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Establish your voice as an artist through interactive studio practice, online seminar courses, and dialogue with faculty, peers, and visiting artists

  • Develop the skills to succeed as a professional artist, arts educator, or in senior positions in art-related careers
  • Cultivate a professional, sustainable studio practice to engage in a life in art
  • Learn to create works of art that reflect a sophisticated understanding of the particular forms, materials, and processes of your chosen medium
  • Engage in a dynamic, critical conversation with faculty and peers, and have regular one-on-one meetings with visiting artists
  • Culminate your experience with a thesis exhibition in the newly-renovated Wege Center for the Arts
  • Federal financial aid typically covers tuition and up to $14,000 per year towards living expenses for US students

*Federal grants and loans available to most US citizens and permanent residents

Cultivate a sustainable studio practice

Art student Taj Matumbi at workThe Low Residency MFA in Visual Art gives you the opportunity to pursue an in-depth graduate-level experience in art that is flexible and tailored to your individual needs. You also cultivate a community of support around your practice, developing friendships and connections to sustain your life in art.


Meditate and Create

Art student David Hurlin at workAt MIU, you’ll learn the Transcendental Meditation® (TM)® technique. This simple technique for inner peace and wellness, along with MIU’s unique Consciousness-BasedSM education, allows you to access your creative imagination and illuminate deeper connections in your life and work.


Work directly with nationally-recognized faculty and artists

Art faculty Jim Shrosbree and Genevra DaleyAs a low-residency MFA student, you’ll work directly with a rotating roster of visiting artists during summer and winter residencies, and will meet in person with a visiting artist mentor in your home studio during remote semesters. Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in our regular on-campus visiting artist lecture series throughout the semester via webinar.


Program structure

Wege Center for the Arts at MIUIn our 2.5-year, 60-credit program, students attend two-week studio-intensive residencies on the MIU campus in the summer and winter, and complete independent studio work during the fall and spring semester, supervised remotely by faculty. Students will also enroll in an online graduate seminar course during remote semesters, meeting online weekly with the rest of their cohort for discussions and presentations. Finally, each remote semester, students will be assigned a visiting artist mentor in their region to meet with in-person on a monthly basis.


Courses & degree requirements

In this 60-credit, 2.5 year MFA program, students attend on-campus residencies of two weeks duration once per semester. That means a total of 6 residencies — 5 studio residencies plus a final Thesis Exhibition residency. During the remainder of the semester, students take courses and interact with their faculty online.

Areas of study

  • 2D (Painting and Drawing)
  • 3D (Sculpture, Ceramics, Installation, Video and Performance Art)

Courses

  • Transcendental Meditation Course, 1 credit
  • Summer and Winter Residencies, 5 @ 2 cr = 10 credits
  • Capstone Residency, 2 credits
  • TM and the Creative Process (online course in the first semester), 2 credits
  • Graduate Seminar, 5 @ 4 cr = 20 credits
  • Remote Independent Studio Work, 5 @ 4 cr = 20 credits
  • Visiting Artist Evaluations and Response, 5 @ 1 cr = 5 credits.

Students attend on-campus summer and winter residencies made up of:

  • Three 2-week (4 credit) summer sessions with students on campus working in MIU studios.
  • Two 2-week (4-credit) winter sessions on campus. The last 3 days of the first winter session consist of a TM Retreat. Students have the option to add a retreat in the successive sessions.
  • In a Capstone Residency at the end of the fifth semester, students mount a thesis exhibition on campus and make a final presentation or thesis defense.

TM and the Creative Process (2 credits)

During the first campus residency, students are introduced to the key ideas of TM and the Creative Process and then complete that study through the course ART 508 TM and the Creative Process online to fulfill this university requirement for graduate students.

Graduate seminar (20 credits)

Students are required to remain enrolled in the ongoing Graduate Seminar (4 credits per remote semester) in all five remote semesters. The seminar is divided into sections for the first- and second-year cohorts. The seminar meets online as a group once per week, and students are expected to participate in an online Discussion Forum by responding to prompts created by the seminar faculty. A weekly webinar conducted in a Zoom-style discussion based on students’ research is designed to accumulate over the course of the program.

Once a year, the seminar will include a field trip when students and faculty meet for a 5-day intensive in NYC or another major city to visit galleries, museums, and artists’ studios.

Remote independent studio work (20 credits)

This comprises the bulk of the workload between on-campus residencies (5 credits per semester). Students are expected to spend a minimum of 15 hours per week working independently in their studio. Documentation of works/process/progress is assessed on a monthly basis by the program director, including monthly individual online meetings between the student and program director.

Visiting artist evaluations and response (5 credits)

During remote semesters, students consult with the Program Director to choose a regional artist who visits with the student in person for at least 90 minutes four times throughout the semester (1 credit per semester).


To graduate, students must also satisfy the general requirements for a master’s degree


Get started by contacting Adriene

Adriene Crimson, admissions counselorAdriene Crimson is this program’s admissions counselor for US students. Adriene will provide you with all the details of becoming a student, including connecting you with program faculty when you have questions.

