Applications for admission are accepted once per year. Applications and portfolios are reviewed and evaluated by a committee of faculty within the applicant's field. Candidates are selected from this pool and invited to interview in mid-March. Initial admission offers are made by early April; admitted students must pay a $500 enrollment deposit in order to secure their position in the program.
Students must commence the program with the upcoming summer session, which runs from June 8 to July 31, 2009. Deferment of admission is not permitted. Admitted candidates who cannot attend the upcoming summer session must reapply to the program for consideration in a future year.
For 2009 we have changed to an online application format. Please note that it will not be possible to apply using a paper application from a previous year. If it is impossible for you to submit an online application, please contact our office directly at mfa@bard.edu or call 845-758-7481.
We do not require the GRE, and we do not have any grade point average requirements. An undergraduate degree in the arts is not required for admission; an applicant's life experience may take the place of an undergraduate degree.
1. Completed online application form, available here:
https://apply.embark.com/grad/bard. Please start your application (create a log in, then go to the application and select our program) before sending any other materials.
2. Application fee of $75 (payable online by credit card or electronic debit of checking account, or by mail via cashier's check or money order). We do not offer application fee waivers or accept personal checks.
3. Personal statement: 1–2 pages discussing your work and artistic goals in a personal as well as critical context; submitted online with application. Please include your name at the top of the page.
4. History of activity in the arts/C.V.: 1- to 2-page biography listing publications, shows, performances and other artistic involvement (resumé format is acceptable); submitted online with application. Please include your name at the top of the page.
5. Two letters of recommendation, either submitted through the online application system or by mail. To submit letters online, complete the Register a Recommender section in the Embark application system. The system will email a login to your recommenders as soon as you register them (before you submit the application) so they can upload a letter prior to the deadline. To submit letters by mail, have your recommenders mail letters directly to our address below. They must put your full name on the letter so we can match it with your application; there is no recommendation form to complete.
6. Transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate schools attended for at least one academic year, regardless of whether credits were transferred to another institution or a degree was received. Official copies of transcripts must be mailed directly from the institution to the address below; photocopies are not acceptable.
7. Portfolio representing a broad spectrum of work from the past three years. Work submitted may span more than one discipline, but the applicant must choose one primary discipline for the application. Portfolio requirements and submission formats vary for each discipline; see below for details.
Portfolio Requirements
Film/Video A single DVD (region 1 compatible). The submission should include several short works or excerpts from longer pieces, up to a 30-minute maximum length.
Music/Sound A single CD or DVD with accompanying scores (if applicable).The CD or DVD should include several short works or excerpts from longer pieces, up to a 30-minute maximum length.
Writing Samples of writing, 15-20 pages total, with title(s) and date(s) of composition noted. Please include your name on each page. Writing samples are to be submitted online, with the application form at https://apply.embark.com/grad/bard, as Word or PDF files.
Painting, Photography, and Sculpture 20-25 images and/or short video files, submitted online at
http://bard.slideroom.com.* Images will not be accepted on slide or CD/DVD.
*Note: this is a separate website from the rest of the application.
Upload Guidelines for http://bard.slideroom.com:
Images: For good image quality and fast upload, images should be sized no larger than 1280 x 1280 px @ 72 dpi. You can submit works at a higher dpi or greater pixel count as long as they don't exceed 2MB each in size. Acceptable image formats are jpg, gif, or png.
Videos: flv, mov, or wmv files up to 20MB each.
Documents: pdf files up to 10MB each
Q: What should I include in my portfolio?
A: In general, your portfolio should demonstrate a broad spectrum of work over the past three years (you can submit even older work if necessary). You may include multiple works from a particular series, but it is recommended that your portfolio not consist entirely of one series of work. Sculptors and those with large installation pieces may include overview shots of an installation as well as detail shots. Music/Sound and Film/Video applicants should limit their overall length to 30 minutes, but can include segments from a number of longer works. Writers may submit 15-20 pages from one longer work or multiple examples of shorter pieces.
If your work spans more than one discipline or medium, you can include work from the other disciplines as well. Applicants to Film/Video, Music/Sound, or Writing can submit a supplementary CD or DVD containing images, writing samples, or sound/video work. Applicants to Painting, Photography, or Sculpture should submit videos, documents, or website links through the SlideRoom online portfolio system.
We do not accept slides or prints. Please do not submit any original or valuable materials, as we do not return any application or portfolio materials.
Answers to other common questions can be found on our FAQ page.
Mailing address
For any materials not submitted online, please use this address:
Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts
Bard College
Attn: MFA Admissions
30 Campus Road
Annandale on Hudson, NY 12504-5000
USA
All materials must be submitted online or postmarked by 11:59pm EST on January 15, 2009.
Because Bard's M.F.A. program relies heavily on one-to-one conversation and dynamic group discussion, it is critical that our students have an ease and familiarity with spoken English. To show English language competency, a foreign applicant must provide proof of one of the following (as of October 29, 2007):
The test must have been taken in the past two years and a score report is to be submitted directly to Bard from ETS. For more information on the TOEFL exam, go to
www.ets.org/toefl/. Those with scores lower than the above may still apply, but if TOEFL scores are significantly lower than our requirements the application will not be given full consideration.
To enter the U.S. for full-time study, a foreign student applies for an F-1 visa using the I-20 Certificate of Eligibility for Nonresident (F-1) Student Status. Bard can issue an I-20 only after receiving financial documents that prove the student has funds to cover all the costs of his or her study for the summer program: an official award letter for a fellowship, scholarship, or government grant; for personal/family support, a bank letter confirming available funds or a Certificate of Finances Form is required. Bard will issue a new I-20 for each full-time summer session. Bard cannot issue an I-20 for the winter independent study sessions; international students must return to their home country during those periods.
