Call for applications: MFA in Art

Graduate Art at ArtCenter College of Design is an interdisciplinary Master of Fine Arts program that encourages divergent ideas and methods. With a core faculty of five internationally recognized artists and writers, part-time and visiting faculty, and an average of 30 students, we have one of the lowest faculty-to-student ratio among comparable MFA programs. The result is an intense work environment where concentrated art-making is assured equally concentrated and careful attention, whether within specific disciplines or among them: in film, video, photography, painting, sculpture, installation, performance and everything in between.

Fundamental to our program are one-on-one studio visits with faculty, and rigorous critical, academic and practical coursework. We extend our reach internationally, inviting artists and writers―famous and infamous―as well as historians and philosophers, for weekly seminars, and our annual Open Studios event.

Our home is Los Angeles, one of the world’s great art capitals. Closer still is the world class design school to which we are connected, with leading edge software and hardware technology and the equipment that goes with it. On site, we provide students with individual studios, cutting edge fabrication shops, research libraries, multiple gallery spaces, and dedicated computing and moving image production labs. We make our public gallery spaces and project rooms available to all candidates, from the first term through the fifth, when every graduating student mounts a final solo show.

Priority application deadline for fall 2027: January 15, 2027. Apply now!

MFA Art live online info session: Thursday November 5, 2026, 6-7pm PST. Register now!

Open Studios: December 10, 2026, 6–9pm PST
ArtCenter College of Design (South Campus)
MFA Art Studios + Hixon Courtyard
950 South Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91105

Graduate Seminar Lecture Series (open to the pubic): Tuesdays, 7pm PST
ArtCenter College of Design (Hillside Campus)
LA Times Media Center
1700 Lida Street, Pasadena, California 91103

Core faculty
Ei Arakawa-Nash, Gabrielle Jennings—Associate Chair: Art: MFA, Patti Podesta, Jason Smith, Diana Thater—Chair: Art: MFA/BFA

Part-time faculty
Tom Allen, Jack Bankowsky, Phil Chang, Fiona Connor, Aaron Curry, Kim Fisher, Richard Hawkins, Nathan Hylden, Ian James, Larry Johnson, Alice Könitz, T. Kelly Mason, P. Staff, Catherine Taft, Jan Tumlir, Jazmin Urrea

Selected studio visitors & guest lecturers 2026
Lita Albuquerque, Kathryn Andrews, Hallie Ayres, Nancy Buchanan, Jordan Carter, Thomas Demand, Stan Douglas, Jason Farago, Isabelle Graw, Renée Green, Juliana Halpert, Graham Harman, Julie Joyce, Alex Hubbard, Won Ju Lim, Tala Madani, Joe Mama-Nitzberg, Rita McBride, Jane McFadden, Sean Raspet, Charles Ray, Sterling Ruby, Daniel Spaulding, Marc Swanson, Cheyney Thompson, Ryan Trecartin, Christina Valentine, Anton Vidokle, Eric Wesley  

Stats
Degree offered: Master of Fine Arts / Students: 25–30 / Core faculty: five / Guest lecturers per year: 24+ / Contact: gradart@artcenter.edu.

Selected financial support 
Mike Kelley Endowed Scholarship, Steve Roden Endowed Scholarship, Balfour-Edwards Scholarship, Graduate Art Teaching Fellowships.

All applications received by the January 15 priority application deadline will be reviewed for Fall 2027 entry. After the Priority Deadline has passed, applications will continue to be accepted until our program fills to capacity. If you are planning to apply after the priority deadline, we recommend reaching out to gradadmissions@artcenter.edu to inquire as to whether we are still accepting applications.