MFA Application Information

Application Process

• Apply to FSU

  Complete the Florida State University Graduate Application. Be prepared to upload the following documents and images: Portfolio, Statement of Intent, and Vitae/Resume. There is a $30 fee for the Florida State University graduate application.

• Letters of Recommendation

  You will also be asked for the names and email addresses of three recommenders. We recommend requesting letters from former teachers or others familiar with your art making activities and career objectives. No personal recommendations will be accepted.

  When in the University application portal, you will be prompted to supply the names and contact information of your recommenders, once you’ve completed the application. Your recommenders will automatically receive an email from the University with instructions for their submissions. In addition to uploading their letter of recommendation, your recommender is also required to fill out a brief survey speaking to your ability to be successful in a graduate program. Only letters received by the deadline will be considered, therefore we strongly advise applicants to contact their recommenders to remind them of the application deadline.

  Please note that the GRE is not required for admission to the program for applicants with at least a 3.0 GPA in their last 60 hours. 

• Test Scores

  For those with just less than a 3.0 GPA, a high GRE score will be considered as an additional component. The minimum score is 148 Verbal and 151 Quantitative; no other exam may substitute. Please note that these scores are only one portion of your application and the admissions committee considers each file as a whole in order to make determinations for both admission and funding.

  International applicants whose native language is not English must meet the minimum University requirement of 80 on the Internet-based TOEFL.

  Students who receive a score of 26 or higher on the speaking section of the Internet-based TOEFL examination meet the University requirements for consideration as a teaching assistant.

• Transcripts

  The University requires applicants to mail one official transcript for each college and/or university attended to the FSU Office of Admissions. Transcripts are considered official when they are sent in a sealed envelope from a college or university directly to the Office of Admissions and contain an official seal and signature. Transcripts bearing the statement “Issued to student” or transcripts submitted by the applicant are not considered official. In addition to mailed official transcripts, FSU also accepts electronic transcripts through Parchment, FASTER (Florida Automated System for Transferring Educational Records), and eSCRIP-SAFE.

  The FSU Office of Admissions must receive transcripts by the application deadline. Therefore, we strongly advise applicants to request transcripts early, at least 4-6 weeks in advance of the deadline. For more information, go to http://admissions.fsu.edu/graduate/requirements/

  The address for submitting transcripts is:

  Florida State University
  Office of Admissions
  282 Champions Way
  P.O. Box 3062400
  Tallahassee, FL 32306-2400
  USA

  **To aid in your application being processed faster, please upload an unofficial transcript to your application – within your supporting documents section.**

• Apply to the Department of Art

  Additionally, applicants should submit an online portfolio here. You will need to upload the following information to your portfolio as either documents, images, quick time files, or PDF files:

  1. Portfolio of fifteen to twenty (15-20) images of your most recent work. Images, videos or QuickTime files should show continuity of development. Include title, year completed, medium and size of each work.
  2. Statement of Purpose (500-750 words) Briefly present your educational objectives listing your technical strengths and skills and the media and research areas you intend to study/pursue. Files should be sent as Word doc. or PDF. Please name your files as lastname_firstname and make sure your name appears on the top of each document.
  3. Artist Statement (250-500 words) describing your artistic vision and the context of your work within contemporary art. Guide | Artist Statement
  4. Vitae/resume list of exhibitions, art related work experience, workshops attended etc. Honors record: list any academic and art related achievements.
  5. Unofficial transcripts (optional). In order to expedite your application, you have the additional option of uploading scanned copies of unofficial transcripts to the Graduate Admissions Portal. You may upload up to two transcripts that documents, at a minimum, the last 60 hours of coursework up to graduation.

• Fellowship Information

  Legacy Fellowship: All applications submitted by January 1st will be eligible for the Legacy Fellowship ($30,000). Only one to two applicants will be nominated based on their overall application strength (portfolio, written statements, transcripts, etc.). Our program provides eligibility for this opportunity; but it is not a guaranteed fellowship. This funding decision is made ultimately by the College of Fine Arts (CFA) as it is a college wide opportunity.

  Please review the Florida State University Graduate School’s website to learn more about this specific fellowship.