129 Sibley Dome
Ithaca, NY 14853
United States
The Department of Art at Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (Cornell AAP) invites applications to undergraduate and graduate degree programs, due early 2025. Register now to attend virtual information sessions this fall where prospective candidates can ask questions and hear from department faculty and current students about each program’s offerings, and Cornell AAP’s world-class facilities, including fabrication shops, labs, darkrooms, and exhibition spaces for group and solo shows.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts allows students who demonstrate remarkable imagination to develop their work within the intensive studio culture of the art department while also benefiting from access to electives in nearly all areas of the university. BFA students are able to create a highly individualized curriculum, including an optional semester of study in Rome, Italy, with the goal of evolving a mature artistic practice. By focusing on interdisciplinary relationships, the department prepares a community of artists to be creative and intellectual leaders.
The two-year Master of Fine Arts in Creative Visual Arts is a rigorous and supportive program that combines interdisciplinary and medium-specific practices augmented by access to nearly every field of study across the university. MFA students in this program are each provided with recently renovated private studios. Beyond building a creative studio practice while studying on Cornell’s main campus, the program also includes international travel opportunities. Graduate students work closely with faculty and a special advisory committee as they develop and exhibit their work in the department’s galleries, and complete the program with a group show in New York City. Significantly offsetting the cost of attendance, the college offers a generous tuition remission and graduate assistantships that provide teaching experience.
The Master of Fine Arts in Image Text is a unique 25-month, low-residency program for artists interested in expanded creative and critical practices in creative writing, visual art, and design for print and digital publication. Three five-week summer sessions include workshops and intensive in-person classes with faculty and visiting artists and writers. During the fall and spring semesters, students work closely with faculty advisors while pursuing independent study and complete an immersive international field course. Throughout the program, students have opportunities to work with the ITI Press. In their final summer session, they produce a collaborative publication released by the press and install a thesis exhibition in New York City with the guidance of an established curator. Substantial partial tuition scholarships are available on a competitive basis.
“As artist-educators, we assume a unique and critical role in connecting some of the most complex aspects of art practice to pedagogy,” says Paul Ramírez Jonas, Professor and Chair of the Department of Art.” We do this understanding that the next generation of artists live in a world that is both fraught with compounded crises and full of opportunities for engagement, intervention, and for making lasting change.”
Information sessions and application process
Students interested in learning more about Cornell AAP’s art programs are invited to register for upcoming virtual information sessions and to apply online.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts
Virtual information session on October 8 6–7pm (register) / Apply by January 2 (learn more).
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Visual Arts
Virtual information sessions on October 29 from 7:30–8:30pm (register) and November 14 from 6–7:30pm (register) / Apply by January 15 (learn more).
Master of Fine Arts in Image Text
Virtual information session on October 29 from 12–1:30pm (register) / Apply by February 1 (learn more).
