Master of Fine Arts | Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Master of Fine Arts

Interdisciplinary.
Mentor Based.
Limitless Possibilities.

Situated within Minneapolis’s vibrant art-and-design scene, MCAD's Master of Fine Arts in Visual Studies is a rigorous four-semester program designed to expand your thinking and promote experimentation in your practice. Students are invited to be strongly self-directed and highly motivated as they set personalized goals and plans to guide each semester in collaboration with their chosen mentor.

As a diverse, international community of makers, thinkers, researchers, and professionals, students explore social, cultural, and professional needs stretching across creative practices. Students are encouraged and supported in exploring wide-ranging processes and histories via rigorous studio practice, individual mentorship, and intense interdisciplinary discourse. All of our in-person, on-campus classes provide accessibility options to our students.

MFA student standing in front of their artwork

Hear about the MFA experience

As a Master's of Fine Arts student, you will:

  • Work one-to-one with a mentor to establish goals and plans for each semester.
  • Work independently and collaboratively in studios, classrooms, modern creative facilities, and public gallery spaces.
  • Pursue creative work in one or more practices: animation, comic arts, drawing/painting, engaged and public arts/social practice, fiber arts and textiles, film/video, furniture design, graphic design, illustration, installation, interactive/digital media, interdisciplinary, performance, photography, printmaking/paper/books, sculpture, sound art.
  • Participate in opportunities in the Twin Cities’ creative community that includes galleries, art centers, regional funders, and nonprofits designed to set you up for success post-graduation.
  • Become part of the strong, supportive MCAD alumni network.
Learn more about MCAD's MFA Experience
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Class Highlights

This 60-credit Masters of Fine Arts program required classes include:

  • Criticism and Theory
  • Mentored Credits
  • Graduate Critique Seminar
  • Community and Context
  • Thesis Preparation
Degree Information

After MCAD

There are many paths to explore with a Master's in Fine Arts. Potential careers include:

  • Exhibiting Artist
  • Arts Educator
  • Arts Administrator
  • Graphic Designer
  • Photographer
  • Editorial Illustrator
Additional Careers

People

Current Mentor Roster
Mentorship​ ​is​ ​regarded​ ​as​ ​the​ ​core​ ​of​ ​the​ ​MCAD​ MFA​ ​curriculum. Students​ ​work​ ​one-on-one​ ​with​ ​their​ ​mentor​ ​to advance​ their ​studio​ ​work,​ ​research,​ ​and​ ​professional​ ​practice.​

Current Students
Current students partake in various events such as field trips, professional practice workshops, and interacting with visiting artists. Students are encouraged to utilize the program’s flexible structure by tailoring experiences to reach individual goals.

Alumni
In a survey of MFA alumni from 2010-2019, 85% reported working and doing freelance work in their field of choice.

Opportunities

Opportunities such as funded launch programs are available to help MFA students set themselves up for success after graduation. Opportunities range across galleries, residencies, art centers, and various nonprofits such as:

  • MCAD / Arrowmount University Fellows Scholarship
  • Soo Visual Arts Partnership
  • Forecast Public Art Design/Illustration Fellowship
  • Rochester Art Center Partnership
  • Wisher Sponsored Residency
  • Mildred’s Lane Fellowship
Learn More

Posts

illustrated text in handwritten, yellow font on a dark green background, saying MCAD MFA, Thesis Exhibition 2025
MCAD MFA Thesis Exhibition 2025
Published on
April 21, 2025
Square image poster design for MFA Open Studio Night in pastel colors with black letters.
MCAD MFA Open Studio Night 2024
Published on
November 26, 2024
Poster image for MFA Public Research Presentations with MFA 2 Jamie Peachey's Weeny puppet speaking at a lectern in front of a whiteboard
MFA Public Research Presentations, Fall 2024
Published on
November 14, 2024

See what Master of Fine Arts students are making

"I initially joined the program because I was at a point in my life where I had no discipline in my studio practice, and I felt no real foundation to the work I made. MCAD allowed me to build confidence in my work again."

Sishir Bommakanti ’18, Freelance Illustrator

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Minneapolis, MN 55404

Contact Us

612.874.3700
800.874.MCAD (6223)
Fax: 612.874.3701

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Land Acknowledgement

The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) acknowledges it is located on traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of Indigenous people. This is the ancestral homeland of the Dakota and Ojibwe people, who were forcibly exiled from the land because of aggressive and persistent settler colonialism. We recognize that this place has a complex and layered history. As a community dedicated to creativity, MCAD is committed to ongoing efforts to support and advocate for American Indian Nations and peoples.


Nondiscrimination Policy

MCAD admits students of any race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, or marital status to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, or marital status in the administration of its educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, and other school-administered programs.