Contact Adriene >


Next entry: Jul 2025Apply Now >
Next entry: Jul 2025Apply Now >

Visiting artists

Joey Fauerso

Joey Fauerso

Joey Fauerso

painting by Joey FauersoJoey Fauerso is a Professor at Texas State. She has exhibited internationally with a recent solo show at Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. She has been awarded numerous residencies including The Drawing Center and Kunstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin.
painting by Joey Fauerso

Susan Chrysler White

Susan Chrysler White

Susan Chrysler White

artwork by Susan ChryslerSusan White is a Faculty Emeritus at the University of Iowa. She is a recipient of a Joan Mitchell Foundation grant and has exhibited widely throughout the United States. Her work is in numerous collections including the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
artwork by Susan Chrysler

Yevgeniya Baras

Yevgeniya Baras

Yevgeniya Baras

painting by Yevgeniya BarasYevgeniya Baras is a professor at Rhode Island School of Design. She has exhibited and lectured internationally and is a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow. Her work has been reviewed by numerous publications including The LA Times and Art in America.
painting by Yevgeniya Baras

Matt Phillips

Matt Phillips

Matt Phillips

painting by Matt PhillipsMatt Phillips is a professor at Fashion Institute of Technology, has exhibited extensively internationally and is a founding member of TSA gallery. His work has been reviewed in numerous publications including The New York Times and ArtForum.
painting by Matt Phillips


Other recent visiting artists and critics have included: Michael Velliquette, Eleanna Anagnos, Phillip Chen, Lenore Metrick-Chen, Glenn Goldberg, Abby Donovan and The 181, Paul Kotula, John Dilg, Ben Gardner, Laurel Farrin, Gail Spaien, Andrew Casto, Sangram Majumdar, Sean Nash, David Ratcliff, Josh Bienko, Terry James Conrad

Cost & Aid, 2024-25

US MFA in Visual Art

IMPORTANT: This estimate is based on two semesters (one academic year).

Annual Cost and Typical Financial Aid
Tuition and fees$18,064
Federal student loans–$18,064
Your payment$0
Optional: additional low-interest federal loans?-$14,000

Additional Information

    $14,000 per year in optional federal student loans are available toward living expenses.
    Your FAFSA automatically qualifies you for the majority of federal student loans for this program. The remaining portion is composed of Federal Graduate PLUS loans which require “no adverse credit” or an endorser. Repayment begins after your enrollment ends.

    There are a variety of money-saving tax benefits to assist in reducing the cost of education expenses. More about education tax benefits.
    Veterans should contact the VA for information on Veterans Education Benefits. Veterans eligible for BAH monthly benefits: The VA utilizes a scale of credits per block of courses; therefore, the VA sometimes pays part-time benefits for an individual month while the university delivers full-time federal aid for an entire semester. Our Veterans Certifying Official is our Director of Financial Aid.

Loan Repayment Options

    Payments are a fixed amount that ensures your loans are paid off within 10 years (within 10 to 30 years for Consolidation Loans).
    Payments may be fixed or graduated and will ensure that your loans are paid off within 25 years.
    Payments are lower at first and then increase, usually every two years, and are for an amount that will ensure your loans are paid off within 10 years (within 10 to 30 years for Consolidation Loans).
    Your monthly payments will be either 10 or 15 percent of discretionary income (depending on when you received your first loans), but never more than you would have paid under the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan.
    Payments are recalculated each year and are based on your updated income, family size, and the total amount of your Direct Loans. Any outstanding balance will be forgiven if you haven’t repaid your loan in full after 25 years.
    Your monthly payment is based on annual income, but your loan will be paid in full within 15 years.

Tuition, other fees, scholarships, and financial policies are subject to change prior to the entry date. For more information, contact us at finaid@miu.edu for a quick reply — normally one business day — or see more about financial aid.

Entrance requirements

  • BFA or BA undergraduate degree with 3.0 or higher GPA from an accredited college or university
  • Two recommendations
  • Statement of Purpose: In essay form, please describe your background, artistic interests, processes, and work. Also, discuss why you have chosen to apply to MIU and what you hope to gain from our MFA in Visual Art program. Statement of purpose should be 1-2 pages.
  • Portfolio of 15-20 images:
    • each optimized for the Web with a screen resolution of 72 pixels per inch
    • the portfolio should demonstrate a focused body of work
    • include a list of slides that designates: title (optional), materials, size (dimensions), date
  • Before being accepted, students will be interviewed by the faculty program directors

All MIU students practice the Transcendental Meditation® technique. If you have not learned it yet:

  • Once accepted as a US student, the cost of TM instruction is covered through a grant offered by MIU
  • Students are required to learn the TM technique before starting the first class
  • Contact your admissions counselor for details
  • Find information on the TM technique or search for a TM teacher at TM.org

Next entry: Jul 2025Apply Now >
Next entry: Jul 2025Apply Now >

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