The MFA is the highest degree in the creative practice of visual art.
An artist’s studio practice is best learned through self-design and execution. While we emphasize fostering private creative roles, our practice-based, multidisciplinary program also focuses on marketing your work in today’s creative professional fields. In our two-year, 60-hour curriculum of project-based thinking, you’ll design, create and explain your work. In other words: You’re the artist, it’s your vision, and it’s up to you to communicate it.
MFA project proposals can be based in painting, drawing, photography, animation, sculpture, video, interactive design, printmaking, illustration, installation, glass, ceramics and design.
As an MFA student, you’ll work with select faculty who provide one-on-one feedback. They will push and challenge you as part of a community that is supportive and rigorous, demanding and compassionate. You’ll meet weekly in the Graduate Seminar for group critiques with your faculty and peers. Our program features small class sizes, accepting only nine to 15 students per year. To gain exposure and insight from industry professionals, you’ll also work with an off-campus mentor or participate in a practicum. The degree concludes with a thesis project, written thesis paper and oral defense.
You can get even more information in our Grad Studies Guidebook or join us on campus for an information session.
MFA facilities
We’ve built an environment to fuel collaboration, experimentation, and creation.
The CCAD MFA program is located on the second and third floors of CCAD’s Design Studios on Broad, a renovated early-20th-century auto dealership near downtown Columbus. The 13,700-square-foot graduate facility includes individual student studios, faculty offices, a lounge and an exhibition space. You’ll also have access to CCAD’s library, plus many labs, shops, computer complexes, darkrooms and studios.
Mentorship experience
Your education isn’t limited to what happens in our classrooms in Columbus. As a graduate student, you’ll participate in an Off-Campus Mentorship Experience where you define what “Off-Campus” means to you. This could mean a residency in Ireland, a three-week endeavor at the Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle or working with a nonprofit just down the street. Maybe you’re looking to create a virtual mentorship with an internationally acclaimed artist overseas. Meant to be complementary to your CCAD education, this exposure to an outside business, community and/or cultural leader will be influential as you dive into a greater depth of understanding yourself as an artist. Your mentor is a resource for developing your professional skills, finding pathways to your desired career and more.
Student and alumni works
