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Admission to the Master of Fine Arts Degree program

Admission to the MFA program is based on portfolio review and quality of the applicant's undergraduate experience. The standards for admission are very high, and all materials should be of the highest quality.

Prospective students can download the graduate application and graduate catalog from http://www.grad.ilstu.edu or contact the School of Art at:
Illinois State University
School of Art
Center for Visual Arts 119
Normal, IL 61790-5620
309-438-5621
E-mail: isuart@ilstu.edu

You can download the Supplemental School of Art MFA application by clicking here. To view and print the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF)forms you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader software and install Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer and set up your browser to launch it. The free Adobe Acrobat Reader allows you to view, navigate, and print PDF files across all major-computing platforms.

The application and transcripts for all of the schools that you have attended must be sent to the Office of Admissions and Records. On the application form in item 16, enter the code "2200" in the box for MFA and "ART" in the title blank (check the appropriate degree program in item 4). In addition, the following items should be sent directly to the School of Art:

A portfolio of 15-20 artworks (slides or CD-ROM), an example of scholarly writing (any subject), a statement about your work, and three letters of recommendation from people who are familiar with your artistic and scholarly achievements.

*Notes: Digital portfolios must conform to the following specifications:
2D & 3D Art:
--File Format: JPEG file format only
--Resolution: 300 dpi
--File Size: approximately 700 x 700 pixels / approximately 1.0 MB (1000 KB)
--File Name: identify each image with name and number (e.g., Jones-001.jpg; Jones-002.jpg; . . . )

Additional Requirements:
--Include all portfolio JPEGs in their own file folder on a single CD.
--Include any other documentation in a separate file folder on the same CD.
--Include on a sheet of paper a list with the title/description, medium, and size of each artwork in the portfolio; identify each artwork on the list with the same number as the JPEG filename
--Optional: include a "contact sheet" with small (approximately 1x1") printed color images of the JPEG files (these printed images augment but do not substitute for the JPEG files).

Financial assistance is available to both full-time and part-time students and is awarded on a competitive basis. Part-time students may apply for tuition waivers and full-time students for either tuition waivers or assistantships. In addition to providing a waiver of tuition, graduate assistantships carry a monthly stipend and require students to fulfill work assignments that may include research, teaching or studio duties and other programmatic responsibilities. Please indicate if you are interested in this kind of financial aid. The portfolio of materials you submit will be used in the evaluation and awarding of both tuition waiver credits and graduate assistantships.

Portfolio reviews take place shortly after February 1st (for Fall Admission) and October 1st (for Spring Admission). The Office of Admissions will notify you within six weeks with the review results.