Admission Requirements

Fashion Design and Society (MFA) Application Instructions

Deadline

The Admission Committee will make a decision on your application only after all the required materials have been received.

Applicants who wish to be considered for a Dean’s Scholarship must submit a complete application packet by January 10. Applications received after January 10 will be considered on a rolling basis.

Required Materials

You may download these instructions.

Parsons graduate programs use a self-managed application process: You submit your application online; then you 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:

1. Application Form: Complete the online application.
2. Application Fee: Pay the $50 nonrefundable application fee. A credit card is required to submit the online application.
3. 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 your transcripts directly to the Office of Admission. Photocopies are not acceptable.
   
   International Transcripts: All applicants with international transcriptsmust submit an original transcript from each institution attended outside the United States along with a certified English language translation. Applicants who wish to transfer academic credits earned at non-U.S. institutions must also 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 admission decision process, even when applicants do not want transfer credits applied to a program of interest. Instruct the provider to send the report to
   
   Parsons Graduate Programs
   Office of Admission
   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 along with a Materials Cover Sheet.
4. Résumé: Provide a résumé (CV) listing your education, relevant work experience, prizes, competitions, international projects, travel, etc., including dates and positions held. This must be submitted online.
5. Statement of Interest and Intentions: This essay must be submitted online. 
6. Recommendations: Submit two letters of recommendation from faculty members with whom you have studied or from people with whom you have worked professionally. Your references may submit their recommendations online, or a you may forward sealed original letters with your application packets.
7. TOEFL: If English is not your native language, you must take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). The minimum score required for acceptance to the program is 580 for the paper-based, 237 for the computer-based, or 92 for the Internet-based exam.
   Students required to take the TOEFL can obtain further information from the Educational Testing Service.
8. Portfolio: Submit a single PDF file of 25 to 35 images that represent clearly your concepts and skills as a designer. These might include pages from sketchbooks (showing in depth research and development work); final illustrations; technical drawings; artwork from various design projects; textile/knitwear work; fabric use; and/or photographs of finished clothing designed by you. The portfolio may be submitted on a CD as single PDF files, or, if you wish to include moving images such as installations, performances, or live fashion shows, submit a file or files on a DVD (maximum run time five minutes).

   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 Fashion Design and Society MFA program must be interviewed by the graduate faculty either in person or by Skype. All selected applicants are expected to bring full portfolios with evidence of process and design development work and examples of their 3D work (e.g. clothing).