was thinking I would try to do their CFA program to brush up on painting skills before my trying to go to a mfa program after a while. However if the community is stuck up or the “wrong side” of the art world I would think a bit more about that plan. I personally had a good experience but I understand the Undergraduate program must be very different from the CFA or MFA. Thank you so much for your thoughtful videos :)! I’ve been watching since high school and they have taught me so much!!! If you have any more details you can share I’d love to hear them.

[@artprof]

Take this with a grain of salt, as I went in 2002 and it's likely that the school could be very different now. I think it really depends on your goals are as an artist, I don't think what they do is necessarily "wrong," but I did find that it was this very niche community that was extremely conservative about how they taught figurative art. Example: telling students the figure is 7.5 heads tall, I don't think you can boil figurative art down to that! They did bring in plenty of NYC visiting artists, but I found a lot of the faculty very close minded say compared to what I experienced as a RISD undergrad. Also note that the CFA program likely has different faculty, and that's all the difference in terms of how a program is run.

[@fabrislr9368]

A bit off topic and possibly a silly question, but you guys were talking on the video about trends in the fine art world. How do people find out what's trending right now? Sure if you have some experience exhibiting in galleries you probably notice it, but what if you are getting started now? Checking some website? 😂 I'm not trying to follow other people's path, just curious to understand what everybody else is talking about.

[@artprof]

I like looking at art magazines and online art news. Over time you get a pretty clear idea of what people and ideas are trending. We have an index of art publications here: artprof.org/library/resources/publications/ -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist

[@eddieibarra356]

I am interested in earning a MFA in Art Studio in concentration with Photography at UNM so I could teach photography, videography, and film at a university.

[@artprof]

You might consider our 2023 Art School Portfolios Group for support on your portfolio! for $30-$40 monthly, you get ongoing feedback and support from myself and 1 of our Teaching Artists. The $40 tier includes a weekly voice session. More info: artprof.org/art-school/art-school-portfolios-group/ -Prof Lieu

[@jasonstallings7174]

I was accepted to academy of art from scad but i saw so many red flags about that school. SCAD was great though.

[@artprof]

I'm glad you had a great experience at SCAD! -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist

[@chrismechery]

Does online MA in illustration have any value?

[@artprof]

It depends what your needs are. A big portion of the MFA experience is in in-person experiences. I think online critiques are very difficult, because you're not getting the full understanding of the work, but if you have a busy schedule or issues with travel, an online MA program can be great for support and structure. -Lauryn, Art Prof Teaching Artist

[@jasonstallings7174]

Easy answer, don’t get an MFA. Waste of time and money.

[@artprof]

To each their own! For some it could be worthless, but others might really need the experience! - Mia, Art Prof Staff