Master’s degree · MFA
Bard MFA (Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts)
Bard College · Division of the Arts / Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts · Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, United States
- Official award
- master of fine artsMFA
- Subject
- Fine ArtsPainting (concentration)Photography (concentration)
- Format
- Low residencytwo years and two months
- Tuition
- $20,754per term, Summer 2026
Low-residency program
About this program
Summer-residency MFA over two years and two months: three eight-week summers on campus plus remote independent study in the winters; applicants choose a primary field such as painting, photography, sculpture or moving image.
- Department
- Division of the Arts / Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts
- Awarding body
- Not stated on the pages we checked
Award and subject
The award is shown exactly as the institution titles it. A program belongs to a subject only through the link below: a dedicated degree, a named major, a formal concentration or a documented pathway.
- Official award
- master of fine artsMFA
- Award family
- MFAA Master of Fine Arts, exactly as titled by the awarding institution.
- Academic level
- Master’s degree
- Previous degree required
- No
| Subject | Relationship | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Fine Arts | Dedicated degreeThe official program title is in this subject. | |
| Painting | Official concentrationA formally named concentration, track or emphasis of a broader degree, confirmed on an official page. | PaintingApplicants apply to this pathway“When applying, each candidate chooses a primary field: Moving Image, Music/Sound, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, or Writing.”Source |
| Photography | Official concentrationA formally named concentration, track or emphasis of a broader degree, confirmed on an official page. | PhotographyApplicants apply to this pathway“When applying, each candidate chooses a primary field: Moving Image, Music/Sound, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, or Writing.”Source |
| Sculpture | Official concentrationA formally named concentration, track or emphasis of a broader degree, confirmed on an official page. | SculptureApplicants apply to this pathway“When applying, each candidate chooses a primary field: Moving Image, Music/Sound, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, or Writing.”Source |
| Film and Video Production | Official concentrationA formally named concentration, track or emphasis of a broader degree, confirmed on an official page. | Moving ImageApplicants apply to this pathway“When applying, each candidate chooses a primary field: Moving Image, Music/Sound, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, or Writing.”Source |
Accreditation, validation and recognition
Recorded for this program and campus, with the authority’s role. Institutional accreditation, degree-awarding authority, program accreditation, professional validation and national qualification registers are different things.
Stated by the schoolMiddle States Commission on Higher EducationInstitutional accreditation or recognitionUS
Scope: Institution
Study structure
- Delivery
- Low residencyMostly distance study with required periods on site (residencies). It is never described as fully online.
- Online instruction
- Distance study with required residencies
- Campus studio required
- Yes
- Campus residencies or workshops
- Three consecutive summer sessions on campus, each of eight intensive weeks
- Residency frequency
- three consecutive summers
- Residency length
- eight intensive weeks each summer
- Residency location
- Bard College campus, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
- Attendance mandatory
- Yes
- Travel expectations
- Attendance throughout the summer is mandatory for all accepted students.
- Online components
- Independent study sessions completed off campus during the two intervening winters (fall and spring remote work).
- Additional residency costs
- The tuition page lists per-summer-session fees such as a studio fee and optional on-campus housing.
- Live attendance
- Live attendance not published
- International enrolment
- Not published
- Study mode
- Not published
- Duration
- two years and two months
- Credits
- 60 creditsCredit systems differ between countries and institutions.
- Campus attendance
- Three consecutive eight-week summer residencies on campus; attendance throughout the summer is mandatory.
- Thesis or dissertation
- Master's Project in the final summer session
- Intakes
- Not published
- Campus
- Annandale-on-Hudson campus30 Campus Road, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504-5000
Teaching language
- Taught in
- English
- English
- English teaching not verifiedAn English-language website does not mean a program is taught in English.
Admissions
- Portfolio
- Portfolio required
- Portfolio details
- Accepted media: Work may span more than one discipline or medium
- Platform: Internal online application (all portfolios submitted online)
- Subject-specific instructions: Choose one primary discipline (moving image, music/sound, painting, photography, sculpture or writing); a separate application and fee for each discipline
- Written components: Personal statement (1-2 pages) and CV (1-3 pages)
- Interview: Approximately 12 candidates per discipline are invited to interview
- Portfolio deadlines: Summer 2027 deadline January 7, 2027; interviews 26-27 February 2027
- Interview
- Interview possible
- Statement
- Personal statement of 1-2 pages (PDF)
- Previous qualification
- An undergraduate degree is not required; life experience may take its place
- Tests explicitly required
- The GRE is not required
- Deadlines
- Summer 2027 application deadline (Bard MFA admissions timeline) · Summer 2027
- Official instructions
- Application instructions
Fees and costs
Original currency is authoritative. Each price keeps its basis (per year, per credit, whole program), academic year and student category, and is never converted. Annual tuition and whole-program tuition are different figures.
| Item | Amount | Applies to | Dated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition, Summer 2026 sessionTuition · mandatory | $20,754per term, Summer 2026 | All students | 23 October 2026Source |
| Tuition, Spring 2027 (independent study)Tuition · mandatory | $6,440per term, Spring 2027 | All students | 23 October 2026Source |
| Non-refundable application feeApplication fee · mandatory | $65one-time, 2026 | All students | 23 October 2026Source |
| Studio fee (charged per summer session)Studio fee | $275per term, 2026 | All students | 23 October 2026Source |
| Enrollment depositDeposit · mandatory | $515one-time, 2027 | All students | 23 October 2026Source |
No total is shown: the sources do not state a whole-program figure and the published duration and fee basis do not support a calculation.
Scholarships and funding
Funding is shown with its basis and who it is for. Competitive funding is not a guarantee.
Sources and verification
Not published on the program’s source pages: full-time or part-time options, intakes.
Sources and how this was checked
Last checked 23 October 2026. Each fact carries a verbatim quote that is re-checked against the live page. Research methodology.
Sources (checked 23 October 2026)