MFA Studio Art

We value diversity and creative thinking to advance research, assuming responsibility for the health of the publics we serve. MFA application deadline: January 15, 2023.

The School of Art’s MFA is a highly ranked program with assistantships and scholarships offering pathways to advance artistic practice. In close mentorship with distinguished faculty, our MFA program provides students with opportunities to understand themselves as situated, contemporary artists who think critically. We encourage students to develop their ideas through interdisciplinary research and use their art to participate in public life through generative action. Students move across disciplines in animation, ceramics, expanded arts, metals, painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, sculpture, textiles, and woods. Each semester they pursue thematic seminars, addressing relevant and emerging topics. 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 in a variety of departments. The ASU Art Museum offers vital opportunities for students to learn from and connect with artists and curators. In addition to our expansive curriculum, students benefit from our Visiting Artist and Scholar Lecture Series, professionalization workshops, teaching opportunities and pedagogical training.

Graduate students have individual, world-class studio space at Grant Street Studios in downtown Phoenix. This facility houses two galleries and enhanced resources, including a wood shop, printmaking presses, a photography darkroom, kilns, 3D-printers and digital labs. The program culminates in a solo thesis exhibition in one of our three galleries.  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.

About our program:
–60 credits / three years
–25 percent tuition and remission
–Three year TA appointment with stipend and School of Art scholarship

Current MFA faculty:
Julie Anand, Susan Beiner, Andrea Benge, Margarita Cabrera, Sam Chung, Liz Cohen, Dan Collins, Angela Ellsworth, Heather Green, Erika Lynne Hanson, Hilary Harp, Heidi Hogden, Meredith Hoy, Mary Hood, Adriene Jenik, Sujin Kim, Shawn Lawson, Muriel Magenta, Cristóbal Martinez, Ellen Meissinger, Wanesia Misquadace, Mary Neubauer, Juan Obando, Katie Parker, Anthony Pessler, Mark Pomilio, Gregory Sale, Stephen Marc, Forrest Solis, Benjamin Timpson.

MFA Graduate Directory.

*Image above: ASU MFAs Camila Bianchi, Wabwila Mugala, and Arianna Barley at the Orchard Community Learning Center during a composting workshop led by Camila Bianchi and John Wann, 2022.