M.F.A. in Art

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Overview

Headed by an internationally distinguished faculty, the Art Graduate Program offers a rigorous, interdisciplinary environment for training in the visual arts. The three-year M.F.A. program comprises a series of core and elective classes in production, theory, and contemporary issues. Graduate students may also take advantage of the academic excellence UC Irvine provides as a leading research university by taking courses in other departments and programs. Through a combination of faculty mentorship, seminars, and regular comprehensive peer critiques, the Department of Art affords an optimal intellectual setting for fostering creative and critical development. In addition to faculty dedicated to facilitating students' understanding of visual art and its cultural contexts, graduate students have access to visiting artists through lectures, studio visits, and colloquia.

Curriculum

The Art M.F.A. program at UC Irvine is designed to provide a thorough and intensive professional training for students wishing to pursue careers in the field of contemporary art. The program emphasizes experimental and interdisciplinary approaches to art making, while also providing a solid grounding in various disciplinary mediums and post-studio practices encompassing painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, ceramics, new genres, installation and performance, digital video, electronic media, critical and curatorial studies. Students undergo a rigorous course of study with independent studio work at the core, combining seminar classes, intensive critique courses, and independent study. The low faculty-student ratio facilitates regular one-on-one instruction with many faculty.

During the first two years, students take courses from a curriculum, totaling a minimum of 12 units each quarter. Beyond that, students can select additional course work from any sector of the department or university, including approved upper-division undergraduate courses. The third year is structured so that students can primarily devote themselves to the production of their thesis exhibition, working intensively with the faculty thesis committee they assemble.

Students may also choose to take elective courses or pursue a second emphasis outside the department. Graduate Emphasis open to Art MFA students are offered in numerous graduate research programs including Visual Studies, Critical Theory, Medical Humanities, Law Society and Culture, and others.

Every year, the department offers several lecture series, where artists, scholars, curators, critics, gallerists, and writers give lectures, engage in conversation, and conduct studio visits. These included the Graduate Colloquium (ART 220), the Visiting Artist Lecture Series (VALS), and the Catalyst Art Lecture Series (CALS). Organized by members of the faculty, the Colloquium invites speakers as part of a class where student engage in in-depth discussions in a rigorous academic setting, accompanied with supplementary readings and studio visits. Organized and run by a graduate student committee, VALS invites a slate of visiting artists and scholars relevant to graduate students' own research and practice to speak, often accompanied by studio visits. Organized by the undergraduate students, CALS coordinate noontime lectures of guests, often current M.F.A. students, to discuss their art practice, providing a mutually supportive link between the graduate and undergraduate student bodies. Together, these lecture series add to the dynamic exchange of ideas and scholarship that occurs inside and outside the classroom.

Financial Packages and Fellowship Opportunities

All graduate students in the Art M.F.A. program receive full funding including tuition and fee remission and Teaching Assistantships for all three years of the program. Students also have opportunities for the numerous grants and fellowships available through the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, the University of California Institute for Research in the Arts, UCI Graduate Division, and other external agencies.

Teaching Opportunities

Each graduate student is appointed to 9 Teaching Assistant and/or Teaching Associate positions during their three years in the program (1 each quarter). Teaching Assistants are assigned to assist in the delivery of instruction under the tutelage and supervision of a faculty member. Some second- and third-year M.F.A.s are also appointed as Graduate Student Researchers, who are tasked with providing lab or office hours to assist students in accomplishing their work in the labs and class assignments. Some graduate students are appointed as Lecturers in the summer. These positions are all salaried appointments.

Exhibition Opportunities

Graduate students have opportunities to exhibit in the University Art Galleries, including their second year group exhibition and solo thesis exhibitions. First-year and second-year M.F.A.s participate in Open Studios and mount exhibitions to evaluate students' progress towards the degree.

Studios, Project and Exhibition Spaces

All M.F.A. students are provided with their own studio space, either in the Contemporary Arts Center (single occupancy studios) or in the ACT Building (shared studios and single occupancy studios). Students also have access to large project and installation spaces by reservation as well as shared workspaces.

Facilities

Facilities include photography laboratories (analog and digital); digital filmmaking and video production studios; sculpture laboratories for work in wood, metal and ceramics; and Mechatronics laboratory to support work in art and technology. There are also facilities to support work in digital media, painting, drawing, performance, new media, and curatorial studies. For more information, please go to Facilities.

Location

UC Irvine is located in the heart of Orange County and forty-five miles south of Los Angeles, where our faculty, students, and alumni are active participants in a rich and multi-layered art community. 

Meet our current graduate students

Admission

Application Deadline: January 15, 2027

Applicants for admission to the M.F.A. program must meet the general requirements for admission to graduate study, hold a Bachelor's degree, and have completed one year of Twentieth-Century Art History (students who have not completed this will be required to do so as part of their graduate studies). In addition, a portfolio of creative work must be submitted by the application deadline.