Graduate open studios, William Kaminski installation.

Admissions Information

Application Procedures

The Department of Art accepts applications only for the fall quarter. Admission to the department is based on acceptance by the UCLA Graduate Division and a faculty review of complete applications, including supplemental material. Applicants must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, with a minimum GPA of 3.0 for the last two years of upper-division coursework. For the MFA degree, applicants are evaluated on their creative work, and all applicants must submit a portfolio of work consisting of a maximum of twenty still images in digital (CD-R) format, with printed back-up. Applicants whose work is time-based should submit film stills, video stills, and/or performance documentation as still images and should also submit DVDs. In addition to still images and DVDs, applicants may also provide URLs for time-based work available online. Please refer to the Department's Portfolio Guidelines for detailed instructions. The portfolio should represent both the artistic medium the applicant is planning to emphasize and his or her potential for advanced specialized study.
JungHwa Lee, MFA '11, ceramics
Applicants are asked to provide the names and addresses of three references, but letters of recommendation are not required. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required. For the MFA program, applicants with a bachelor's degree in art are preferred, but those who hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution with only some previous study in art may be admitted on the basis of a review of their work.

The UCLA Application for Graduate Admission is due by January 9. Supplemental materials, including transcripts and MFA applicant portfolios are sent directly to the Department of Art and must be RECEIVED no later than 5pm, Monday, January 9, 2012.For a complete outline of degree requirements, see Program Requirements for UCLA Graduate Degrees available in the departmental office and accessible on the graduate division webpage.


Financial Support

General Information

UCLA offers several kinds of financial assistance for graduate students. Merit-based support is available in the form of fellowships, assistantships, and departmental awards; need-based assistance is available to those who qualify.

Financial awards are offered to the most outstanding eligible new and continuing students in the MFA program. Entering students also may apply for University fellowships in conjunction with their application for admission. Award recommendations are made by faculty. Factors considered include creative work, potential, and, in some cases, financial need; effort is made to distribute awards among all areas of study in the department. For assistantships, special abilities are also factored into the decision. In 2010-11, 100% of enrolled MFA students received merit-based support; the average, combined award totaled over $20,000 per student.

The UCLA Financial Aid Office administers financial support for eligible US citizens and permanent residents based upon need. For graduate students, need-based financial aid is awarded in the form of loans and work-study.

Extramural fellowships also are made available by many off-campus agencies and foundations. Applicants should contact the funding organizations directly for information regarding extramural fellowship opportunities.

More detailed information on financial support is available in the UCLA Application for Graduate Admission and at the UCLA Graduate Division Web site.


Scholarships

Scholarships—made possible through the generosity of private individuals, firms, or foundations—are available annually to undergraduate and graduate students. These prestigious awards are made by faculty nomination, and in some cases, by student application or competition. Examples of these awards are as follows:

Laura Andreson Scholarship
Samuel Booth Art Scholarship
Ella Powell Bucknell Scholarship
Hans G. and Thordis W. Burkhardt
Foundation Award
Martha Matthias Denny Scholarship
Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg
Feitelson Arts Foundation Award
Laurette Green Scholarship
Edna and Yu-Shan Han Award
D'Arcy Hayman Scholarship		 Werner Z. Hirsch Award in Drawing
Hoyt Scholarship
Emma B. Keller Fine Arts Scholarship
Elaine Krown Klein Fine Arts Scholarship
Lilian Levinson Foundation Scholarship
Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship
Elizabeth Heller Mandell Memorial Scholarship
Bette Midler Scholarship
Moss Scholar
Barbara and Joseph Naar Scholarship
Alfredo Orselli Memorial Scholarship		 Dr. Hyman Eugene Oxman Scholarship
Serpouhi Paparian Scholarship
Aubrey Penny Scholarship
Resnick Scholarships
Edward J. and Alice Mae Smith Scholarship
Charles Speroni Memorial Scholarship
Judith and Milton Stark Scholarship
S.A. Temple Award
UCLA Art Council Award
Clifton Webb Fine Arts Scholarship
Harold M. Williams Endowed Scholarship



For Prospective MFA Students Interested in Visiting:

During the months April through December, group appointments for prospective art students are scheduled on campus in Suite 2275, Broad Art Center on most Tuesdays at 10:30am and most Thursdays at 4pm. Please contact the graduate advisor, Caron Cronin, by email at artinfo@arts.ucla.edu or by phone at (310) 206-7363 if you would like to arrange to meet at one of these times. Please also visit our web site for information about the New Wight Gallery schedule (www.art.ucla.edu/gallery) and the Lecture Series events (www.art.ucla.edu/events), as you may want to coordinate your visit with one of our public programs. Campus maps and parking information are available online at www.ucla.edu/audience/visitors. There are no meetings for prospective students January through March, during our busy admissions review season.


Ragen Moss, Jaguar XJ6 Sovereign, automobile, plastic, paint, sound, book


For Prospective MFA Students Interested in Visiting the Warner Graduate Studios: 

Please note that the graduate studio building is closed to visitors—including prospective students—except by appointment. Ed Beller manages the facility, and he is generally available Mondays through Thursdays, 1 - 4pm to guide prospective applicants through the facility, provided that appointments are scheduled in advance. Please call (310) 838-6947 to schedule a time to visit.  If you reach voicemail, please specify on your message exactly what time you intend to visit (Mondays through Thursdays, 1 - 4pm), and please leave your phone number.  If Ed Beller is not able to meet you at the time you specify, he will return your call. Otherwise, you can assume that he will meet you at the time you have specified in your message. The graduate studios are located at 8535 Warner Drive in Culver City.

Ryan Sluggett's studio, open studios, fall '10


Related Links


The Department of Art graduate advisor, Caron Cronin, is available to assist students from the time of inquiry about application to the program until graduation. She may be reached at:

Caron Cronin, Student Advisor
UCLA Department of Art
2275 Broad Art Center
Los Angeles, CA 90095
(310) 206-7363 or
Email: artinfo@arts.ucla.edu