Graduate Art Programs at School of Visual Arts

SVA offers rigorous and practice-based graduate arts programs in ten different areas of study. All of our innovative graduate art school programs are taught by top professionals in their discipline with the aim of helping students further advance their careers as working artists. Request information at gradadmissions@sva.eduto learn more about graduate art school at SVA.

In 1983, the School of Visual Arts introduced its first graduate offering, a Master of Fine Arts program in painting, drawing and sculpture. Since that time, SVA has added nine more graduate programs: Art Criticism and Writing; Art Education; Art Therapy; Computer Art; Design; Design Criticism; Digital Photography; Illustration as Visual Essay; and Photography, Video and Related Media.

Each of these highly individual professional degree programs shares certain important characteristics that reflect the School of Visual Arts' unique approach to the education of artists. Each of the graduate programs is innovative.

While many universities offer graduate studies in the fine arts, most programs are oriented toward training students as teachers. Our program in Fine Arts focuses on training students whose primary interest is the making of art. The Master of Fine Arts in Art Criticism and Writing examines the visual arts within a philosophical and historical framework, and incorporates intensive study in the writing of art criticism.

The MAT in Art Education offers rigorous academic study, coupled with requisite teaching experience, which provide graduates with the essential knowledge and tools to teach art to children. The MAT in Art Education at School of Visual Arts is accredited by the New York State Regents Accreditation of Teacher Education (RATE). The MPS in Art Therapy curriculum examines a variety of approaches to the diagnosis and therapeutic treatment of challenged individuals, while supporting the artistic development and creative endeavors of the artist-as-therapist.

The College's program in Computer Art was the first in the country to base graduate training in computer art primarily upon the aesthetic concerns of the field. SVA's program in Design perceives the designer not merely as form-giver but as a content creator, and design as more than the reorganization of existing elements. The innovative MFA program in Design Criticism prepares students to research, analyze, and evaluate design and its social and environmental implications.

The MPS program in Digital Photography is a concentrated one-year program focused on mastering the most current digital tools, techniques, and workflow strategies to create technically perfect and visually compelling photographic images.

The program in Illustration is predicated upon a radical departure from the accepted methods of making illustration and focuses on developing a strong personal vision. The MFA program in Photography seeks to develop individual talent within traditional and digital areas of photography, while investigating the impact of computer, film and video technologies on our visual culture.

The School of Visual Arts has long prided itself on the reputation and experience of its internationally renowned faculty. It is the extraordinary caliber of the faculty with whom the graduate student works that makes the realization of one's goals and creative vision possible.

SVA's location in New York City and its extensive facilities, state-of-the-art equipment and unique program philosophies all offer the graduate student exceptional opportunities for advanced study in the arts.