Accepting applications for MFA degree programs for 2019–20

The School of Art at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is currently accepting applications for its Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree programs in Art, Photography & Media, Art & Technology, and Graphic Design for the 2019–20 academic year.

A sanctuary for cross-disciplinary training, the School of Art actively promotes both the creative environment and the intellectual context for artistic experimentation.

The School of Art’s commitment to artistic innovation and critical reflection has been the key to our enviable success in training the practitioners who go on to make important contributions to their respective fields.

Our programs prepare graduates to thoughtfully challenge the prevailing conventions of artistic expression, develop new forms and become innovators and leaders in their chosen fields.

We offer specific courses of study in each program, and yet none is isolated from the others. True to the Institute’s founding ethos, students are highly encouraged to collaborate with one another across disciplines and to investigate hybrid art forms—not only within the School of Art but also throughout all of CalArts. This accumulation of varying expertise provides an invaluable foundation on which students can build an independent practice and expand upon the boundaries of art-making.

Our faculty seeks out highly motivated, independent-minded students with a strong desire to make art and to challenge conventional ideas. With critique and individual mentoring at the heart of an intensive educational experience, you will be guaranteed the flexibility to shape your own creative development, whether in painting or video, photography or performance, typography or sculpture, digital imaging or sound installation, or, increasingly, new options in multimedia technologies. We give you the necessary room to find your own voice.

This year’s application deadline for fall 2019 is January 7, 2019. Here are our application and portfolio requirements. Following the January deadline, we will continue to receive applications on a rolling basis.

For more information on how to apply to one of our world-renowned programs in Art, Art & Technology, Graphic Design, and Photography & Media, please visit calarts.edu/admissions or contact Senior Admissions Counselor, Miranda Hoffs at mhoffs [​at​] calarts.edu.