All graduate applicants are required to complete the online application, and submit the nonrefundable $80 application fee.

You must enter valid credit card information in order to submit the online application.

Applicants must submit a Statement of Purpose (250-500 words) describing their reason for pursuing graduate study.

Online submission is available through the online application. After you submit your application, you will have access to a checklist to upload materials like the Statement of Purpose.

If you are experiencing difficulty uploading your materials via the online application, please email them to Graduate Admissions and include your full name and date of birth in the email.

Applicants must submit a résumé, which should include professional experience as well as related activities such as research, awards, and exhibitions.

Online submission is available through the online application. After you submit your application, you will have access to a checklist to upload materials like the résumé.

If you are experiencing difficulty uploading your materials via the online application, please email them to Graduate Admissions and include your full name and date of birth in the email.

Applicants are required to submit three letters of recommendation from instructors or practicing professionals.

Online submission is available through the online application. Applicants will be required to provide the email address and contact information for their references. A “Send Email” button for each recommendation is provided to send the online form to the email address you provided for your recommender.

If your recommender is experiencing difficulty (uploading the letter via the recommendation portal, receiving emails, etc.), please instruct them to email the letter to Graduate Admissions and include your full name and graduate program in the email.

Note: The School of Visual Arts does not provide letter of recommendation forms.

Applicants must submit official transcripts from each college or university they’ve attended. In order to be considered official, transcripts must come directly from the institution(s).

Please Note: Unofficial transcripts, screenshots, or PDFs emailed by applicants do not fulfill this requirement. There are no exceptions to this policy. Please follow the guidelines below.

Electronic Transcripts

• SVA accepts secure electronic transcripts from Parchment, National Student Clearinghouse, and Credentials Solutions.
• Applicants from institutions in India should request and submit official transcripts directly through TrueCopy Credentials. Requests are processed by TrueCopy Credentials and will be sent electronically to SVA Graduate Admissions.
• Check with the registrar’s office at your institution to see if your school issues its own digital transcripts or if it’s a member of any of the organizations mentioned above. (Important Note: Please be sure that all electronic transcript submissions are directed to “Graduate Admissions” at gradadmissions@sva.edu.)

Mailing Transcripts

• Transcripts may also be submitted in an unopened envelope that is stamped and sealed by the college registrar of the issuing institution.

Please address to:

School of Visual Arts

Graduate Admissions

209 East 23rd Street

New York, NY 10010                                           

Special Notes

• Pending acceptance, all graduate applicants currently enrolled in school for their bachelor’s degrees for the Spring or Summer 2025 semesters are required to submit verification of graduation before they attend SVA.
• All transcripts from foreign institutions must be officially translated into English and U.S. grading equivalencies. For more information, see the below accordion.

Applicants who have academic documents from institutions outside of the U.S. are required to provide original, attested, or certified true copies of academic records for all institutions attended. These records should be in the original language issued.

Please Note: SVA does not review PDFs or screenshots sent directly via email from applicants.

Records Not in English

For records not in English, applicants must also submit an official translation of all academic documents. Translations must be a complete, literal, word-for-word translation in the same format as the original academic document.

All foreign post-secondary (university level) transcripts should be converted into U.S. educational equivalencies. Those records that are not converted into U.S. equivalencies must be evaluated by an external evaluation agency. The evaluation should be course-by-course and include:

• Name of educational institution
• Country where institution is located
• Length of study
• U.S. educational equivalent (two-year or four-year college)
• Courses studied per academic year
• Conversion of grades/marks/final examination results into equivalent U.S. grades of A, B, C, D, or F for each course evaluated
• Total credits earned
• Conversion of course hours into U.S. semester hours of credit
• Cumulative grade point average (GPA) on a 4-point scale
• U.S. degree equivalent

The School of Visual Arts should be listed as the recipient of the evaluation. Transcripts may take up to six weeks to be evaluated. The original academic records must be submitted in addition to the evaluation.

The School of Visual Arts strongly recommends that international academic records be evaluated by one of the following approved external evaluation agencies:

SpanTran: Course-by-course evaluations for college transcripts.

2400 Augusta Drive, Suite 451

Houston, TX 77057

Phone: 713.266.8805

Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE): Course-by-course evaluations for college transcripts.

P.O. Box 514070 Milwaukee, WI 53203

Phone: 414.289.3400

World Education Services (WES): Course-by-course evaluations for college transcripts.

Bowling Green Station

P.O. Box 5087

New York, NY 10274

Phone: 212.966.6311

Please note: Pending acceptance, all graduate applicants currently enrolled in school for their bachelor’s degrees for the Spring or Summer 2025 semesters are required to submit verification of graduation before they attend SVA.

In addition to the general application requirements, international applicants whose primary/native language is not English must demonstrate proficiency in written and spoken English. The following are acceptable ways to demonstrate English proficiency:

A minimum score* of 100 (internet-based or paper-delivered) Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

• The CEEB code for the School of Visual Arts is 2835. This is the code that must be supplied to ETS in order to have TOEFL scores mailed to SVA.
• Please note this means a composite score for a single test date. SVA does not accept MyBEST TOEFL scores.

A minimum score of 8.0 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

• IELTS is jointly managed by University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL), British Council, and IDP Education Australia: IELTS Australia.

A minimum score of 115 on the Duolingo English Test.

• Scores can be sent to SVA directly via the student portal.

