Fine Arts (MFA)
Fine Arts MFA
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Contact Us
thinkparsonsgrad@newschool.edu
212.229.5150 (U.S. only)
Program Contact
Jonah Groeneboer, Program Director
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The MFA Fine Arts program’s interdisciplinary curriculum reflects the program’s home in The New School, a university with a long history of experimenting with new modes of inquiry. The program hosts an acclaimed international body of faculty, who guide you to expand your artistic practice and its formal, intellectual, and professional aims. You learn through individual studio visits, group critiques with an international cohort of graduate students, and seminars, workshops, and guest lectures with influential artists, curators, critics, and scholars. You are encouraged to explore a variety of mediums and study across disciplines, and undertake the analysis of form, technique, and technology, via theoretical and historical inquiry or social and political engagement
Program Highlights
Experimentation
A core curriculum of studio visits, group critiques, and seminars guide you to experiment with new modes of imagination and inquiry.Mentorship
The international body of faculty, along with visiting artists, curators, critics, and scholars, offer you a diversity of perspectives informed by a pedagogy of mentorship.Theory-in-Practice
Experiment with a variety of materials and processes, and mediums and disciplines, including painting, sculpture, photography, film, video, installation, performance, sound, or writing.New York City
Access exceptional opportunities for artists in NYC, through the city’s museums and galleries, universities, libraries, theaters, cinemas, art fairs, artist residencies, and an on-campus studio in the heart of Greenwich Village.Interdisciplinarity Collaboration
The interdisciplinarity of the program, and a culture of collaboration among the arts, humanities, social sciences, and design, across the university, spur creative research and practice.
- DegreeMaster of Fine Arts (MFA)
- FormatFull-time, on campus
- Credits60
- Duration2 years
Curriculum
The core curriculum brings together one-on-one studio visits, group critiques with faculty and peers, critical theory seminars, professional practice seminars, and courses for the program’s thesis exhibition. The electives include seminars in theory-in-practice, courses in advanced techniques-based practice, and independent studies. As part of your elective study, you are also encouraged to draw on the resources of other Parsons programs and the other colleges of The New School, including renowned graduate programs in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and design studies.
Career Paths
Graduates are prepared for diverse careers in fields such as fine arts practice; arts administration; curation; museum and gallery management; art criticism; art consulting, and post-secondary art education.
Explore Our Community
Discover what our students, alumni, and faculty are doing in NYC and worldwide.
Student Work
Fine Arts (MFA)
Fine Arts (MFA)
Fine Arts (MFA)
Fine Arts (MFA)
Fine Arts (MFA)
Parsons’ Fine Arts faculty are highly regarded artists who exhibit and publish worldwide and whose work has appeared in the Venice Biennale, Whitney Biennial, Documenta, and The Museum of Modern Art. In addition, prominent curators help guide students preparing for their thesis exhibitions.
Beyond the Classroom
Research Labs
Research is integral to the Parsons learning experience, and students and faculty work together to challenge existing paradigms and advance emerging scholarship and practice. Explore the thematic research laboratories housed at Parsons and throughout The New School.
Industry Engagement
Connect to the organizations, businesses, and entrepreneurs driving global creativity and commerce. In classes, internships, and extracurricular projects, you gain marketable problem-solving skills in sectors ranging from government and nonprofits to tech and creative industries.
Internships
New York City’s thriving creative industry and cultural institutions are part of your Parsons education. Our Career Services Office is enmeshed in the art and design industries and can help you advance your career with industry-oriented internships.
Funded Opportunities
Funds are earmarked for graduate travel, research, and work to support your study. Opportunities include paid teaching assistantships, research fellowships and assistantships (including ones offered throughout The New School), ample student employment, and other grants available to U.S. domestic and international students alike.
Making & Academic Resources
Enjoy access to extensive resources including New School libraries, computer labs, archives, and studios, along with Parsons’ state-of-the-art Making Center, facilities offering a broad array of tools to support your creative and academic growth.
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