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 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. 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.
We now use an online application format. If it is not possible 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, https://apply.embark.com/grad/bard/. It is important that you start your application by creating an Embark login, answering the preliminary questions, and selecting our program before sending any other application materials to our office. This allows us to match any mailed application materials with your online application; failure to do this could result in the loss of your materials.
2. Application fee of $75 USD (payable online by credit card or electronic debit of checking account, or by mail via cashier's check or money order payable to Bard College). 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 Embark application system or by mail. Applicants must waive the right to review letters of recommendation.
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.
Note: recommendations that are submitted after the January 15 deadline will still be accepted, but they must arrive at Bard by January 25 in order to be reviewed by the admissions committee.
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. We prefer that official copies of transcripts are mailed directly from the institution to the address below; photocopies are not acceptable. Applicants may also mail official transcripts to our office themselves as long as they are in an enveloped sealed by the institution.
Note: transcripts that are submitted after the January 15 deadline will still be accepted, but they must arrive at Bard by January 25 in order to be reviewed by the admissions committee.
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, as listed below.
Answers to common application questions can be found on our FAQ page.
Mailing address
For any materials not submitted online, please use this address. All mailed materials must be postmarked by January 15 (and sent in such a way as to arrive at Bard no later than January 25).
Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts
Bard College
Attn: MFA Admissions
30 Campus Road
Annandale on Hudson, NY 12504-5000
USA
Portfolio Requirements
Your portfolio should demonstrate a broad spectrum of work over the past three years (you can submit even older work if necessary), with a focus on work from the past 12 months. You may include multiple works from a particular series, but it is recommended that your portfolio not consist entirely of one series of work. If your work spans more than one discipline or medium, you can include work from the other mediums as well.
Film/Video: Several short films and/or videos or excerpts from longer pieces, submitted on DVD and mailed to the address listed below. Total duration of all film/video submissions should not exceed 30 minutes. If you would like to include supplemental work from other mediums, such as still images, sound, or writing, you may submit a separate CD or DVD containing up to 10 such work samples. Please include a content sheet with a brief description of each sample.
Music/Sound: At least 5 audio and/or video samples of creative work, submitted online via SlideRoom (see upload requirements below). Total length of all audio samples should be limited to 30 minutes. You may also submit images and PDF documents, such as musical scores, or supplemental work from other mediums. Please include a brief description with each sample.
Copies of all Music/Sound work samples submitted on SlideRoom must also be mailed to our office on a single CD or DVD. Full-length versions of any excerpted pieces may also be included. You may also mail copies of musical scores.
Painting, Photography, and Sculpture: 20-25 images or short video files of creative work, submitted online via SlideRoom (see upload requirements below).
You may include both overview and detail images of the same piece. You may also submit samples from other mediums--whatever best represents your recent artistic work. Please include a brief description with each sample. All portfolio items, including video, are to be submitted on SlideRoom--please do not mail DVDs or CDs.
Writing: Samples of writing(s), 15-20 pages total, submitted online with your application via the Embark application system. Prose submissions should be double-spaced. Please indicate title and date of composition for each piece, and label each page with your name.
Writers with work that is interdisciplinary in nature may submit supplemental materials (images, videos, sound files) online via SlideRoom (see upload requirements below).
SlideRoom upload requirements:
Images (jpg, gif, png) up to 5 MB each
Videos (flv, wmv, mov) up to 60 MB each
Audio (mp3) up to 10 MB each
Documents (pdf) up to 10 MB each
Be sure the file type appears at the end of the file name (for example: "name.jpg").
Images do not have to be a particular size. In general, a good image size for good image quality and fast upload is around 1024 x 768 px @ 72 ppi. If your image does not conform to this format, that is OK; as long as an image is under 5MB, you can upload it. Monitors can only display 72 ppi, so increasing this resolution will not improve your image quality.
Video tutorial for the SlideRoom submission system
All portfolio materials mailed to our office (for Film/Video and Music/Sound applicants only) must be clearly labeled with your name and discipline and postmarked by January 15, 2010. 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. See below for our mailing address.
Interdisciplinary applications
If your work is interdisciplinary and you would like to have it reviewed by more than one discipline, you will need to submit two separate applications, one for each discipline. You will submit two copies of everything and you will pay twice the fee. You will also need two valid email addresses, as you must create two separate login IDs for the Embark application system. You will also submit two separate portfolios, following the instructions for each discipline, though both can contain the same work samples if appropriate.
If you wish to only apply to one discipline but cannot decide which one is most appropriate for you, you may select "Unsure" on the application where it asks for discipline. You will then submit your portfolio online via SlideRoom under the "Unsure" category as well. Once both your Embark application and SlideRoom portfolio are received, our Director will review your application and determine which discipline it is best suited for. Your application will then be reviewed by the faculty of that discipline.
If you know which discipline you want to apply for but want to include work in your portfolio from other mediums, you are welcome to do so. Please follow the instructions listed under Portfolio Requirements above.
Reapplying
If you applied to our program within the past two years (for 2008 or 2009) and want to reapply, you will need to submit a new application, fee, statement, history, and portfolio, but may reuse any transcripts and letters of recommendation we have on file for you. Please be sure to check the appropriate box on the Embark application form and indicate which year you previously applied so we may find your file and transfer the appropriate documents.
If you applied prior to 2008 you will have to submit everything again, as we do not keep application materials for more than two years.
Mailing address
For any materials not submitted online, please use this address. All mailed materials must be postmarked by January 15, 2010.
Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts
Bard College
Attn: MFA Admissions
30 Campus Road
Annandale on Hudson, NY 12504-5000
USA
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:
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.
