YALE SCHOOL OF ART ­ADMISSION

ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

The School of Art requires for admission a high degree of capability and commitment. Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university or a diploma from a four-year accredited professional art school. In exceptional cases and most particularly in light of the differences among educational structures and opportunities in the international art world today, the admissions committee may waive these prerequisites if other proofs of preparation and accomplishment are deemed sufficient equivalents by the committee. In either case, admission to the School of Art is on a highly selective and competitive basis.

Admission GUIDELINES

Students are admitted to Yale’s MFA for the Fall semester of each year only. Applicants are notified of the admission committee’s decisions on preliminary selections in February, and final decisions in early March. No information about decisions will be given over the phone or advance of the batch written release to all finalists.

To apply for more than one area of concentration, separate applications and supporting documentation must be submitted. The work submitted should be representative of the applicant’s experience in that particular field. Applying to more than one program does not increase an applicant’s chances of selection.

Please note: Yale School of Art does not practice admission deferment; An offer of admission is valid only for enrollment for that year regardless of the in-residence conditions of the Yale campus at that time. Applicants who are offered admission but choose not to enroll are welcome to reapply to the School in a future cycle.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Online applications for programs beginning in the 2025–2026 academic year will open in October 2024.

Please expect that when many applicants are uploading simultaneously near the deadline, longer processing times will be experienced. To avoid this, please consider submitting prior to the deadline.

Admission Procedures for Preliminary Selection

Instructions for All Applicants

An application to the School of Art requires forethought and planning. It is important to read all of the application instructions carefully. Following these instructions will ensure that your application is viewed to best advantage.

The Yale School of Art application for the 2024–2025 academic year will be available October 2023. The information that follows will assist you in filing the application online. For an explanation of specific requirements for each area of study, please refer to the departmental sections that follow.

Application materials:

The following materials are required for consideration of your application for admission:

1. Submit the online application. The application portal opens in early October 2024 and may be worked on until early January 2025. As it generally takes several weeks to complete an application, it is strongly recommended that applicants prepare their materials early to ensure completion by the deadline.

Please note that the School of Art is NOT part of the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and it is not possible to apply by using application materials found on the Graduate School’s Web site.

1. Nonrefundable application fee of $100. Please follow payment instructions at https://apply.art.yale.edu/apply/. Forms of payment include credit card and checking account.

Yale School of Art practices “need blind admission,” meaning that candidate financial need or ability is never disclosed to the admission committee during review of MFA applications. For this reason, and because the processing and careful review of each individual application demands great time, human resources graduate fee waivers are not available.

**Beginning in January 2022, the application fee may be waived only for applicants with primary citizenship in those countries with the lowest US exchange rates: Venezuela, Iran, Vietnam, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Sierra Leone, Laos, Guinea, Paraguay, and Cambodia

1. A one-page statement that addresses influences, interests, current work direction, brief life history (as it relates to art/design practice), and reasons for applying to graduate school at this time. Statements should be limited to one page or no more than 500 words.

Applicants to the Painting/Printmaking program should make reference in their statements to the “representative work” in the portfolio; this is not critical for the other programs.

1. References from three persons, either practicing/teaching in the field in which application is made, or who knows the applicant’s practice well and can attest to their ability, competency, potential, etc. in Yale’s MFA program.

NOTE: The admissions committee reviews applications shortly after the deadline. While it is not uncommon for letters of recommendation to come in past the deadline, please impress upon on those who will be writing on your behalf that late submission of supporting documentation may risk exclusion from the review. Applicants can always view the receipt status of reference requests on the application status page.

1. Transcripts of academic record for the bachelor’s degree and/or professional art schools attended. Student/unofficial copies may be uploaded to the application for the preliminary jury. Official transcripts will ONLY be required for applicants invited to interview. If invited to interview, official transcripts should be mailed to: Yale School of Art Admissions, POB 208339, New Haven, CT 06520-8339. Neither junior college transcripts nor Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are required.

2. Portfolio of work. Applicants who fail to upload a portfolio as outlined by the stated deadline will NOT be considered. The portfolio should represent images of your best work, indicate your current direction, and demonstrate your ability. At least half of the images should represent work done within the last twelve months, and all should be from within the last three years. Chronological order of year is embedded in our system, and you will not be able to override it. Yale School of Art uses an application system that requires you to designate one image from the portfolio as a “representative work.” This selection is simply the default image for the cover page of each application file. As such, applicants have historically selected the piece which most strongly represents ideas central to their current body of work.

Do not include more than one image on the screen, nor embed other pages of a publication or video within the images you place in your portfolio. Do not include detail photos of work in your portfolio unless you consider them absolutely necessary. Under no circumstances should more than two detail shots be included. Portfolio requirements differ depending upon area of concentration; be sure to follow the instructions for the area to which you are applying. We strongly recommend that you review your images on a Mac OS to be certain that they are accurately represented.

NOTE: All supporting documents that are submitted as a requirement for admission become a part of the official file and cannot be returned to the applicant or forwarded to another institution either in copy or original form.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

International students MUST use their passport name on all application materials.

English Proficiency Requirements In order to undertake graduate study, all international students and others for whom English is not their first language must present evidence of competence in the use of the English language. Although we have no official score cut-off, you will have difficulty in an intensive program such as ours without a level of language proficiency appropriate for graduate study.

Yale School of Art accepts the following English Proficiency exams to fulfill this requirement. Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT), The International English Language Testing System (IELTS), and The Duolingo English Test.

TOEFL Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT), which is administered by the Educational Testing Service, www.ets.org. The TOEFL code number for the Yale School of Art is 3982. Candidates for admission generally achieve a composite Internet-based test score of at least 100, or a computer-based score of at least 250, with speaking and listening scores of at least 28.

