• Textiles MFA

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  • Contact Us

    [email protected] 
    212.229.5150 (U.S. only)

    Program Contacts
    Preeti Gopinath, Program Director
    Anette Millington, Associate Director
    Allison Broder    , Program Administrator

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  • The MFA Textiles program at Parsons is a community of makers, designers, and scholars exploring and creating textiles—from locally crafted materials to 3D knitted matter to hand-embellished fabrics—and introducing innovation in textile-based industries and theory. You investigate these dynamics, dissolving the boundaries between technology and craft. In the process, you prepare for the growing array of creative and professional opportunities related to textiles in fashion design, product design, interior design, textiles research, set design, fine arts, architecture, and hybrid fields.

    Program Highlights

    • Creative Craft

      Learn and apply techniques such as fiber development, yarn sourcing and making, weaving, knitting, 3D printing, sustainable dyeing, pattern design, and embellishments.

    • Meaning and Making

      Develop a critical understanding of textiles’ sociocultural, environmental, and emotional dimensions throughout human history and into the future.

    • Industry Access

      Refine your aesthetic sensibilities and understanding of sustainable practices while deepening your collaborative and conceptual abilities on-site in NYC textile studios and design ateliers.

    • Cross-Disciplinary Coursework

      Gain exposure to business best practices and insights from fields including art, architecture, and interior and industrial design, as well as fashion and autonomous design.

    • Individualized Mentorship

      Receive mentorship that fosters and draws forth your creativity and enables you to realize your unique identity while receiving technical, conceptual, and personalized guidance.

    • Applicant Profile

      The program welcomes students with backgrounds in textile making and research and from related fields including fashion, interior and product design, fine arts, and architecture.

    • Degree Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
    • Format Full-time, on campus
    • Credits 60
    • Duration 2 years

  • Curriculum

    The rigorous studio-based curriculum spans foundational textile knowledge, exploratory textile making, and critical, scholarly approaches to textiles. Our approach allows you to develop your authenticity, originality, and unique creativity in the field of textiles, helping you find your own voice and realize your potential as a professional textile maker. While valuing humanity and the environment through conscious making and innovation, you learn to harness the power of textiles to raise awareness and transform art and industry.

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  • Career Paths

    Graduates are prepared to take on roles ranging from textile design for fashion, interiors, and theater to ubiquitous computing, automotive design, acoustic design, healthcare, and consulting. They explore opportunities to reimagine textile production and design businesses, lend studio skills to companies, launch a business as an independent designer, fiber artist, or pursue advanced studies.

  • Student Work

      See Our Work

    • Textiles faculty represent a broad range of expertise and are acknowledged as leading practitioners and scholars in their fields. They are committed to developing the next generation of textile designers and innovating new approaches to textile production — keeping in mind issues of sustainability, health, emotional wellbeing, and socio-cultural responsibility.

    • Beyond the Classroom

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        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.

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        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.

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        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. 

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        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.

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        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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    • New York Textile Month

      New York Textile Month is a September celebration of textile culture initiated by visionary trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort, which highlights the community-based approach to promoting textile industries and to offer a launchpad for the MFA Textiles students. Local partners in the event become your direct mentors, inviting you into their studios and businesses one day a week to build your creative skills and networks. The growing global interest in textile-related creation brings international players into the fold to partner with the program, extending your understanding of conceptualization and production.

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      Submit your application

      Undergraduates

      To apply to any of our undergraduate programs (except the Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs) complete and submit the Common App online.

      Undergraduate Adult Learners

      To apply to any of our Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

      Graduates

      To apply to any of our Master's, Doctoral, Professional Studies Diploma, and Graduate Certificate programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.