Pacific Northwest College of Art and Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland, Oregon, welcome students with a wide range of creative backgrounds to enroll in the MFA in Applied Craft + Design, a mentor-based, entrepreneurial MFA design program.
The MFA Applied Craft + Design Program, or AC+D, gathers students together who have a shared goal of making original work with an applied purpose. Our studio environment is cross-disciplinary, a space of inspiration and productivity in which we can collaboratively experiment, exploring various design and making processes. This unique MFA program connects design thinking to design doing, grounded in hands-on making, entrepreneurial strategies, and social and environmental engagement.
At its core, the mission of the AC+D program is to provide students with a real chance of making a living as an independent artist, designer, thinker, or maker. Students will not only graduate with the potential to become desirable employees within creative industries, but also with the skills needed to one day launch their own small businesses. By means of an exceptional visiting artists program, this program allows students to work one-on-one with nationally and internationally recognized designers, makers, and scholars in a self-directed curriculum that challenges them to bring to life the full strength of their innovation, inspiration, talents, and skills.
With a groundbreaking curriculum focused on the development of a strong artistic voice, the realization of a finished work to benefit a specific community or client, and a strong foundation in the entrepreneurism which connects making a living with making a difference, this MFA in Applied Craft + Design is the only graduate program of its kind.
Lecture series
MFA AC+D students have the opportunity to directly engage with prominent visiting artists, designers and critics through the Program’s robust lecture series, typically complemented by studio visits, workshops and a post-lecture dinner in the studio.
Past guest lecturers include: Rowland Ricketts, Grain Design, Stephanie Syjuco, Studio Gorm, Susan Szenasy, Natalie Chanin, Allan Wexler, Marcin Jakubowski, Heath Ceramics, Amos Kennedy
Scholarships
Merit scholarships are available for all accepted domestic and international students.
Applying
Interested students must apply to the Master of Fine Arts program online. February 1, 2018 is the priority application deadline.
Request information
For more information about the program please contact the program Chair, Heidi Schwegler hschwegler@ocac.edu
Graduate admissions: T 503 821 8975
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Hallie Ford School of Graduate Studies at PNCA
Low-Residency MFA in Visual Studies / MA in Critical Studies / MFA in Applied Craft + Design (with Oregon College of Art and Craft) / MFA in Collaborative Design/MA in Design Systems / MFA in Print Media / MFA in Visual Studies
