MFA Full and Low Residency

The Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art (MFA) program at Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D) offers an interdisciplinary approach that encourages students to think across traditional academic boundaries, expand their art practice, and challenge their intellectual curiosity.

Our six-term curriculum emphasizes the intersection of studio practice, individual research, and critical analysis. Built on a commitment to one-on-one student mentoring by distinguished Faculty, Visiting Artists, Critics, and Curators, MECA&D’s MFA program offers a dynamic and supportive learning environment for artists who want to define and pursue a sustainable and transformative vision for their art practice.

Full and Low Residency
Embedded within our MFA is a level of flexibility that allows students to choose between Full and Low Residency. MECA&D’s Full Residency option provides 24/7 access to private studios and fabrication facilities where students work alongside peers and faculty. Among the first programs of its kind in the country, MECA&D’s Low Residency option combines intense periods of on-campus instruction with the freedom and independence of working from any home location worldwide. Intensive group sessions, woven throughout our two-year curriculum, bring all MFA students together for research, travel, and dialogue.

Summer intensive in Portland, Maine
All of our students are in residence in Portland, Maine, for eight weeks in the summer. As the first and fourth terms in a six-trimester course, these summer intensives serve as catalysts for community and exchange, with select Visiting Artists and Critics accompanying Core Faculty for lectures and studio visits. Last Summer’s Visiting Artists included a range of makers and thinkers, among them Vincent Tiley, Firefly the Hybrid, Pap Souleye Fall, Boru O’Brien O’Connell, Dr. Nadia Buyse, Brian Smith MFA ’20, Anne Harris, Paul D’Amato, Faythe Levine, Jocelyn Lee, Yoko Inoue, and Anne Buckwalter MFA ’12.

Visiting Artists deliver public lectures, conduct studio visits, and participate in group activities and discussions with graduate candidates during their respective week-long visits.

Application checklist
Priority acceptance: February 22, 2026 / Program start: June 15, 2026. To learn more and apply, visit here.

Graduate faculty
Julie Poitras Santos, Associate Professor and Program Chair of MFA in Studio Art / Bianca Beck, Adjunct Assistant Professor of MFA in Studio Art / Stephen Benenson, Adjunct Assistant Professor of MFA in Studio Art & Foundation / Lourdes Correa-Carlo, Adjunct Assistant Professor of MFA in Studio Art / Adriane Herman, Professor of MFA in Studio Art & Printmaking / Matt Hutton, Professor of MFA in Studio Art & Foundation and Professor and Program Chair of Woodworking & Furniture Design / Rachel Katz MFA ’00, Adjunct Instructor of MFA in Studio Art and Administrative Director of Graduate Programs / Kyle Patnaude, Professional Studio Coordinator of MFA in Studio Art and Associate Professor of Metalsmithing & Jewelry / Christopher Stiegler, Assistant Professor of MFA in Studio Art & Academic Studies / Ling-Wen Tsai, Professor of MFA in Studio Art, Sculpture, & Foundation / Iris Williamson, Adjunct Assistant Professor of MFA in Studio Art and Director of the Institute for Contemporary Art.