Program Highlights
New Scholarship Opportunity
Beginning with the 2021-22 Academic year, the faculty of the School of Art will direct a significant part of available scholarship funds to redress longstanding and systemic exclusions from higher education, and by extension, access to and representation in the arts and culture industry. The School of Art will recognize two outstanding applicants with $5000 scholarships in both years of their two-year MFA. Priority will be given to applicants who show promise within the field and come from backgrounds historically underrepresented in higher education in art and the art professoriate, including but not limited to Black or African American, Hispanic or Latina/o/x, Native American and/or Indigenous communities, Asian/Southeast Asian, and people with disabilities.
Support and Opportunities
Nearly all students in the MFA program have Graduate Assistantship positions in the woodshop, sculpture yard, print shop, assisting faculty or working with local Arts institutions such as the Weatherspoon Art Museum. Students can apply to teach a course as Instructor of Record in their final year, and currently 3 to 4 students are selected to teach each year. Through a combination of scholarships, tuition waivers and Assistantship stipends, students receive substantial financial support throughout their two years in the program.
Greensboro Community
Our program is a community made up of artists with diverse backgrounds and interests from around the world. The program enrolls a maximum of 20 students. The city of Greensboro is home to multiple universities that contribute to a rich, diverse community made up of progressive and creative people from all over the world. The future and the past collide in ways that spur art practices with social and political impact. There is also great coffee, micro-brews, food, music and literature in a downtown that is always changing.
Our Faculty
Our graduate faculty are extremely active contemporary artists, scholars and curators that work in a wide variety of disciplines, from painting, photography and sculpture to video, performance and social practice. Faculty work closely with the MFA students to guide them in developing rich, unique and empowering art practices. Faculty will also connect you with practitioners across the world and help forge relationships that yield opportunities beyond your time at UNCG. This has proven to be one of our biggest strengths.
International Trips
Every summer, between their first and second years, MFA students embark on a 10-day international trip fully funded by the School of Art. In recent years, we have gone to Berlin for Documenta, Mexico City, and Venice for the Biennale. While such trips have not been possible this year due to Covid-19, we are currently planning for the resumption of travel in coming summers.
Studios AND Facilities
Students have 24/7 access to their individual studios and are encouraged to take advantage of the Gatewood Studio Art Building’s extensive workspaces dedicated to sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, photography and digital media. Our curriculum is designed to provide plenty of studio time for the development of independent artwork. Students take seminar/theory courses and have interdisciplinary opportunities with graduate students across the College of Visual and Performing Arts, working with fellow students from Dance, Music, Theatre, Education, Public History, and more.
