Graduate School Bulletin

Admission to the M.F.A. Program in Studio Art

Admission into the M.F.A. Program in Studio Art is at the discretion of the Studio Art Graduate Faculty with the final approval of the Graduate School. Admission is for the Fall semester. Admission to the program assumes a minimum of a B average in undergraduate work and meeting the standards of admission to the Graduate School (including English Proficiency Requirements).

All candidates for the M.F.A. program must enter with a minimum of 40 semester hours of credit or the equivalent of undergraduate work in Studio Art in a B.A., B.S., B.F.A., or similar program. Applicants should also have a minimum of 15 semester hours of credit in art history, theory, or criticism. At the discretion of the Graduate Faculty, those without sufficient background may be advised to complete further undergraduate coursework prior to admission to the program.

Following should be submitted directly to the Art Department:

Artist Portfolio Application Instructions:

In addition to completing the official Graduate School application using the SBU application portal (https://graduateadmissions.stonybrook.edu/apply), the below listed application materials for the MFA in Studio Art should be emailed directly to the Department of Art graduate program admissions email: GradArt@stonybrook.edu Please include your full name and MFA in Studio Art Application in the email subject line. You can send up to 25 MB in attachments. Please ensure that your file sizes are adequately set for this inbox limitation.

1. Artist Portfolio:

20 visual images, slides or pages, that represent your best and recent artwork in a presentation format, packaged as a PDF document (Max 25 MB). The Artist Portfolio should include image captions stating the artwork title, media/materials, and date of production (no artwork older than 3 years please). Short project descriptions (max 100 words each) can be included within the Artist Portfolio document, or a separate image captions text document may be attached. Video and durational media should be hyperlinked and playable online within a web browser (Website, Google Drive, Vimeo, YouTube, etc.).

2. Statement of Purpose / Artist Statement:

A statement between 500 and 1000 words on your artwork and creative research, current directions, aims and objectives in pursuing graduate study.

3. Resume / CV:

Curriculum vitae including contact information, education, academic achievements, art exhibitions, professional experience, awards or recognitions.