If the TOEFL iBT is not available in your area, you are required to complete the TOEFL that is available plus you are required to take the Test of Spoken English (TSE). A minimum TOEFL score of 550 is generally achieved for the pbt.

IELTS IELTS test scores may be accepted with a minimum score of 7. Your ability to listen, read, write and speak in English will be assessed during the test. IELTS is graded on a scale of 1-9. www.ielts.org IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge Assessment English.

Duolingo English Test The Duolingo English Test is an online English proficiency test that can be taken online, on-demand, in under an hour. The test is taken via a computer with a camera and includes a proficiency score, video interview, and writing sample which are shared with [institution name] when you send your results. Certified results are available within 48 hours of the test session. Students generally receive a score of 120. englishtest.duolingo.com/applicants

*The English Proficiency test may be waived if the undergraduate degree has been obtained from a four-year, English-speaking institution. When completing your application please submit without confirming your scores. Our faculty reviewers know to verify your language proficiency via transcripts. *

Visa Information: In order to receive visa documentation, admitted international students must submit proof that income from all sources will be sufficient to meet expenses for two years of study. The full cost of attendance expenses for the current academic year, 2020-21 (including tuition) is $64,297 for a single student. Evidence of funds may come from the following sources:

Affidavit from a bank;
Copy of an award letter stating that financial assistance has been offered;
Certification by parents of their ability and intention to provide the necessary funds;
Certification by employer of anticipated income.

All international students who wish to be appointed as teaching assistants during their second year must obtain a United States Social Security number in order to be paid.

Next Steps After Applying

Once an application has been submitted applicants should familiarize themselves with their Yale admission status page (accessed by logging into the application system). This portal allows applicants to track the status of their application and the receipt of required supporting materials (such as recommendations) online. Applicants are encouraged to check the status of their application materials and follow up as necessary. Receipt of items submitted by digital upload is updated in real time on the application status page checklist. Due to the high volume of incoming applications and processing steps our office is unable to provide application status checks or confirm the receipt of items by phone or by email.

References and supporting documents: While references and English language test scores (if applicable) may continue to be received after the deadline, review of applications begins soon thereafter. Applicants are thus urged to impress upon those writing reference letters, or submitting items on their behalf, that the timely submission of such documents is critical to guarantee inclusion in the admission committee’s review.

The non-refundable fee to apply is $100. Please note that Yale School or Art practices need-blind admission.

Admission Decision Notification: First-round admission decisions, which include interview invitations as well as denials, will be sent in early February.

Final Selection Applicants who have passed the Preliminary Selection Jury will be notified in early February. At this time, applicants invited to interview are required to submit official transcripts to the School. Candidates are asked to prepare supplemental portfolio materials to be presented digitally during interview. Detailed instructions will be included in the invitation to interview. Individual interviews will be scheduled for mid-late February, depending on the program. The interview is an important component of the final selection process.

GUIDELINES FOR INTERVIEW

Applicants in Graphic Design should prepare a portfolio of their work in any or all of these areas: graphic design print work, environmental design, broadcast/video graphics, letterform design, interactive media, and other related projects in the visual arts. Applicants are encouraged to present bodies of work that demonstrate special areas of interest. Academic or research papers may also be submitted in support of the application. For two year program applicants at least 12 examples of work and for the preliminary program at least 10 examples of work will be presented at interview. Detailed instructions will be included in the invitation to interview.

Applicants in Painting/Printmaking should submit no more than four artworks and four drawings, studies, graphic works, or videos (these are not required to be pieces that were in your application portfolio). For 2023 applicants should prepare a PDF of these works and provide them to the admissions committee. Detailed instructions will be included in the invitation to interview.

Applicants in Photography prepare a portfolio of no more than 20 images to present and discuss during the interview. Detailed instructions will be included in the invitation to interview.

Applicants in Sculpture prepare digital files that document the individual’s latest work as well as additional images representing earlier work. Additional documentation to the work in your preliminary portfolio may be presented during your interview. Detailed instructions will be included in the invitation to interview.

All Applicants For the 2024 admissions cycle no physical work is to be sent to the School.

ADMISSION

Final notification of admission will be e-mailed in early March. Offers of admission are good only for the year in which they are made. We do not practice deferred admission. The Financial Aid Award letter will be e-mailed shortly after notification of admission. No decisions will be given in person or over the telephone.

An individual’s acceptance of admission to the School of Art must be received by April 15. All matriculating students must submit a transcript that certifies their undergraduate degree. Admission is not binding unless this certification is received.

YALE UNIVERSITY’S NONDISCRIMINATION/TITLE IX STATEMENTS

The University is committed to basing judgments concerning the admission, education, and employment of individuals upon their qualifications and abilities and affirmatively seeks to attract to its faculty, staff, and student body qualified persons of diverse backgrounds. In accordance with this policy and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment against any individual on account of that individual’s sex, race, color, religion, age, disability, status as a protected veteran, or national or ethnic origin; nor does Yale discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. University policy is committed to affirmative action under law in employment of women, minority group members, individuals with disabilities, and protected veterans. Inquiries concerning these policies may be referred to Valarie Stanley, Director of the Office for Equal Opportunity Programs, 221 Whitney Avenue, 3rd Floor, 203.432.0849. For additional information, see www.yale.edu/equalopportunity. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects people from sex discrimination in educational programs and activities at institutions that receive federal financial assistance. Questions regarding Title IX may be referred to the University’s Title IX Coordinator, Stephanie Spangler, at 203.432.4446 or at titleix@yale.edu, or to the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 8th Floor, Five Post Office Square, Boston MA 02109-3921. Telephone: 617.289.0111, Fax: 617.289.0150, TDD: 800.877.8339, or Email: ocr.boston@ed.gov.