Best Master's Of Fine Arts Degrees

Overview

Through the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) Tufts University offers a Master of Fine Arts degree that prepares students to become professional artists. By blending practical and critical skillsets across both mediums and disciplines, the curriculum at Tufts helps its students develop both creatively and vocationally. As a Tufts MFA student you will collaborate with peers and faculty, take part in mentorships and academic discourse, participate in group critiques, teach and apply for exhibitions and grants, and explore art history and theory, all while working on your individual projects.

Features

This two-year, Boston-based MFA program is comprised of studio time, four graduate seminars, two electives, and two art history courses. Students are given their own semi-private studio space as well as access to the school’s supplies, equipment, and faculty. MFA tracks offered:

• Visual Arts

Notables

SMFA is affiliated with the Museum of Fine Arts and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design, meaning as a Tufts MFA student you will have access to a large network of artists and their communities.

Overview

UC Irvine offers graduate degrees in a number of creative areas, including writing (which is part of the equally reputable UC Irvine English department), visual arts (through the Claire Trevor School of the Arts), and drama, which includes specialization in acting, directing, stage management, design, and music direction.

Features

The two-to-three-year MFA in writing program at UC Irvine allows students to train in either poetry or fiction. Through workshops, graduate seminars offered by the Department of English, the Department of Comparative Literature, and other humanities programs, and concentrated work on a creative thesis, this writing MFA fully prepares students to become professional writers. Similarly, the visual arts MFA is for students pursuing careers in contemporary arts. This program is especially experimental and interdisciplinary with a curriculum combining independent study with critique courses and seminar classes. Finally, the MFA in drama prepares students to work on Broadway, in regional theaters, in TV, or in feature films. MFA tracks offered:

• Creative Writing
• Visual Arts
• Drama

Notables

Recognized as a Public Ivy, the University of California Irvine is consistently ranked among the best schools in the country, as are many of its individual academic and creative departments, including its prestigious MFA programs.

Overview

Cranbrook Academy of Art is one of the best art, design, and architecture graduate schools in the nation, and it works in close relationship with the renowned Detroit Institute of Arts. There is no set curriculum at Cranbrook. While such an open, dynamic graduate experience isn’t necessarily for everyone, but it’s absolutely the best of its kind.

Features

Cranbrook offers Master of Fine Arts degrees in the following mediums: 2D design, 3D design, ceramics, fiber, metalsmithing, painting, photography, print media, and sculpture. Since there is no set curriculum, students participate in critique rotations, reading and discussion groups, presentations, travel, and visits with guest artists and critics. Students are also privileged to have access to the Cranbrook Art Museum and to the Detroit art scene, which not only has a long history but is booming again right now. MFA tracks offered:

• Visual Arts

Notables

The visual arts MFA through the Cranbrook Academy of Art—based in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan—is unique in that the curriculum is self-directed and unscripted; there are no “courses.” Students create and implement the kind of graduate education they desire while being guided, supported, and encouraged by the larger community.

Overview

New York University is globally recognized for its academic standards, research achievements, and its commitment to the arts. Located in the middle of one of the greatest art, drama, and literary scenes in the world, New York University boasts one of the best Master of Fine Arts programs in the world.

Features

NYU offers MFA degrees in creative writing, studio art, film, acting, and more. Each takes approximately two years to complete and each pairs students with nationally recognized artists, writers, actors, and directors to cultivate an education marked by mentorship and relational guidance. MFA tracks offered:

• Drama and Film
• Visual Arts
• Creative Writing

Notables

The NYU experience differentiates itself in many ways, one of which is its one-of-kind MFA in Creative Writing in Spanish degree. Lead by prominent Latino/a, Latin American, and Spanish writers, this program offers three areas of study: fiction, poetry, and essay, all of which are taught in Spanish. In addition to this unique program, NYU’s other MFAs are consistently ranked by Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Review as some of the best in the country.

Overview

Though the University of Texas students concentrate in fiction, poetry, playwriting, or screenwriting, the curriculum is notably interdisciplinary, allowing students to develop work in a second field of study. The rest of the program is comprised of approximately three courses per term in addition to workshops, reading and critical studies classes, and thesis work.

Features

The faculty board at the Michener Center for Writers is made up of faculty members from across many UT departments, including the Department of English, the Radio, TV, and film departments, and the theatre and dance department. A number of visiting writers and artists also take part in the annual UT reading and writing series each year, making this program a highly relational one. MFA tracks offered:

• Creative Writing

Notables

This three-year MFA in Creative Writing program is one of the most affordable on our list, with competitive tuition that is, in most circumstances, fully paid through the Michener Fellowship. And on top of that, a stipend of $27,500 is offered per academic year. This MFA is not only affordable, it’s nationally ranked again and again by U.S. News & World Report.

