Design writing, research, curation, and criticism, through printed and online media, radio, video, exhibitions, and events.
For information about the curriculum, application process, and scholarships, please contact:
T 212 592 2228
[email protected]
Alumni of the SVA MFA in Design Criticism go on to work as editors, writers, curators, researchers, bloggers, managers, entrepreneurs, and educators. Please visit our new website in which graduates explain, in their own words, how the MFA program has trained them for such careers as curator at the Vitra Design Museum; managing editor of DomusWeb; studio manager of Project Projects; author of Bio Design, a book recently published by Thames & Hudson and the Museum of Modern Art; assistant editor at Metropolis magazine; intern in the newly formed R&D department at the Museum of Modern Art; and as directors of their own design research consultancy, Superscript. Find out what their most embarrassing moments and greatest triumphs were, how they scored their dream jobs, and what advice they have for prospective students coming to the program. Here’s how some of them described D-Crit in ten words or less: “Totally unique. A faculty and curriculum unlike any other;” “Intellectually gratifying;” “Crafting and creatively broadcasting informed opinions on design;” “Everything comes together at D-Crit;” “A really general, yet specific, liberal arts course of study;” “Examining, understanding, and contextualizing the world of things through writing;” “The best decision I made since growing a beautiful beard;” “D-Crit is a laboratory for understanding the world we’ve built;” “Fantastic faculty, great opportunities, made me a better thinker/writer.”
How will you use an MFA in Design Criticism? For more inspiration, and information on how to apply, please visit dcrit.sva.edu.
About SVA MFA in Design Criticism
The SVA MFA in Design Criticism is devoted to the study of design, architecture, and urban infrastructure. The innovative two-year graduate program trains students to interrogate and evaluate design and its social and environmental implications, and to experiment with ways to engage design criticism’s publics.
Working alongside New York’s best-respected editors, authors, critics, curators, and historians, D-Crit students learn how to build an argument, develop a critical stance, and hone a writerly voice. Instructed by such faculty members as MoMA’s senior curator of Design and Architecture Paola Antonelli, urban design critic Karrie Jacobs, and online media maven Elizabeth Spiers, students communicate their unique perspectives through a range of media, including radio podcasts, exhibitions, video essays, events, syllabi, online media, and books.
The SVA MFA Design Criticism program seeks to cultivate design criticism as a discipline and contribute to design discourse with new writing and thinking that challenges and inspires. Applicants come to the program from all kinds of academic backgrounds, including design, architecture, art history, English literature, journalism, philosophy, and critical studies.
Admission to the SVA MFA Design Criticism program is by online application and the submission of one essay written specifically for the application, up to 2,000 words of writing samples, and three letters of recommendation. We have several scholarships available, ranging from 5,000 to 25,000 USD, which are awarded based on the merit of an application.