MFA in Studio Art
Why get an MFA in studio art at Notre Dame?
The MFA program offers independently motivated students a three-year opportunity to establish themselves as professional artists/teachers, to culminate with a formal exhibition.
Graduate students work closely with faculty in a 1:1 ratio and formally interact with other MFA students through exhibitions, studio practice, and visiting artist seminars.
All students have individual, private studios with windows in Riley Hall as well as open access to our facilities, including:
- a state-of-the-art wood shop
- digital printing studio
- CNC router
- 3D printing
- computer labs with up-to date imaging software (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc.)
Our students also have the opportunity to apply for additional funding for travel, residencies, and materials through a variety of funding sources across the University.
The Snite Museum of Art, located on Notre Dame’s campus, regularly mounts both historical and contemporary exhibits. The Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, opening in fall 2023, will anchor the University's vibrant arts district.
Chicago, with its rich cultural offerings, is a 90-minute car ride west of campus. Students take advantage of the numerous museum exhibitions, gallery openings, performances, screenings, and other cultural events in the city.
The studio art faculty is comprised of actively engaged artists with significant national and international research profiles. Our faculty are represented by galleries such as Patrick Painter Inc., Los Angeles, Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, Forum Gallery, New York, and Schneider Gallery, Chicago. Their work has been featured in exhibitions at Northwestern University, Elisabet Ney Museum in Austin, TX, Museum fur Neue Kunst, Freiburg, Germany, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea, University of Portland, OR. Notre Dame studio art faculty have had their work written about in publications such The New York Times, ARTnews, 100 Ideas That Changed Photography by Mary Warner Marien, Art F City, and many others.