Admission Requirements

Photography (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 by January 10 to be considered for admission for the next academic year. Please note: This program starts in the summer before the official school year.  

Required materials

You may download these instructions.

Parsons graduate programs use a self-managed application process: You apply online; you 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:

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 with your application packet. If that is not possible, have the institution send the transcripts directly to the Office of Admission at the address below. Photocopies are not acceptable.
   
   International Transcripts: All applicants with international transcripts must submit an original transcript from each institution attended outside the United States along with a certified English language translation. 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 admission decision process, even when applicants to 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 along with a Materials Cover Sheet.
4. Résumé: Provide a brief résumé (CV) listing relevant work experience, travel, exhibitions, etc., including dates and positions held. This must be submitted online.
5. Statement of Interest and Intentions: This essay must be submitted online. The essay should illuminate and contextualize your current work, outline your goals and objectives for graduate study, and explain how you plan to utilize Parsons as a resource and platform to realize those goals and objectives. 
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 you may forward sealed original letters with your application packets.
7. TOEFL: If English is not your native language, you must submit results of the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). The minimum score required for consideration is 580 on the paper-based, 237 on the computer-based, or 92 on the Internet-based exam.
   Students required to take the TOEFL can obtain further information from the Educational Testing Service site.
8. Portfolio: Submit a digital portfolio of a total of 20 still images and/or moving image files, representing your work done within the last two years. Digital files must be submitted on CD or DVD and labeled with your name. Please include two identical copies of the portfolio disk.
   
   Inventory List: Enclose a numbered inventory of contents with each portfolio disk, including  title (in italics), medium, dimensions (height first), date completed, and a thumbnail picture of the work in the right-hand margin. The numbers used in your inventory list should correspond to the numbering of your image files.
   Example:
   1. Title, digital c-print, 16" x 20", 2008
   2. Title, digital c-print, 16" x 20", 2008
   
   Still images: Still images should be scaled to 768 x 1024 pixels at 72dpi. No image may exceed 768 pixels in height. Images must be saved in JPG or TIFF format. Please do not format images in any presentation program (e.g., PowerPoint, Keynote, or PDF). Place your still image files in a folder labeled in the following manner:
   
   LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME
   
   Label the images themselves in the following manner:
   
   01_LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME.jpg
   02_LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME.jpg
   
   Videos and Moving Images: All videos and moving images must be formatted in QuickTime. Video files should be no longer than five minutes in length. All video files must be named in the following manner:
   
   01_LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME.mov
   
   All mailed materials must be accompanied by the Materials Cover Sheet (also available in the Supplemental Forms section of the online application).

Personal Interviews

All finalists for the Photography MFA program must be interviewed by the graduate faculty.