The two-year, 60-credit Master of Professional Studies in Art Therapy program is interdisciplinary in approach and designed to help students understand the relationship between cognition, emotion and behavior, as well as how these areas relate to humanistic art therapy.

  • The MPS Art Therapy program is committed to developing students into working professionals, via coursework and a clinical internship program, and to serving the community locally, nationally and internationally.
  • In addition to writing a thesis that is clinical in scope, second-year students choose from two unique specialization tracks—Challenged Populations (physical, emotional or mental challenges) or Addictionology (substance abuse and non-drug addictions).
  • The program offers numerous opportunities to work with a variety of populations on a short-term basis through a unique Special Programs & Projects component, allowing students to enhance clinical skills and to supplement their training and experience.

Artists intuitively understand the inherently beneficial aspects of the creative process. Art therapy is an innovative profession that provides a valuable contribution to the care of people living with psychological and physical challenges. The mission of the MPS Art Therapy program at SVA is to offer students this avenue of helping others through creative expression. Students are trained within a humanistic framework, coupled with the theory and practice of art therapy. The program offers coursework taught by working professionals, innovative internship opportunities and workshops, lectures and special projects reflective of current trends within the profession.

The internship requirement is a significant part of the training, giving students the opportunity to work directly with clients on an ongoing basis, in both individual and group settings. Students are supervised by registered and licensed art therapists as well as members of the MPS Art Therapy faculty, and begin internships in the first semester of study, ensuring that theory and practice are integrated from the start. The program’s full-time Internship Coordinator meets individually with students to choose a placement from a wide array of settings, including treatment centers, schools, hospitals and shelters. Community outreach via Special Programs & Projects affords students additional opportunities to work with clients outside of their internship experience.

The diversity and density of New York City’s population make it a unique location for cutting-edge treatment, technology and technique. The thousands of working professionals, including art therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, educators and artists, provide the program a remarkable pool of talent and experience from which to select faculty, internships and guest lecturers. The MPS Art Therapy program, an educational provider fully approved by the American Art Therapy Association, is committed to serving the community and to training students to work and thrive within this demanding profession, as well as aiding alumni in their post-graduation growth. The program looks forward to seeing the accomplishments of its alumni, and the role they will play in promoting and developing the field in the years and decades to come. 

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