The Art Institute of Boston | Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts | Low Residency Fine Arts Program

The MFA in Visual Arts program at The Art Institute of Boston (AIB) provides the ideal solution for artists, teachers, and other professionals in related fields who are seeking advancement in visual arts. Accredited by both NEASC and NASAD, the MFA program allows students, with the guidance of a faculty mentor and academic advisor, to design their own studio and academic plan for each semester, building on the tradition of collaboration and innovation that characterizes the art programs at AIB and Lesley University. The MFA program also benefits from the success of Lesley's low-residency model, which meets the diverse needs of adult learners. The MFA in studio arts is a degree which can advance the careers of artists, teachers, or professionals in other art-related fields.

International, national, and regional accolades.

Drawing Sparks an Edgy Dialogue -- Cannot Be Described In Words: Drawing Expanded, a group exhibition of Boston-area artists curated by MFA Faculty Deborah Davidson, was highlighted in a November issue of the Boston Globe.  Globe correspondent Cate McQuaid writes, "Deborah Davidson, curator of Cannot Be Described in Words, an artist who has long explored the relationship between writing and drawing, has put together the more cohesive show: Themes circle throughout, and works converse across the gallery."

MFA Candidate Jeff Brown recently won one of the two awards at the 2011 In-Out Festival at Laznia CCA in Gdansk, Poland, beating out a pool of 150 other submissions.

Judith Barry, faculty member at The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University and Director of AIB’s low-residency Master of Fine Arts program has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for the 2011 academic year. 

For two consecutive years, an AIB MFA student has won the prestigious Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant, awarded to only 10-15 graduating MFA students in painting and sculpture nationwide. Amanda Nelsen received the grant in 2008, and Alison Williams, in 2009.

In January 2011, the first MFA Alumni exhibition, MFAconnects@POSTAIB.edu, with contributions by 82 artists from around the world, was held at Fourth Wall Projects in Boston. This exhibition traveled to Art Center, Hargate Gallery in Concord, NH in March-April 2011. Image slideshow

Lisa Kellner, a BRIC Media Art Fellowship recipient, completed a commissioned piece in 2009, At Summer's Full, for the lobby of a newly converted loft building that overlooks the Manhattan skyline.

Alumnae Jane Rainwater, MFA '06, was selected as one of six Radius Artists presented by the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art in 2008.

See additional events and exhibition listings.

The interdisciplinary focus of the MFA program encourages students to explore the integration of a variety of visual arts media. The MFA in Visual Arts focuses on developing the tools and expertise to refine individual vision. Students advance their study of art history, culture and critical thinking through the rigorous academic components of the program. Students increase their awareness of how their work relates to worldwide traditions of art making. The MFA program broadens the students' knowledge of visual arts as a profession, including relationships with galleries, grant and proposal preparation, public and private commission, and the ongoing development of media and art making tools.

The Curriculum

Over a two-year, four-semester period, students attend 5 intensive 10-day residencies, earning 15 credits per semester. During these intensive residencies, studio work, as outlined in each semester's study plan contract, is evaluated for credit through critiques with faculty, visiting artists and peers. Academic studies are addressed through on-site seminars, lectures, and planning sessions with academic advisers.

• Studio components 48 credits
• Academic components 12 credits
• Total 60 credits

Application Deadlines and Residency Dates:

Students may enter the program in either January or June. Applications must be postmarked by the deadline before the residency of desired entrance. International applicants are advised to submit their applications early.

• September 15, 2011*: application deadline for January 2012 residency.
  * Deadline has been extended to October 22, 2011 due to popular demand
• February 1, 2012: application deadline for June 2012 residency.

If you are planning to apply, please contact Melissa Ratliff at mratliff@lesley.edu or 617.349.8164 so she can assist you through the process.

Applications are reviewed shortly after the deadline date. Get more information and the application for the MFA in Visual Arts program or contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at Lesley University 888.LESLEY.U or by email at info@lesley.edu.

Residency dates:

• January 6–15, 2012 (Orientation January 5)
• June 22–July 1, 2012 (Orientation June 21)