A minimum score of 9 in all categories of the English proficiency examination administered by the New York University American Language Institute in New York.

• For information on taking the NYU test, call 212.998.7040.

A minimum score of 68 on the Pearson PTE Academic.

Requirement Waivers

• This requirement may be waived for native English speakers who are citizens of any of the following countries and attend schools where English is the primary language of instruction: England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, India, South Africa, and Common Wealth Caribbean (Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago).
• SVA will consider waiving the English proficiency exam requirement for students who have earned a degree at a regionally accredited U.S. college or university. Students seeking this waiver must submit a written request with their application materials.

Applicants must upload their portfolio to the Graduate Admissions SlideRoom account. To create an account and for further instructions, visit the SlideRoom Portal. SlideRoom will allow you to create an inventory of works with the following information for each file: title, date, medium, dimensions or running time, and optional notes. The portfolio requirements for SlideRoom are:

• Please do not submit PDF file format imagery onto SlideRoom or combine multiple images and text onto a single submission file. Applications submitted in PDF will not be reviewed, and you will be asked to re-submit by the department.
• 20 still images in JPEG format, not to exceed 5MB each in file size.
• Videos uploaded as either MOV or MP4  files, not to exceed 250MB each in size. You may also submit linked media files to YouTube or Vimeo.
• Applicants are not required to submit both still-image and video work. If your main medium is video, please submit 4–5 video samples. If you work with both still images and video, please include a sampling of both (not to exceed 20 samples). 

Candidates may be required to schedule an interview with the department chair prior to receiving their decision notification.

Alice Beck-Odette Scholarship

Named for a former faculty member and current inspiration, the Alice Beck-Odette Scholarship is a one-time award given to current and incoming MFA Photography, Video, and Related Media students who demonstrate academic merit as well as financial need.

Department Assistantship

The Department Assistantship is a work-study program open to any current or incoming student. In exchange for working in the department a certain number of hours per week during the semester and 80 hours during the summer, SVA waives a portion of your tuition for a maximum of two semesters. A full-time position requires 20 hours per week, and reduces your tuition by half each semester. A part-time position requires 10 hours per week, and reduces your tuition by about a quarter per semester.

Fulbright Foreign Student Program

Americans for the Arts

Candid Organization

New York Foundation for the Arts

American Society of Media Photographers

Government Grants

Broke Scholar

All incoming students are required to own a laptop.

Students are also required to purchase the following:

• Portable external hard drive with storage of at least 1 TB - (A second external HD for back-ups is strongly recommended)
• SD card (at least one)

The department follows the system requirements for Adobe Premiere Pro which can be found at Adobe Help Center.

NOTE: The MFA Photography, Video, and Related Media Department is a Macintosh-based studio program and cannot support PC platforms

Students in the program are expected to produce work or complete technical based assignments in the time frame as directed by their instructors. They must participate in meaningful group discussions in all their classes. Students need to make a transition to the discipline and rigor of graduate level expectations required. Faculty and peers will quickly get to know what a student is capable of producing and will challenge them creatively, intellectually, and technically to excel. While the critique and production of creative work is the major component of an MFA, academic work is required to further the students knowledge in critical analysis, theory, and history in order to complement the creative inquiry of each individual. Lastly, a 3.3 GPS is required to matriculate through the program.

Master Critique is the primary course, required each semester. Students must also take Studio Image I/II, Studio: Related Media, as well as selections from our Historical Perspectives, Criticism & Theory, and Contemporary Issues classes. About Looking is required of all 3-year students. In total, students must complete a minimum of 60 credits to graduate. Interdisciplinary exploration within the department is permitted and encouraged. Thesis students are required to take the following courses: Thesis Project, Thesis Forms I & II, Thesis Proposal and Thesis Presentation. Completion of an Orals Presentations, a mature body of work, and document thereof is required for graduation. Students meet with the department’s Academic Advisor and Chair to determine which courses are appropriate for their planned course of study.

The department makes great efforts to attract students that are diverse in practice, background, and career goals. The curriculum encourages students to experiment outside of their normal working habits in an effort to expand their creative inquiry. As a result, the department doesn’t favor any particular visual aesthetic. We are committed to supporting and nurturing each student’s individual creative trajectory.

All registered graduate students may audit two continuing education courses per academic year, including the summer session. Students do not receive credit or grades for audited courses. Students auditing courses do not have to pay for tuition for those courses, but are responsible for registration and any lab fees applicable to the course(s) audited. Audits are subject to class size limitations and instructor’s permission. These audits are often used for interdisciplinary study or for additional software instruction. Courses in other graduate departments may not be audited.

Up to 15 credits may be transferred toward your SVA Masters of Fine Arts degree. Transfer credits will only be accepted from another accredited MFA, MS, or MA degree program. Additionally, the department you enter will only accept credits for courses that concur with courses they offer. Any student wishing to transfer credits from another institution should submit course descriptions and/or syllabi with the application. For more information on transferring credits, please contact the department.

The department does not offer any summer classes. Registered students may audit continuing education and undergraduate courses over the summer. Students who pay a summer access fee may check out cage equipment for use over the summer, and may utilize the computer labs through July.

Students in their Thesis (final) year may choose or be assigned a Thesis Advisor—usually an artist, editor, writer, or other authority outside the MFA Photo/Video faculty—to meet with them during the Spring semester of their Thesis year. This provides another point of reference and feedback for Thesis students, as well as a valuable networking opportunity.