Admissions Criteria

Applicants must have completed a B.F.A., B.A., or B.S. degree from an accredited college or university, or hold a diploma from a recognized professional art school, and must have substantial experience in making art. Thirty semester hours in undergraduate study is preferred. Applicants must also have a working knowledge of art history and/or visual culture, which may include such courses as theory or history of film, television, video, theater, design history, communications, aesthetics, popular culture, etc. The Program occasionally considers accepting a student without a Bachelor's degree.  Such candidates must show evidence to the MFA Admissions Committee of exceptional artistic work and strong writing and research abilities.

Priority Application Deadline

September 15th for the February residency
February 15th for the August residency

Visual Art Program Inquiry Form

Visual Art Online Application

Visual Art Downloadable Application (pdf)

Please send all materials to:

Admissions Office
Vermont College of Fine Arts
36 College Street
Montpelier, VT 05602

Application Materials

You may request an application form sent by mail, or access the application form online (.pdf). To be considered for admission, you must submit the following:

• A completed application form.
• A $75 non-refundable application fee (payable to Vermont College of Fine Arts).
• A resume of education, work experience, art exhibitions, prizes, awards, and publications.
• Official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work. The applicant should mail these transcripts to the Admissions Office in officially sealed envelopes.
• Three current letters of recommendation sent directly from the referees to the Admissions Office. These letters should discuss your qualifications as an artist for independent graduate study in art and the ability to interact productively with others in an intense living/learning environment. If possible, one of these recommendations should be from a teacher who can reflect on your artistic potential from an academic perspective.
• An essay, maximum 1000 words, responding to all of the following:
  • Provide a brief statement describing the formal, conceptual, and technical aspects of your current artistic practice. Be as specific as possible about your motivations and methodologies.
  • Discuss the social, historical, and/or cultural context in which your work exists.
  • Discuss the influence, if any, that reading and research has on your practice.
  • Describe your strengths in comparison to your limitations as an artist, including a sense of both studio work and academic research and writing skills.
  • Discuss what you hope to achieve in the program and how this achievement serves your larger goals as an artist.
• Documentation of visual work that demonstrates a sustained, focused body of work over an extended period of time, or, if the work is varied, an indication that it has moved beyond or changed from where it was at the start. Also evidenced must be clear ideas behind the production of the work, beyond the desire to make pleasing aesthetic creations, and a sense that the work has a personal quality in addition to technical skill.

Portfolio Specifications

Slide/Image Portfolio

Twenty (20) images on a CD or 20 slide images (35mm in a plastic slide sheet). Images/slides must represent work that was completed within the last five years. If submitting slides, please organize them in chronological order and mark the front of each slide with its number, your name, and a dot in the lower left hand corner.

If submitting images on CD, please see digital requirements below. Images should be named as follows: ‘lastname_firstname_00.jpg’, ‘lastname_firstname_01.jpg’, etc., and numbered according to the order in which they are to be viewed.

Enclose a list, headed with your name, that lists in chronological order each slide/image with its dimensions, medium, title, and date.

Video/Performance/Time-Based Work

If you are working in video, performance, or a time-based medium, send a VHS tape or DVD work sample that represents work made within the last five years. Material can consist of several short works or excerpts from multiple pieces with a maximum of four pieces and a total combined running time of 12 minutes or less. Audio work should be sent as digital files on a MAC-OS compatible CD. File extensions should be .wav or .tif.

All DVD, CD, or VHS cases should be labeled with the applicant's name, title(s) of work, date, and running time. Additionally, please enclose a list of these work samples with title(s), date, and running time and briefly describe your role/roles in the production of the work.

Digital image requirements
MAC-OS compatible CD; JPG or TIFF file format; RGB color scale; image size should be 768x1024 pixels per inch at a resolution of 72 dpi; individual files should be no larger than 3MB.

PLEASE NOTE: Keynote and PowerPoint presentations are not accepted.

Image files will only be returned if accompanied by a SASE. No other application materials will be returned.

Transfer Credits

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Admission to the Master of Fine Arts in Visual Art program is based primarily on the quality of original work and the judgment by the MFA Admissions Committee that the applicant's preparation and goals are compatible with the Program's design and ideals, and that the applicant would be able to successfully complete the degree requirements.

An applicant's portfolio must indicate sufficient quality of creative work and a level of commitment to their artistic practice to demonstrate that the applicant is ready to do graduate work in an MFA in Visual Art program. The application essay must give evidence of strong potential to undertake critical inquiry of various artistic practices past and present, to engage with a range of intellectual traditions, to pursue self-reflective analysis and independent study, as well as to receive and productively respond to criticism of his or her work.

A decision on an application is usually made four to six weeks after each published deadline.  Applicants will receive written notification of the decision by the MFA Admissions Committee.