Virtual Information Session

Please join us for our upcoming MFA in Visual Arts virtual information session on Thursday, April 13, at 7:00 p.m. EST.

Eileen Murphy—Lead Faculty in Drawing, Painting, Printmaking—and Graduate Admissions will discuss the philosophical and practical aspects of the low-residency MFA in Visual Arts program at the Institute of Art and Design at New England College.

If you are thinking about furthering your education in the arts, we hope you will join us for the information session.

Register here.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

If you have any questions, please reach out to GraduateAdmission@NEC.edu.

For current news about The Institute of Art and Design at New England College, please follow us on Instagram and Facebook. Check out the recap of this year’s Virtual Winter Intensive.

Meet Our Students

Hannah Cole
McKenzi Felt Dye
John Humphries
Bryce Parker
Anna Schölch

Core Faculty

Eileen Murphy
Lead Faculty in Drawing, Painting, and Printmaking; MFA in Visual Art

While she uses some techniques of the Old Masters, Eileen’s paintings respond to the modern environment and current moment in contemporary art. Her work is intensely detailed and requires a lot of time and technical knowledge. She works from dark to light, and builds images using classical methods as well as photographs.

Visiting Artists and Critics

Esteban Ocampo-Giraldo
Visiting Artist

Colombian-born painter Esteban Ocampo-Giraldo creates work that deals in subjects often familial and autobiographical in nature.

Allana Fields
Visiting Artist

Alanna Fields is a lens-based mixed media artist and archivist whose work investigates and challenges representations of Black queer identity and history through the lens of photography.

Program Overview

Our program emphasizes creativity, criticality, and interdisciplinary pedagogy that spans a multitude of traditional and innovative contemporary practices. Through communal dialogue and critique, students will develop their own artistic voice and create works of art that privilege both form and ideas.

The studio course structure combined with interdisciplinary freedom is a fundamental part of the departmental philosophy, providing opportunities for a spectrum of creative explorations.

Students may choose from three concentrations:

• Drawing, Painting, Printmaking
• Photography, Time-based Art
• Sculptural Practices, Installation, Ceramics

The program is presently limited to 24 participants and hosted on our Manchester campus, offering studios, workshops, technical support staff, and media-specific work areas.

Low-Residency Structure

The low-residency MFA course structure consists of three main components:

• Summer On-Campus Residency
  The on-campus summer residency is a key feature of the program, consisting of a two-week residence in July on our Manchester campus. The summer residency is entirely focused on the development of the student’s studio practice and includes workshops, studio visits, visiting artist lectures, and exhibition opportunities.
• Fall and Spring Semester
  During the regular fall and spring terms, students will meet with faculty advisors to develop their practice and written thesis, building toward the thesis semester and final exhibition in the second year.
• The Virtual Winter Intensive
  The virtual winter intensive taking place in January includes many of the same components of the summer residency in a condensed format that eliminates the need for winter travel to Manchester, NH. This six day long virtual residency includes group discussion and critique, seminars, workshops, plus artist talks. Check out the recap of this year’s Virtual Winter Intensive:

Faculty
The Core Faculty of the MFA Visual Art program represent a diverse group of creative practitioners and critical thinkers spanning a variety of artistic disciplines including, sculpture, installation, ceramics, drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, and time-based practice.

Visiting Artists
In addition to the MFA faculty, students will have the opportunity to work with internationally recognized artists, curators, and scholars during their studies. Recent visiting artists and scholars include: Elizabeth Buhe, Hasan Elahi, Rodrigo Valenzuela, William Coleman, Lauren Hermele, Tiffany Smith, and Sofie Hodara, to name a few.

Want to learn more? Check out our videos here.

Program and Application Requirements

Program Requirements
The 60-hour program requires a minimum of 32 semester hours in studio art courses, 11 semester hours of electives, a minimum of three courses in art history at the graduate level, and a minimum of eight semester hours toward preparation of the graduate exhibition and thesis. Upon completion of the program, students are required to mount a comprehensive thesis exhibition of their work.

Application Requirements

• BFA or BA in art or related field
• Art portfolio
• 1–2-page personal statement and proposal for study
• One letter of recommendation
• Official college transcripts

Students are chosen on the basis of a portfolio review, interview, creative potential, and evidence of persistent work habits.