Admission Requirements
Admission to the M.F.A. program requires a Bachelor of Art (B.A.), Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) or equivalent degree. Transfer credit is typically not accepted.
How to Apply
For full consideration, you must submit your complete application, including outlined application materials, by February 1. Required application materials include:
- To apply to this MFA program you'll be required to submit the following:
- Application Fee: $50 for US Citizens, $55 for International (credit card or electronic check only)
- Official set of transcripts: These may have to be sent by us postal mail, or depending on your prior institution, may have an electronic record that can be submitted with your online application. Please review the definition and requirements for official transcripts.
- Statement of Intent: This is typically 1-2 pages. Why are you applying for graduate school? Why Ohio University? What are your future goals? Is there any information about your past experience/skills that is not reflected on your resume?
- Artist Statement: This is typically one page. Tell us about your current research interests, influences, and artwork.
- Resume/CV
- Portfolio: Documentation of original artwork
- Submit 20 images or other documentation (video, audio, etc) of recent, original artwork.
- Along with each artwork, include artwork information and descriptive text where appropriate
- Detail slides are acceptable where necessary.
- Three Letters of Recommendation: Submit the contact information for three references. Our system will automatically send recommenders a request via email for their submission. Their responses should be submitted by the February 1st deadline.
- English Proficiency Requirement: Please review information about Ohio University's minimum English Language Proficiency requirements for graduate study.
Note: Except for the official transcripts, NO materials should be sent through standard mail. Portfolios on CD or DVD will not be considered.
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School of Art + Design Graduate Admissions
Current and Past Seminar Topics
What We Talk About When We Talk About Photography
Exploring Walter Benjamin, Susan Sontag, and Roland Barthes extensive writings about the nature of photography and the medium’s organic relationship to the subjects of memory, melancholy, fantasy, history, and loss.
Feminisms: The Personal is Political
Explore the key issues and methodologies of feminist art practice. Discuss the continuity of feminist concerns and strategies through an examination of the history and contemporary manifestations of feminist art.
Revolution, Silence, and Blindness
Starting with a consideration of the biological, ontological and mechanical evolution of seeing and photography, we’ll explore themes such as absence, silence, darkness, and blindness — a kind of antithesis of visual impression.
- Over 11,000 square feet of space
- Four large communal B&W darkrooms
- Multiple private darkrooms
- Over 50 enlargers, including 27 new Beseler 23 Cs
- Large lighting studio supporting analog and digital practice
- Photo equipment cage with professional cameras, lighting, and equipment darkroom
- Digital imaging facility with Apple iMac computers and large scale Epson color printers
- Hasselblad film and Epson flatbed scanners
- Photography graduate student office
- CREATE_space digital lab
Alternatives is a biennial juried exhibition organized by the graduate students of Ohio University’s MFA Photography and Integrated Media program in the School of Art + Design. Since its beginning in 1980, Alternatives has achieved national recognition for its leadership in forging new definitions in the medium by emphasizing the work of photographers in the conceptual forefront of the practice. The exhibition has hosted a distinguished roster of artist jurors including Carrie Mae Weems, Kelli Connell, Jason Reed, and Judy Natal. In 2019 the Alternatives exhibition 2, 3, 4: Dimensional Photographies, was juried by Brittany Nelson. See more on our program Instagram account.