Overview

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) offers two kinds of Master of Fine Arts degrees: one in writing and the other in art and design. The former is a two-year program that is distinctly not workshop-driven, but emphasizes and prioritizes graduate projects. MFA writing students can concentrate in (and freely combine) poetry, fiction, play/screenwriting, nonfiction, and even work with other departments within the school.

Features

Similarly, the MFA in Studio program at SAIC promotes student work that crosses departments and disciplines. The specializations abound at SAIC and include everything from art and technology studies to ceramics, fiber, performance, print media, sound, and more. Almost all the programs on our list require full residency, but at SAIC the fine arts MFA students have the option of enrolling in the low-residency program, studying at a distance and visiting campus only a couple times a year.MFA tracks offered:

• Visual Arts
• Creative Writing

Notables

SAIC brings students into an “old-world” style of mentorship, that is, one defined by a deep and dialogical relationship between student and faculty. There are still workshops, though they do not weigh as much in the curriculum as the writing projects, interdisciplinary seminars, and relationships among peers, faculty, and the greater SAIC community at large.

Overview

Hunter College offers three ways to specialize in the fine arts—memoir, poetry, and fiction—and has a curriculum comprised of workshops, craft seminars, and literature classes that include topics ranging from Greek tragedies and Chaucer to post-colonial and contemporary literature.

Features

Hunter College also offers a MFA in Studio Arts that is in New York City’s historic Tribeca neighborhood, placing you in direct proximity to some of the world’s most innovative and ground-breaking artwork. As a Hunter student you will also have access to their renowned gallery program, diverse lecture series, and exhibitions, as well as their woodshop, ceramics studio, digital workspace, photography studio, metal shop, printmaking studio, and more. Students are given five concentrations to choose among: sculpture, painting, photography, combined media, and works on paper. MFA tracks offered:

• Creative Writing

Notables

The Master of Fine Arts in Writing program at Hunter College, part of the CUNY system, offers free tuition to all of its students by way of teaching opportunities, research fellowships, internships with celebrated New York fiction writers and poets, and internships as editors and proofreaders at Threepenny Review.

Overview

For those interested in studying playwriting, fiction, or poetry, this program is the only on our list that can be completed in one year (which includes summer study). BU is also home to several art labs, research centers, a global music concert series, a prison education program, community projects, and much more.

Features

Boston University’s other MFA programs, each offered through the College of Fine Arts, are equally as reputable and distinct. There are MFAs in theatre and visual arts, and both have their own specializations: theatre MFA students can choose from among concentrations in theatre education, directing, production, playwriting, production management, and design; and visual art MFA students can concentrate in sculpture, painting, and graphic design. MFA tracks offered:

• Theatre
• Visual Arts
• Creative Writing

Notables

The Atlantic has recently ranked the MFA in Creative Writing program at Boston University as among the top 5 percent of all creative writing programs in the country. Also unique to Boston’s program is the world language study, the only of its kind on our list. This allows students to take part in the translation seminar and earn a Global Fellowship, which gives students the opportunity to study, write, and travel for up to three months anywhere outside of the United States.

Overview

The University of Wisconsin in Madison is home to one of the nation’s best English departments, based in which is their prestigious MFA in creative writing. For students pursuing careers and craft development in fiction or poetry this program gives a generous financial aid package and opportunities for its students to teach, work on literary journals, take workshops in other genres (including playwriting, creative nonfiction, and screenwriting), and enroll in cross-departmental courses in an array of subjects (eg., foreign languages, book-making, music, dance, etc).

Features

This program is distinctly interdisciplinary and flexible, encouraging its students to work with faculty from a diverse range of mediums and departments. Whether you’re attending UW Madison for writing or studio art, the city itself is known for its strong literary and arts scene, often considered one of the best up-and-coming art cities in the nation. MFA tracks offered:

• Studio Art
• Creative Writing

Notables

Notable to the UW Madison MFA is the two-to-one student-teacher ratio, which is unmatched by any other program on our list.

Overview

The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is located in Providence, is a globally renowned art and design school that offers a number of undergraduate and graduate degrees, including the MFA. Students can specialize in ceramics, digital and media art, furniture design (the only on our list to offer such a specialization), glass, graphic design, jewelry and metalsmithing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and textiles.

Features

Additionally, as a RISD student you can take electives in a diverse array of topics and mediums, including design and the developing world, the ethics of humanitarian design, late modernism and postmodernism, from immaterial to material, studio languages, and much more. This program is truly one of the best in the country for its visual arts MFA and is known for its post-graduation placement rates. MFA tracks offered:

• Visual Arts

Notables

As a RISD student you can also expect a high degree of community involvement, as MFA students work closely with the undergraduate population, as instructors in workshops or departmental courses, and through other professional development opportunities. RISD is ranked first in “The World’s 25 Best Design Schools” by Business Insider.

Overview

The consistently well ranked California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) offers a MFA for artists of all genres and mediums; one can pursue a Master of Fine Arts in everything from creative writing to choreography, studio art to graphic design, and much, much more. There are even more concentrations available within certain disciplines.

