Admission Requirements

Transdisciplinary Design (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 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 Transcript: Submit a sealed original copy of your official college transcript along with your application packet. If that is not possible, instruct the institution to send the transcript 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 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 to 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 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. 
5. Statement of Interest and Intentions: (500-750 word limit): Please outline your reasons for applying to this program. In what ways will you contribute to the subject matter? 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. This essay must be submitted online with the application.
6. Recommendations: Two letters of recommendation from faculty members or people with whom you have worked professionally. References may submit the recommendations online, or applicants may forward sealed original copies with their application packets.
7. TOEFL or IELTS: If English is not your native language, you must provide a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score. The minimum score required for acceptance to the program is 92 on the Internet-based exam, 580 for the paper-based, and 237 for the computer-based TOEFL. A minimum IELTS score required for acceptance is 7.0
   
   Students required to take the TOEFL can obtain further information from the Educational Testing Service. Additional information for the IELTS can be found on their website at www.ielts.org.
8. Portfolio: Submit a printed portfolio of approximately 20 items that you believe best represent your design work and process. These may include design drawings, scenarios, research outcomes, photography, video clips, websites, blog URLs, essays, or other formats that you feel best convey your work and process.  Where possible please include descriptions of the projects, explanations of your role in the project (if it is team-based), or a thoughtful description of the context of the project. Your printed portfolio should be submitted in a bound book no larger than 9" x 12" (A4). If you have dynamic media or other time-based work, you may also include a supplementary CD, DVD, or URL link. Analog slides are not acceptable.
   
   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).
9. Interview: In some cases, the Admission Committee may contact you to arrange an in-person or telephone interview. This will be determined after review of your complete application packet.