MFA vs MA in Art: Understanding the Difference

The MFA (Master of Fine Arts) and the MA (Master of Arts) are different master's degrees, and a school that offers both usually designs them for different purposes. This site keeps them separate: our MFA programs page lists MFAs, and an MA is never presented as an MFA or the reverse. This guide explains how schools describe the difference so that you can read their pages with care.

One school, two degrees

Kent State University offers an MFA and an MA in studio art, and its page shows how the two can diverge. The MFA offers eight concentrations, among them ceramics, drawing, glass, painting, print media and photography, sculpture and expanded media, and textiles, and it ends with a solo thesis exhibition. The MA ends with a group exhibition. Kent State also says newly accepted MFA students receive a graduate assistantship with a full tuition waiver and a stipend, and its wording suggests the MA is not funded the same way. The page does not give credit totals or say which degree is terminal.

Other schools make other choices. Some MAs are research degrees in art history or theory; others, such as the Teachers College Master of Arts in Studio Practice for Art Educators, are studio-based degrees designed for teachers. Teachers College states that its hybrid MA, a 32-credit program, combines online coursework with two six-week summer residencies and a capstone exhibition, and describes it as "more than an M.F.A. in Studio Art" without claiming equivalence. The title MA therefore tells you very little about content.

What "terminal degree" means, and the care it needs

You will often read that the MFA is "the terminal degree" in studio art. That phrase describes how some universities and professional bodies treat the MFA as the highest studio degree, and some employers may weigh it for teaching posts. We cannot say that it applies at any particular institution or country, and we do not state that an MFA qualifies anyone to teach or work anywhere. Check an employer's or hiring body's own requirements. In countries where doctoral study in art exists, the PhD is a research degree with its own expectations; see practice-based research and applying for an art PhD.

Frameworks and levels

Both degrees normally sit at the master's level of a national framework. In the UK, QAA's Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications set out the levels and requirements for degree-awarding bodies; other systems publish their own, such as the Australian and European frameworks. A shared level does not mean shared content. UAL's postgraduate pages, for instance, describe Masters degrees (MA or MSc) and graduate diplomas, and the page we read does not mention an MFA at all, so you cannot assume that a UK MA in fine art is a "UK MFA." Always read the course page.

Differences you may see

Treat this as a hypothesis, not a rule. Kent State's page, for example, is silent on credits.

How to decide

Ask what you need the degree for: time and space to develop a body of work, a route toward teaching, preparation for doctoral study, or a change of field. Then compare programs on:

• the credits, residency, and culminating requirements;
• how critique and mentoring are organised;
• whether the program has funding or assistantships; see MFA funding;
• whether format fits your life: online versus low-residency study;
• costs beyond tuition: costs beyond tuition.

What to confirm with the school

1. The exact degree title and level, and who awards it.
2. Whether the school describes the degree as terminal and what it means by that.
3. What happens if you want to progress to a PhD afterwards; some doctoral programs have their own entry rules.
4. How the final exhibition or thesis is assessed.

A funded offer is not guaranteed by any degree title. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for example, the department describes tuition remission, stipends and assistantships for incoming MFA students, with continued funding depending on performance as an assistant, academic performance and progress toward the degree. Other schools differ. Rules change each year, so confirm on the school's own pages. See also BFA versus BA for the undergraduate equivalent of this distinction.