The School of Art is pleased to announce that it will provide full tuition funding for all MFA students, regardless of background or citizenship status. The new funding begins immediately for current students and will continue for future MFA cohorts.

When the graduate program was restructured six years ago, the school laid out a series of goals including the establishment of an MFA program director, the development of a core faculty group, the addition of a new graduate facility, and an increase in funding for students. With this most recent change to the program, the school has now realized all three of these major initiatives.

“Making our MFA program tuition free is vital to the continuing success of our program and students,” said Head of School Charlie White. “We are committed to giving students the time and space to experiment, take risks, and grow as artists over their three years at CMU, and this new support allows graduate students to focus on artmaking without the stress of tuition payments. Choosing to be an artist is rife with financial uncertainty, but this funding ensures that our future MFA alumni will not have the burden of student loan payments for tuition as they’re forging their careers.”

In addition to receiving full tuition funding, graduate students will continue to be eligible for additional funding for research, resources, and travel. This includes university-wide grants like the Graduate Small Project Help Fund; College of Fine Arts funding like the Frank Ratchye Further Fund grants and microgrants; and school programs like the Graduate Studio Research Funding grant; among many others.

Applications for fall 2024 admission to the MFA program are due January 16, 2024.