www.mills.edu/academics/graduate/arts
Mills College’s MFA program in studio art provides artists with both a formal and a conceptual foundation in contemporary art. Mills’ interdisciplinary community of artists provides the perfect setting for the development of a personal practice and professional engagement in contemporary artistic dialogue.
In the context of a small liberal arts college, students receive individual attention from Mills’ distinguished professors and visiting artists. Admission into this two-year graduate program is competitive and designed to both facilitate personal, artistic growth and meet the demanding standards of the profession.
Students are encouraged to work interdisciplinarily, but select a focus among painting, sculpture, installation, photography, intermedia, new genres, video, and electronic arts. Mills College houses excellent studios for all of these disciplines. Other resources include the Mills College Art Museum, digital computer lab, video suites, and both dark room and state of the art digital printing labs.
Graduate students in studio art also enjoy spacious, private studios during the entire two years of their program. Students are required to work in these on campus studios to facilitate interaction with fellow artists, faculty, and both visiting artists and scholars.
The MFA program culminates in a thesis exhibition of student work in the Mills College Art Museum, which draws substantial interest from local gallery owners, art dealers, and critics.
More Information
MFA Program
MFA Blog
Mills College Art Museum
About Mills College
Located in Oakland, California, in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area, Mills College is an undergraduate college for women with graduate programs for women and men. With a total student body of almost 1,600, the Mills campus provides an intimate environment dedicated to intellectual discovery. Between classes, students can enjoy the natural beauty of the lush, park-like campus, attend one of many inspiring events led by renowned guest speakers, artists, and scholars, or explore the social, cultural, and recreational opportunities of the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area. As one of our students put it, “Mills is a world within a world.”
Studio Art and Art History Faculty
Samara Halperin
Hung Liu
Anna Valentina Murch
Catherine F. Wagner
James Fei
Ken Burke
Moira Roth
Mary-Ann Milford
Stephanie Hanor (Director, Mills College Art Museum)
Recent Visiting Artists and Scholars
Robert Irwin
Vito Acconci
Lisa Anne Auerbach
Tom Marioni
Jim Cambbell
Kathryn Spence
Mary Heilmann
Pae White
Uta Barth
Dave Muller
Charlotte Cotton
Hou Hanru
Frances Stark
Camille Utterback
Trevor Paglen
Sharon Lockhart
Jennifer Steinkamp
Laurel Nakadate
