Admission Requirements

Application to the MFA program is a two-part process that requires presentation of a comprehensive portfolio in addition to general University admission procedures. Admission is selective and competitive based on the number of well-qualified applicants and the limits of available faculty and facilities.

Application deadline for Priority is January 15​. Firm application deadline is February 15​

1. Students must complete the graduate application through the Office of Graduate & Professional Education.

2. Submit a portfolio to the department utilizing Slide Room, https://udart.slideroom.com/#/Login​ which will be evaluated by the Graduate Faculty.

Detailed Instructions

• Applicants must complete the online application including transcripts, resumé, personal statement, and three letters of recommendation through the Office of Graduate & Professional Education. Once you have submitted your application you will receive a confirmation email within 24 hours.

• After you have submitted your application to the MFA program with the Office of Graduate & Professional Education you must submit a portfolio onli​ne​. Be sure to upload to the MFA event.

• Portfolios may include up to twenty still images or 5-10 minutes of video: (.jpg), video (.mov, .wmv, .flv) or PDF documents. For good image quality and fast upload, images should be sized no larger than 1280 x 1280 pixels @ 72 dpi. Video files must be kept under 20MB.

• Our SlideRoom portal offers additional instruction for submitting work online. For technical assistance, contact support@slideroom.com.

• The Department of Art & Design does not require G.R.E. scores. Note, those who meet stated minimum academic requirements are not guaranteed admission, nor are those who fail to meet those requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths.

Financial Aid

​The University of Delaware offers generous Financial Aid assistance to Art & Design graduate students. The Art & Design Department is able to give several merit-based Graduate Teaching Assistantships (tuition waiver plus a stipend in exchange for teaching and service) and Block Tuitions (tuition waiver plus the possibility of adjunct teaching). The Department works diligently to help support our MFA student and has, historically, been able to fund nearly three-quarters of our students. Please refer to the Office of Graduate & Professional Education for more information.

Timeline

Important dates to remember when applying for admission to the University of Delaware and the Department of Art & Design.

Priority Deadline January​ 15 and Firm Deadline February 15​​: Deadline to submit the Graduate Application to receive consideration for admissions. Submit portfolio and essay to Department of Art & Design via Slideroom.

August 15​​: ​Decision Notifications Mailed

The Graduate Conditional Admissions Program (Graduate CAP) provides international students acceptance into the program without the need to take the TOEFL exam or with scores below the Graduate College requirement. After completing Graduate CAP at the University of Delaware's English Language Institute (ELI), you begin your MFA coursework. The length of time you will need to study in the ELI depends on your English skills when you enter the program. Please see the CAP page on the ELI website for more details.​

​Graduate Pathways is a one-semester preparation program for international students whose language proficiency approaches the Graduate College admission requirement (65-79 on the TOEFL iBT or 6.0 on the IELTS). You will take classes in English for graduate studies plus one MFA course with language support from the English Language Institute (ELI). Please see the Graduate Pathways page on the ELI website for more details.​