MFAFine Arts

Note: Studio space is provided to dual-degree students in MFA Fine Arts and MA Visual & Critical Studies for four continuous semesters and one summer session in the first two years of their studies. In their third and final year, dual-degree students are eligible for shared studio space (typically, two students per studio) for their two remaining consecutive semesters, if space is available.

The program’s distinguished faculty is composed of internationally active artists, critics, curators, and scholars. The faculty’s vast experience working with institutions and communities in many diverse art worlds gives Fine Arts graduate students a wide collective pool of expertise from which to draw as they formulate and refine their own individuated artistic position.

A graduate of the MFA program in 1993, Professor Cockrell began teaching at CCA in 2003. She served as coordinator of the Pre-College Program, assistant chair of the First Year Program, chair of the Community Arts Program, and interim chair of the Sculpture and Individualized Studies programs. She is core faculty for the graduate Social Practice Workshop and founded the Social Practice and Community Engagement (SPACE) Minor. She coordinated the Ecological Practices Minor, co-founded and coordinated the Oakland Campus Community Edible and Dye Garden, and is an active member of the CCA Oakland Campus Legacy Committee. She served on CCA’s Curriculum Committee, is a founding member of the Decolonial School, and has been an active member of the Graduate Fine Arts Advisory Committee for many years.

MFA Fine Arts graduates participate in a wide variety of contemporary art contexts after they leave the program. They use their skills as socially engaged artists and thinkers to establish international careers as practicing professional artists, as well as to pursue an expansive array of other paths, including establishing their own collectives and exhibition spaces, teaching, critical writing, and arts administration. Notable recent alumni include Diedrick Brackens, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Sarah Hotchkiss, Carmen Winant, Zarouhie Abdalian, and Suné Woods.

Our two-year program welcomes students of all ages and backgrounds. Most have a bachelor of fine arts degree, but their areas of interest vary widely. We get excited about artists who are open-minded and eager to work in previously unfamiliar contexts. Admission to our program is largely based on the strength of your portfolio and transcripts.

Start your application

You’ll apply to CCA and submit all required application materials via SlideRoom. Afterward, you may be contacted for an interview with a faculty member as part of the application process. Being selected for an interview doesn’t indicate applicant status or increase or decrease an applicant’s chances of being admitted into their desired graduate program. Interviews are conducted at the program’s discretion and are used to gain more insight into an application.

MFA Fine Arts application requirements

• Application and $70 nonrefundable application fee
  To be completed and submitted on SlideRoom.
  
  
• Resume/curriculum vitae
  Please outline your educational and professional background and relevant experiences and activities, including community work. Resumes/CVs must be in PDF document format.
  
  
• Two recommendation letters
  You’ll request two letters of recommendation from academic or professional sources in SlideRoom by entering the contact information for your recommenders/references. They will then receive an automated email from SlideRoom with instructions for uploading their letter of recommendation.
  
  
• Unofficial college transcripts
  You are required to provide your complete undergraduate academic history. Students who have already taken graduate courses are encouraged to submit those transcripts, too. For international applicants, all transcripts must be in English or accompanied by a certified English translation.
  
  Please provide an unofficial transcript from the college where you will receive or have received your bachelor’s degree, as well as unofficial transcripts for all other undergraduate coursework. Unofficial transcripts will be used for review purposes.
  
  Once you have been admitted and enrolled, all students will need to submit official, sealed transcripts showing the completion of a bachelor’s degree to our graduate admissions office by August 1 of the fall semester they begin enrollment at CCA.
  
  
• Proof of English proficiency (international applicants only)
  Review and plan to meet our English proficiency requirements for graduate students.
  
  
• Personal essay
  In a personal essay, submitted as a PDF, write 500 to 1,000 words about how your work fits within the context of a contemporary art practice and why you want to study at the master’s level.
  
  
• Portfolio
  Your portfolio can include up to 15 still images, video, time-based media, or interactive media. If you submit video or time-based media, submit a five-minute sample reel that the review committee will watch in its entirety. The five-minute sample reel should be labeled clearly with the title, date, running time, and description of the piece, or pieces, it contains.
  
  Technical specs are as follows:
  
  
  • Images (up to 5 MB each)
  • Videos (up to 250 MB each)
  • Audio (up to 30 MB each)
  • PDFs (up to 10 MB each)
  • Links to media from YouTube, Vimeo, and SoundCloud are also acceptable

For prospective student inquiries, including questions about the program or how to apply, please contact us