Environmental Art & Social Practice MFA

The Environmental Art & Social Practice program offers a Masters of Fine Art degree.

Important: Transcripts and Letters of Recommendation are required of all applicants.

Read the Application Instructions page for full details.

Below are specific requirements also needed for this program:

Curriculum Vitae or Résumé

A Statement of Purpose is required:

What do you want to do in this program? Your response might include both abstract goals and ambitions (educational, artistic, environmental, political…) and/or concrete project plans. Ground your intentions in relation to your previous work and experiences, as documented in your portfolio, and discuss the connections to future plans.

If you have a background in art, how do you see this MFA program offering you opportunities that other MFA programs might not offer? If your background is in a different discipline, why are you pursuing art as a new direction, and what is driving that change?

A Personal History Statement is also required:

This statement will be used in conjunction with your application for graduate admission and financial support. Note that the Personal History Statement should not duplicate the Statement of Purpose. UC Santa Cruz is interested in a diverse and inclusive graduate student population.

What do you want to tell us about yourself that we should know? How have aspects of your personal background (familial, educational, social, economic, etc.) contributed to your intention to pursue environmental art and social practice, and to study for a graduate degree? How has your perspective been informed by your life experiences, challenges, or opportunities? How might you contribute to social or cultural diversity at UCSC and in your work as an artist?

A portfolio:

The digital portfolio may include up to 20 images and/or up to 10 minutes of video. Your portfolio should represent your best work and support your statement of intent for applying to this program.

If you come from a non-art background, and do not have an extensive art portfolio, consider including documentation of projects and experiences and/or plans for future projects that demonstrate your direction and potential to develop as a practitioner of environmental art and social practice.

Format and submit your portfolio as a web page and provide a URL, or format and submit as a pdf (if you are not including time-based work). Include title, date, media, and dimensions of each work when relevant, and a brief description if you feel it is necessary to understand what we are looking at.