MFA Studio Art

The ASU School of Art’s top ranked three year MFA program provides artists with multiple pathways to advance their creative practices and prepare for careers in the arts. Situated in the context of a public research university renowned for innovation, students work closely with our distinguished faculty to develop the skills to produce culturally relevant work and sustain a lifelong creative practice. Students are encouraged to work across disciplines, and also select a focus from a range of media including animation, ceramics, intermedia, metals, painting and drawing, photography, printmaking, sculpture, textiles, and woods. Ranked #15 nationally per US News and World Report, ASU is among the highest ranked MFA programs where students are funded with teaching assistantships, tuition waiver, health insurance and stipends. Additional scholarships and awards supporting student travel and research are available to MFA candidates.

In addition to our expansive curriculum, students benefit from our visiting artist and scholar lecture series, professionalization workshops, teaching opportunities and pedagogical training. Students also supplement their arts curriculum by taking advantage of the vast resources afforded by a “Research 1” university, engaging with world renowned researchers or taking courses across the university. The ASU Art Museum and Ceramics Research Center offer vital opportunities for students to learn from and connect with artists and curators. 

Graduate students are provided world class studio space at Grant Street Studios, located in the cultural hub of downtown Phoenix. This facility is home to two galleries and enhanced resources including a common wood shop, printmaking presses, photography darkroom, ceramics kilns, computer lab and 3D print lab. Students also have access to the vibrant community of museums, galleries, businesses, and cultural organizations in Phoenix, as well as in nearby Los Angeles, Santa Fe and Denver.  The metro Phoenix area alone includes the renowned Arcosanti, Heard Museum, Phoenix Art Museum, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and Taliesin West.

The MFA program culminates in a solo thesis exhibition in one of the School of Art’s galleries (Step Gallery, Northlight Gallery, Harry Wood Gallery). Current special initiatives in the School of Art and Herberger Institute of Design and the Arts including the ASU-Roden Crater Project, Global Art School Futures, Arizona Artists’ Oral History Project, and the ASU-LACMA Master’s Fellowship in Art History add dynamic opportunities for the professionalization, collaboration, and immersive learning essential to being an artist in the 21st century.

MFA Faculty: Julie Anand, Susan Beiner, Margarita Cabrera, Sam Chung, Liz Cohen, Dan Collins, Angela Ellsworth, Heather Green, Erika Hanson, Hilary Harp, Heidi Hogden, Meredith Hoy, Mary Hood, Adriene Jenik, Mark Klett, Shawn Lawson, Christine Lee, Muriel Magenta, Ellen Meissinger, Wanesia Misquadace, Mary Neubauer, Katie Parker, Anthony Pessler, Mark Pomilio, Gregory Sale, Henry Schoebel, Stephen Marc, Forrest Solis, Benjamin Timpson, Kurt Weiser, Jim White

Art History and Art Education Faculty: Angelica Afanador Pujol, Claudia Brown, Cala Coats, Julie Codell, Betsy Fahlman, Joanna Grabski, Meredith Hoy, Claudia Mesch, Maura Reilly, Corine Schleif, Nancy Serwint, Bernard Young