Top 100 Funded MFA Programs in Studio Art USA, 2015
by rank and region
EAST** free tuition + stipend
**#11 Alfred University—New York State College of Ceramics Alfred, NY. (Full tuition waivers, some 5K/yr stipends.) 2 year program.
**#27 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey—New Brunswick, NJ, 2yr program.( I have heard of $25K/yr stipends here. But not everyone gets these. They have to really like you a lot. Had a friend who was offered free tuition and $20K per year stipend. But he turned it down because he wanted to go to Art Institued of Chicago. He is now in $80K+ debt!)
**#36 Cornell University Ithaca, NY (heard of tuition waiver + $5k/yr. stipend, some only get 50% though)
**#53 University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill, NC. (I heard Tuition Waiver + $6K/yr. stipend). 2yr.
**#82University of Maryland—College Park, MD (some (not everyone) gets tuition waver + stipend. The department chair said they are rapidly losing money and only some students get stipends of $10K per year.). 3yr.
**#72 Boston University Boston, MA (heard of free tuition waver)
**#82University of Massachusetts—Dartmouth, MA (I heard some tuition waivers with $4k/yr. stipends.)
**#93University of Massachusetts—Amherst, MA ( I heard they have free tuition +stipend)
WEST** free tuition + stipend
**#4 University of California—Los Angeles (tuition waver + small TA stipend. Friend went here I think the stipend was $500/month for TA-ing a class. Great deal for a top ten school in the heart of the LA art world. There isn't public transit in L.A. though; you need a car with a low-smog factor too.)
**#13 University of California—San Diego La Jolla, CA (tuition waver + excellent TA stipend). 2-3yr
**#22 Arizona State University Tempe, AZ (tuition waver, unsure of stipend to some but not all. Some only get 50% tuition reduction which makes it still $10K/yr tuition out of pocket.)
**#27 University of California—Davis, CA (I have heard of free tuition + TA stipend for some of their grads but not all. Offers and amounts differ for in-state, out-of-state, and the individual student. -information received from UC Davis alumni) 2yr.
**#27 University of Washington Seattle, WA ( website appears to say tuition waver + stipend) 2yr.
**#36 Stanford University Stanford, CA (tuition waver + excellent stipend, but you have to take GRE to apply!! That's Lame!) 2yr.
**#36 University of California—Berkeley, CA("We pay the tuition costs for the two years, HOWEVER, if you’re from out of state, you will have to pay 50% of your first year’s tuition. After that, in your second year, you will be a California resident and we will pay 100%. We strongly encourage our grads to apply for various fellowships and grants, etc. If you do end up teaching Introduction to Visual Thinking, you would be paid for that as a GSI.If you have more questions regarding costs, please contact: Dee Levister, [email protected]." quote from website.) 2yr.
**#53 University of California—Irvine, CA (excellent tuition waver + stipend.confirmed from 2 sources. However average rent in Irvine is $1750/month for 1 bedroom apt. ) 3yr.
**#62 University of Oregon Eugene, OR (tuition waver + stipend)
**#93University of Nevada—Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV (I heard they have free tuition + stipend)
**#93 University of California—Santa Barbara, CA (tuition waver + excellent TA stipend)
MIDWEST** free tuition + stipend
**#18 Ohio State University Columbus, OH (tuition waver + $16K/yr stipend. Was accepted into this program in 2010 but declined because Columbus was a bad move for my art career at that point. Maybe I turned down a good deal? Too late now.)
**#22 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA (free + stipend) I applied here in 2009 but received no rejection or acceptance. I was however charged for the application $60 fee. I received no response after emailing 2 administrators and a professor. I should have called and complained but didn't.
**#27 University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign, IL (free + stipend)
**#27 University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI (free + stipend, someone said free computer and travel money too)
**#36 Indiana University—Bloomington, IN (free + stipend, but not sure of which departments)
**#45 University of Illinois—Chicago (free + stipend)
**#53 Ohio University Athens, OH (free + stipend, confirmed from 2 online sources)
**#62 Northwestern University Evanston, IL (free + stipend)
**#62 Southern Illinois University—Carbondale, IL (likely free + stipend because Midwest State schools usually have money.)
**#72University of Kansas Lawrence, KS likely free + stipend, but not confirmed)
**#72West Virginia University Morgantown, WV (likely free + stipend, but not confirmed)
**#93Michigan State University East Lansing, MI (likely free + stipend, but not confirmed)
**#93Iowa State University Ames, IA (likely free + stipend, but not confirmed)
SOUTH** free tuition + stipend
**#22 University of Georgia Athens, GA (free + excellent stipend, confirmed via online sources)
**#45 University of Tennessee—Knoxville, TN ("Currently all admitted Sculpture MFA students receive 1/4 time assistantships including a tuition waiver, and a monthly stipend", quote from website) 3 year program.
**#62 Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA (free + excellent stipend, confirmed via online sources) 3 year program.
**#62 University of Florida Gainesville, FL (free + excellent stipend, confirmed via online sources at grad cafe, but not on website)
**#72 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL (free + excellent stipend, confirmed via online sources. "00% of graduate students receive Graduate Teaching or Technical Assistantships and receive an annual stipend for all 3 years of their residency" quote from website) 3 year program.
**#72University of South Florida Tampa, FL (free + excellent stipend, confirmed via grad cafe, "Our generous financial assistance packages include Graduate Assistantships with stipends, tuition waivers and the opportunity to teach courses, assist professors", quote from website). 3 year program.
