ARST-MFA - Art

The M.F.A. program is a two-year residential program of study. Graduate students are admitted into the M.F.A. program in the spring for studies starting in the fall term. Candidates for the program must complete the online application available at http://www.smu.edu/Meadows/Admissions/Graduate. Additionally, candidates must upload a portfolio, including 18-20 selections of their work, to Slate. Portfolio submissions are due by February 1. Students are encouraged, but not required, to tour the facility with a current graduate student and to meet the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) and other faculty prior to application. Admission to the graduate program is selective. Only those individuals will be admitted in whom the faculty recognizes clear prospects for attaining the objectives of the program during the two-year period of graduate study. Admission also is based on the objectives and limitations of the division.

The applicant is required to have a B.F.A. degree or equivalent to that offered at SMU (i.e., 60 studio hours, 12 art history hours). Highly qualified applicants not holding this degree may be considered for admission. The ranked admission criteria are portfolio, statement of intent, transcript and recommendations.

In general, not more than six credit hours of transfer credit apply to the M.F.A. in art. However, if the applicant has an M.A. in studio art, up to 30 credit hours may be transferred to the SMU program with the approval of the faculty and the head of the graduate program. In any case, a minimum of 36 hours must be taken at SMU.