Features

CalArts is committed to nurturing and challenging the aesthetic vision of its students. For that reason the university goes to lengths to connect its students with working artists and professionals as well as offering access to career services, workshops, global initiative opportunities, and more. CalArts is also home to the Walt Disney Modular Theatre, Pixar University, the Center for New Performance, and much more. MFA tracks offered:

• Creative Writing
• Dance and Performance
• Music
• Studio Art
• Graphic Design

Notables

Other mediums at CalArts include: photography and media, art and technology, film and video, experimental animation, film directing, performer-composing, composition, jazz studies, instrumentals (in winds, brass, percussion, guitar, harp, piano/keyboard, strings, or voice), African music and dance, Balinese and Javanese music, north Indian music, world percussion, music technology, acting, stage directing, writing for performance, scene design, costume design, lighting design, sound design, technical direction, and producing.

Overview

Based in the beautiful Hudson River valley and on the foothills of the Catskill Mountains, Bard College is a liberal arts institution that is consistently well ranked by The Princeton Review, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, and more. Bard campus is comprised of a renowned art museum, a conservatory, multiple research and cultural centers, and is known for its interdisciplinary approach to its undergraduate education, but also in its structuring of the MFA programs, of which there are six: film and video, music and sound, painting, photography, sculpture, and writing.

Features

Whichever specialization and focus you choose, at Bard you can anticipate a hands-on approach to learning and working closely with faculty to develop and direct your craft. Plus, you’ll also get to take part in the Bard experience, that is, immersion in a distinct pedagogical and cultural scene that promotes intentional living and learning. MFA tracks offered:

• Creative Writing
• Film
• Music
• Visual Arts

Notables

Though all admitted MFA students are expected to prioritize one medium and to build a broad foundation consisting of the methodology and philosophy of that medium, they are also encouraged to combine other mediums and are given access to the entire university’s many studios, art labs, and equipment.

Overview

The Department of English at Indiana University–Bloomington is one of the best in the country, ranked among the top twenty, and it is home to their creative writing program, which gives students the opportunity to hone either their fiction or poetry under the mentorship of nationally recognized writers. This program is a three-year degree for those who either want to become professional writers or who wish to teach at the college level. Consisting of workshops, faculty mentorship, small classes, and a creative thesis, MFA students are given access to one of the, hands down, best writing communities in the country.

Features

Likewise, the MFA in Studio Art degree through IU Bloomington trains students on a number of mediums, including ceramics, digital art, graphic design, metalsmithing and jewelry design, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and textiles. These MFA students are guided through a curriculum marked by a liberal arts experience and influenced by the resources of a top research university. MFA tracks offered:

• Creative Writing
• Studio Art

Notables

At IU Bloomington you’ll study with accomplished artists and designers, and you’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with a diversity of students, peers, faculty, and visiting artists from across disciplines and mediums

Overview

It is hardly disputed that the Iowa Writers Workshop is one of the best writing MFA programs in the country. As an Iowa Writer you will gain teaching experience as well as have the opportunity to work as a research assistant during the course of your two years of study and manuscript development. Finally, this is also the oldest program on our list, boasting over eighty years of training writers and fostering a literary community.

Features

The University of Iowa also offers MFAs in theatre and contemporary dance, acting, design and technology, and studio arts, the latter offering further areas of concentrations: ceramics, graphic design, 3D design, drawing, intermedia, jewelry and metal arts, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. MFA tracks offered:

• Creative Writing
• Studio Art
• Performance

Notables

Not only do world renowned novelists, poets, and memoirists teach in the program, but they earn their MFAs there: graduates have won nearly every literary prize there is, including (seventeen) Pulitzer Prizes and national Laureate recognition. Students are also expected to supplement their studio hours, workshopping, and th

Overview

The only school on our list to offer a Masters of Fine Arts in Comics program, the San Francisco-based California College of the Arts (CCA) is a distinguished institute and leader in arts education. In addition to the comics MFA, they also proffer MFAs in design, film, fine arts, and writing.

Features

The teaching assistantships at CCA help augment the cost of attendance as well as providing MFA students with meaningful and influential teaching experience. Furthermore, CCA students are not only privileged to work among world-class artists, designers, and writers, their proximity to the Bay Area art scene and community plays an influential and developmental role in both art making and community building. Indeed, graduates from CCA have gone on to work in fields of art, publishing, design, architecture, criticism, film, curation, and business. MFA tracks offered:

• Creative Writing
• Design
• Film
• Fine Arts
• Comics

Notables

CCA also has a dual-degree program, which allows students (who prove exceptional creative vision and ambition) to integrate two discrete degrees, completing them in three years under direct mentorship and guidance. Under this unique program students can supplement creative work with a visual and critical studies degree. Moreover, CCA MFA students can also take part in the distinct Design MFA/MBA in Design Strategy dual degree option.