**#93Tulane University New Orleans, LA (free + excellent stipend, "All admitted students receive a financial aid package that consists of a tuition waiver and an assistantship stipend of $15,360 per year." quoted from their website)
Please Email me with updates and corrections!!!
by rank and region
EAST** free tuition + stipend
**#11 Alfred University—New York State College of Ceramics Alfred, NY. (Full tuition waivers, some 5K/yr stipends.) 2 year program.
**#27 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey—New Brunswick, NJ, 2yr program.( I have heard of $25K/yr stipends here. But not everyone gets these. They have to really like you a lot. Had a friend who was offered free tuition and $20K per year stipend. But he turned it down because he wanted to go to Art Institued of Chicago. He is now in $80K+ debt!)
**#36 Cornell University Ithaca, NY (heard of tuition waiver + $5k/yr. stipend, some only get 50% though)
**#53 University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill, NC. (I heard Tuition Waiver + $6K/yr. stipend). 2yr.
**#82University of Maryland—College Park, MD (some (not everyone) gets tuition waver + stipend. The department chair said they are rapidly losing money and only some students get stipends of $10K per year.). 3yr.
**#72 Boston University Boston, MA (heard of free tuition waver)
**#82University of Massachusetts—Dartmouth, MA (I heard some tuition waivers with $4k/yr. stipends.)
**#93University of Massachusetts—Amherst, MA ( I heard they have free tuition +stipend)
WEST** free tuition + stipend
**#4 University of California—Los Angeles (tuition waver + small TA stipend. Friend went here I think the stipend was $500/month for TA-ing a class. Great deal for a top ten school in the heart of the LA art world. There isn't public transit in L.A. though; you need a car with a low-smog factor too.)
**#13 University of California—San Diego La Jolla, CA (tuition waver + excellent TA stipend). 2-3yr
**#22 Arizona State University Tempe, AZ (tuition waver, unsure of stipend to some but not all. Some only get 50% tuition reduction which makes it still $10K/yr tuition out of pocket.)
**#27 University of California—Davis, CA (I have heard of free tuition + TA stipend for some of their grads but not all. Offers and amounts differ for in-state, out-of-state, and the individual student. -information received from UC Davis alumni) 2yr.
**#27 University of Washington Seattle, WA ( website appears to say tuition waver + stipend) 2yr.
**#36 Stanford University Stanford, CA (tuition waver + excellent stipend, but you have to take GRE to apply!! That's Lame!) 2yr.
**#36 University of California—Berkeley, CA("We pay the tuition costs for the two years, HOWEVER, if you’re from out of state, you will have to pay 50% of your first year’s tuition. After that, in your second year, you will be a California resident and we will pay 100%. We strongly encourage our grads to apply for various fellowships and grants, etc. If you do end up teaching Introduction to Visual Thinking, you would be paid for that as a GSI.If you have more questions regarding costs, please contact: Dee Levister, [email protected]." quote from website.) 2yr.
**#53 University of California—Irvine, CA (excellent tuition waver + stipend.confirmed from 2 sources. However average rent in Irvine is $1750/month for 1 bedroom apt. ) 3yr.
**#62 University of Oregon Eugene, OR (tuition waver + stipend)
**#93University of Nevada—Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV (I heard they have free tuition + stipend)
**#93 University of California—Santa Barbara, CA (tuition waver + excellent TA stipend)
MIDWEST** free tuition + stipend
**#18 Ohio State University Columbus, OH (tuition waver + $16K/yr stipend. Was accepted into this program in 2010 but declined because Columbus was a bad move for my art career at that point. Maybe I turned down a good deal? Too late now.)
**#22 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA (free + stipend) I applied here in 2009 but received no rejection or acceptance. I was however charged for the application $60 fee. I received no response after emailing 2 administrators and a professor. I should have called and complained but didn't.
**#27 University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign, IL (free + stipend)
**#27 University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI (free + stipend, someone said free computer and travel money too)
**#36 Indiana University—Bloomington, IN (free + stipend, but not sure of which departments)
**#45 University of Illinois—Chicago (free + stipend)
**#53 Ohio University Athens, OH (free + stipend, confirmed from 2 online sources)
**#62 Northwestern University Evanston, IL (free + stipend)
**#62 Southern Illinois University—Carbondale, IL (likely free + stipend because Midwest State schools usually have money.)
**#72University of Kansas Lawrence, KS likely free + stipend, but not confirmed)
**#72West Virginia University Morgantown, WV (likely free + stipend, but not confirmed)
**#93Michigan State University East Lansing, MI (likely free + stipend, but not confirmed)
**#93Iowa State University Ames, IA (likely free + stipend, but not confirmed)
SOUTH** free tuition + stipend
**#22 University of Georgia Athens, GA (free + excellent stipend, confirmed via online sources)
**#45 University of Tennessee—Knoxville, TN ("Currently all admitted Sculpture MFA students receive 1/4 time assistantships including a tuition waiver, and a monthly stipend", quote from website) 3 year program.
**#62 Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA (free + excellent stipend, confirmed via online sources) 3 year program.
**#62 University of Florida Gainesville, FL (free + excellent stipend, confirmed via online sources at grad cafe, but not on website)
**#72 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL (free + excellent stipend, confirmed via online sources. "00% of graduate students receive Graduate Teaching or Technical Assistantships and receive an annual stipend for all 3 years of their residency" quote from website) 3 year program.
**#72University of South Florida Tampa, FL (free + excellent stipend, confirmed via grad cafe, "Our generous financial assistance packages include Graduate Assistantships with stipends, tuition waivers and the opportunity to teach courses, assist professors", quote from website). 3 year program.
**#93Tulane University New Orleans, LA (free + excellent stipend, "All admitted students receive a financial aid package that consists of a tuition waiver and an assistantship stipend of $15,360 per year." quoted from their website)
Please Email me with updates and corrections!!!