Accepting applications for MFA in Studio Art

Expand your art practice at USC Roski School of Art and Design

The USC Roski MFA in Fine Arts program embraces a multidisciplinary, cross-media approach to artmaking that maximizes a student’s studio experience, with a focus on analytical dialogue as provided by regular individual studio visits with faculty. Group critiques with student peers also play an important part in building relationships, collaborations, and expressive strategies.

Led by Vice Dean of Art Nao Bustamante, MFA students work closely with the school’s internationally acclaimed faculty of artists, scholars, theorists, and curators—including Edgar Arceneaux, Patty Chang, Shannon Ebner, Mary Kelly, Suzanne Lacy, Keith Mayerson, Kori Newkirk, and Jennifer West.

MFA students also have access to renowned artists and scholars through the Visiting Artists and Scholar Seminars that includes talks, classes, and studio visits. The 2017-2018 participants include Laura Aguilar, Tanya Bruguera, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Cecilia Fajardo-Hill, Theaster Gates, Senga Negudi, Tavia N’yongo, Pepón Osorio, and Hamza Walker. 

In addition to studio coursework the MFA curriculum also includes critical studies courses offered through the school’s MA Curatorial Practices and the Public Sphere program, headed up by noted art historian and critic Amelia Jones. These courses examine the intellectual and artistic histories of visual art theory and address global art practices.

One of the key features of the MFA program is the unparalleled access students have across diverse fields of study at USC, which is one of the world’s leading research universities, and home to 19 professional schools. These electives offer a broader platform for interdisciplinary experimentation and provide expansive possibilities for complementary fields of study.

The program culminates with an MFA graduate thesis and group thesis exhibition in the spring of the second year. Solo exhibitions may be additionally mounted in the Gayle and Ed Roski Master of Fine Arts Gallery, a well-appointed 2,000 sq. ft. space with moveable walls and roll-up doors for installation of large-scale works.

Facilities
The MFA studios are located in the heart of the vibrant metropolis of Los Angeles—one of the most important art capitals in the world, providing a rich, diverse cultural landscape for research and experimentation. In addition to the Gayle and Ed Roski Master of Fine Arts Gallery and individual studios, the Graduate Fine Arts building offers a woodshop, lecture rooms and meeting spaces, a computer lab, and a fully equipped photography facility. Additional facilities on the main campus include the Galen Ceramic Studio, the Galen Digital Media Lab and 3D Print Lab with professional-grade 3D printers, a printmaking studio, a photography studio, and a sculpture studio.

The USC Roski School of Art and Design has formal affiliations with the USC Fisher Museum of Art, The Hancock Memorial Museum, The Pacific Asian Museum, and the California African American Museum.

Prominent Roski Alumni
Alex Israel, Elad Lassry, Paul McCarthy, Ken Price, Amanda Ross-Ho, and Robert Therrien.

For details, visit www.roski.usc.edu or email penelope [​at​] usc.edu