MFA in Photography + Media & Society

Maryland Institute College of Art has opened applications for the new Photography + Media & Society (MFA) program. The program welcomes self-motivated MFA candidates to explore photography and media as an interdisciplinary medium informed by the liberal and visual arts and the human story.

The program offers an active think tank for socially engaged thought-leaders to produce knowledge and meaning in the public sphere through visual, material, and media culture using lens and data-based photographic, imaging and media tools.

The curriculum content, program culture, and the resources of the college and the City of Baltimore offer a rich community of experience and knowledge to build the foundation for launching a borderless, sustainable and for-profit post-graduate practice within and beyond fine art, at the crossroads of culture and commerce.

Founding Director Bill Gaskins is uniquely suited to guide and support thought-leading producers of contemporary visual, material, and media culture. His depth of experience represents a rich tapestry of practice, teaching, research, and writing on photography and media as a vital social mirror and visual phenomenon.

Prior to his appointment at MICA, Gaskins has been on the faculty of Department of Art at Cornell University, the School of Art, Media & Technology, Art & Design History & Theory at Parsons School of Design, and the School for Public Engagement at The New School University, the Department of Photography School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Department of Art & Art History at the University of Missouri in Kansas City. He is acknowledged by students and peers for his engaged, informed and inspired teaching as winner of the Watts Prize for Faculty Excellence at the Cornell University Department of Art, and the University Distinguished Teaching Award at the New School University.

Bill Gaskins is the author of the groundbreaking monograph, Good & Bad Hair: Photographs by Bill Gaskins and the timely film The Meaning of Hope. He has published essays and reviews in numerous journals including, The Society of Contemporary Craft, Artsy, and Exposure: The Journal of The Society of Photographic Education, among others. His relevance as a contemporary artist garners attention through books, exhibition catalogs, solo and group exhibitions at major venues including the Crocker Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Detroit Institute of Arts, and The Smithsonian Institution.

About MICA
Acknowledged nationally as a premier leader in art and design education, the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is deliberately cultivating a new generation of artist—one that is capable of seamlessly integrating innovation, entrepreneurship and creative citizenship with contemporary approaches to art, design and media.

MICA is redefining the role of the artists and designers as creative, solutions-oriented makers and thinkers who will drive social, cultural, and economic advancement for our future.

As the oldest continuously degree-granting college of art and design in the nation, MICA is located in Baltimore, deeply connected to the community. It is a leading contributor to the creative economy regionally and a top producer of nationally and internationally recognized professional artists and designers.