Apply to the MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture Program
Criteria for Eligibility
- Applicants should have completed a BFA or equivalent academic preparation.
- Applicants are NOT required to submit GRE scores.
Timeline
Sep 1, 2023
Applications for fall 2024 open
Jan 10, 2024
Applications close
Feb 1, 2024
Financial aid applications due
Application Materials
The MFA-IVC program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). Admissions decisions are based on the applicant’s portfolio, academic records, writing sample, statement of objectives, and references. Both writing and visual portfolio samples are required, but we do not expect applicants to be equally proficient in both areas.
Application materials may be submitted over time. However, all materials, with the exception of the letters of recommendation, must be received by the application deadline. No applicant will be offered admission into the program until all required materials have been received.
You will need:
Expository writing is intended to describe, explain, or analyze a given subject in textual form. There is no requirement for length, but it should be enough to demonstrate your ability to express your ideas clearly. Content is more important than extensive word count. Examples of writing samples could include: an undergraduate paper in art history, a critical literary analysis, a personal essay in material culture study (film, comics, illustration, objects), an article or published review, or any other piece of writing that demonstrates your ability to construct and defend an argument, position, or idea.
Program chair John Hendrix offers more advice in this handy video: What Are We Looking for in Your Writing Sample?
You will be prompted to upload a portfolio in Slideroom. Submit 12-20 images or samples of your work, including illustrations, prints, artist’s books, collage images, drawings, sketchbook pages, comics, GIFs, videos, and/or samples of time-based media that best represent your work and visual voice. Variety is encouraged; a single mode or style of work is not necessarily preferred or required. The work presented should be current and should also showcase your future potential as an image maker.
Specifications:
- Images: JPG format, 5MB maximum file size, 1,200 px on the longest side at 72dpi
- PDFs: 10MB maximum file size
- Video: MPEG or MOV format, 250MB maximum file size, no longer than 5 minutes in duration
- Audio: MP3 format, 30MB maximum file size, no longer than 5 minutes in duration
Do not use presentation programs such as PowerPoint.
All digital files submitted should follow a naming convention that includes your last name and the first initial of your first name, such as: DoeJ_GhostSeries_Image1.jpg.
Please enter details about each piece you submit, including title, date, size, and medium. Do not use this space to discuss the work.
Program chair John Hendrix offers more advice in this handy video: Advice on Preparing Your Portfolio
As part of the application review, we are required to verify that each nonnative English speaking applicant has sufficient English language proficiency to succeed in the academic program.
The English proficiency test requirement is waived for citizens of Australia, Cameroon, Commonwealth Caribbean nations, Ghana, India, Ireland, Kenya, Liberia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, Uganda, the United Kingdom, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It may also be waived for students who have completed three or more years of study in an English-medium academic program in any of the above countries, Canada, Hong Kong, South Africa, or the United States.
If you are required to provide proof of English proficiency, the application will prompt you to self-report English proficiency scores that are less than two years old. Official scores should be sent to Washington University in St. Louis at the time of application. We accept the following English proficiency tests:
Send scores electronically through ETS to school code 6929
Send scores electronically to Washington University in St. Louis Graduate Admissions
Duolingo tests will only be accepted for students who cannot access TOEFL or IELTS testing centers. Send PDF or link with scores to samfoxgradadmissions@wustl.edu.