Fine Arts (MFA) Application Instructions
Deadline
The Admission Committee will make a decision on your application only after all the required materials have been received.
The complete application packet must be received by January 10 for the applicant to be admitted for the next fall semester.
Required materials
You may download
these instructions.
Parsons graduate programs use a self-managed application process: You apply online and then mail any supplemental application materials, preferably in a single packet, to the Office of Admission. The Materials Cover Sheet, which can also be downloaded from the Supplemental Forms section of the online application, should accompany all mailed application materials.
Applicants must submit the following items to the Office of Admission:
- Application form: Complete the online application.
- Application Fee: Pay the $50 nonrefundable application fee. A credit card is required to submit the online application.
- Official Transcripts: Submit a sealed original copy of your official college transcripts along with your application packet. If that is not possible, instruct the institution to send the transcripts directly to the Office of Admission. Photocopies are not acceptable.
International Transcripts: All applicants with transcripts from international institutions must submit an original transcript from each institution attended outside the United States. Additionally, a certified English language translation must be provided for all official international transcripts that are not written in English.Applicants who would like to transfer academic credits earned at non-U.S. institutions also must have their transcript(s) evaluated by World Education Services (WES), our preferred provider, or by another member of the National Association of Credit Evaluation Services (NACES). A course-by-course evaluation report must be prepared for each transcript. Please start the evaluation process as early as possible, including the submission of all required documents to WES (or another provider), in order to ensure the timely completion of the evaluation report. In addition, an admission counselor may require a transcript evaluation by WES or an NACES-approved evaluator if it is deemed a necessary part of the application process, even when applicants do not want transfer credits applied to a program of interest. Instruct the provider to send the report to
Parsons The New School for Design
Office of Admission Graduate Programs
72 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
If applying online for transcript evaluation, search for "New School Parsons" when requesting our institution.
If your provider is unable to send the evaluation report directly to the Office of Admission, please obtain a copy and forward it yourself to Parsons with a Materials Cover Sheet.
- Résumé: Submit a brief résumé/curriculum vitae summarizing your academic qualifications, relevant work experience, volunteer/community work, travel, exhibitions, public speaking, or any other relevant experiences as they may relate to your field of study, including dates and positions held. Please also note any special language or computer skills that you have. The résumé must be submitted online with the application.
- Statement of Interest and Intentions: Please outline your reasons for applying to this program. In what ways will you contribute to the subject matter of the program? You should include a thoughtful description of your background, tentative plan of study or area of inquiry in the field as you now envision it, your professional goals, and how this graduate program will help you realize those goals. If you have not been enrolled as a student in the past five years, please address anticipated opportunities and challenges in pursuing the degree, and future career expectations upon completion of the program. The statement of interest must be submitted online with the application.
- Recommendations: Submit two letters of recommendation from faculty members with whom you studied or from people with whom you have worked professionally. Your references may submit their recommendations online, or you may forward sealed original letters with your application packet.
- TOEFL or IELTS: If English is not your native language, submit results of the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System). The minimum TOEFL score required for acceptance to this program is 92 for the Internet-based exam, 580 for the paper-based, or 237 for the computer-based. A minimum IELTS score required for acceptance to this program is 7.0.
Students required to take the TOEFL can obtain further information from theEducational Testing Service. Additional information for the IELTS can be found on their website at www.ielts.org.
- Portfolio: Submit 20 images of your fine art work, which may include painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, photography, video, installation, or performance. The portfolio may be submitted on a CD in PDF format and/or on a DVD containing not more than four three-minute clips of time-based work in any medium. We do not accept slides or URL links.
Inventory List: Please enclose a numbered inventory of the contents of your disk, including title (in italics), medium, dimensions (height first), date completed, and a thumbnail image of the work in the right-hand margin. The numbers used in the inventory list should correspond to the numbering of your image files.
Example:
1. Title, oil on canvas, 50" x 40", 2008
2. Title, wood, steel, and plaster, 16" x 20" x 5", 2008
All the images should be placed in a folder labeled in the following manner:
LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME
Within the folder, label each image with your name and a number, with the numbers corresponding to your inventory list.
Example:
LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME1
LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME2
Mail your portfolio to the Office of Admission accompanied by a Materials Cover Sheet (also available in the Supplemental Forms section of the online application).
- Interview: All finalists for the Fine Arts MFA program must be interviewed by the graduate faculty.
