MFA in Art
With more than 475 undergraduate and 20 graduate students, and 45+ faculty members, the School of Art and Design at East Carolina University is the most comprehensive art school in North Carolina and one of the largest in the Southeast. Our students come from North Carolina, the east to the west coast, and countries outside of the United States. The ECU School of Art and Design has been an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design since 1962. Over 50 continuous years of specialized accreditation has resulted in a rigorous curriculum with flexibility and practical applications.
The MFA at ECU is a 60-hour degree program and completed over three years. We offer studio studies in Ceramics, Graphic Design, Metal Design, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, and Textile Design. Our program guarantees multiple opportunities for teaching assistantships and mentoring to approved candidates. This 3-year program provides access to numerous visiting artists and scholars, workshops, symposiums, travel opportunities, and financial support.
Meet Our MFA
Born in Rome, GA Justin Tyler King obtained an undergraduate in Graphic Design at Mercer University and has designed for the likes of health clinics, non-profit organizations, local apparel stores, and more. King currently is a graduate student at ECU and is striving to break from typical design conventions found in corporate branding. King believes that brands do not need to be limited by a sterile corporate dogma of design, but rather can find freedom in expressive type that can better convey their message.
These designs by Justin Tyler King capture the essence of the Graphic Design movement called New Wave, which was most prominent in the 1970’s into the late 90’s. The designers of this movement sought to depart from the restrictive conventional grids that were fixated on by designers of the Swiss International Movement. New Wave designers worked with grids only to break them with a variety of type. These designers believed that type could be far more expressive than a phrase typed on a page. Type can exist in many different shapes, sizes, and fonts within the same design to convey a concept to its maximum potential.
#breakthegrid, 2022
digital
8x8in
Characters with character, 2022
digital
8x8in
New Alignment, 2022
digital
8x8in
Graduate Publication
ECU School of Art and Design is proud to be the home for our MFA students, representing new media and traditional disciplines in creative research. They are innovative thinkers, distinguished makers, and global participants who understand the responsibility of interdisciplinary and civic engagement in defining our visual world. This publication captures their voice.
view grad publication & Volume Four
The artwork in this book belongs to the ECU MFA students (2023–2024).
Faculty mentor: Dan Elliott
Portrait photography direction: Angela Franks Wells
Studio photography direction: Brian Culbertson
If you wish to contribute to the production cost of &, donations can now be given online here: https://give.ecu.edu/SoAD (under additional options, please select Gift Instructions and note MFA Grad Publication.)
Apply to the MFA Program
The MFA is a three-year or equivalent degree (60 s.h.). Assessments of progress are provided annually. The preferred undergraduate degree for admission to the MFA is a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in art. Applicants holding other bachelor’s degrees may apply if they have undergraduate studio art experience and/or an exemplary portfolio and statement of objectives.
Admissions decisions are based on the applicant’s statement of objectives, portfolio, academic records, references, and virtual interview. Applicants must demonstrate the ability to carry out independent creative work and a desire to work within an interdisciplinary creative setting. Students interested in applying for the MFA degree must identify three potential faculty mentors with whom they would like to study. Applicants’ statement of objectives must discuss the applicant’s current work, purpose and intention for MFA studies, and their reasons for choosing the identified faculty mentors. Applicants are encouraged to contact graduate faculty to introduce themselves and learn more about the program. The application portfolio requirements are listed below. Virtual interviews are scheduled after all the applicant’s materials have been submitted. The MFA degree does not require standardized test scores to apply.
The directory of graduate faculty can be found here: [SoAD Graduate Faculty].
Application materials include:
For ECU Application Portal (TargetX)
- Online application form
- Application fee
- Transcripts
- Upload PDF using the provided template:
- List of three prospective SoAD graduate faculty mentors, A directory of SoAD graduate faculty can be found here (https://art.ecu.edu/mfa/graduate-faculty/)
- List of three references, academic or professional
- Portfolio URL (applicant’s Google Drive share link)
- Statement of Objective (reason for applying to ECU MFA program)
Additional Requirements (outside TargetX)
A creative portfolio, list of work, resume, and maker/designer statement must be uploaded using the applicant’s Google Drive. (instructions below) Copy the URL for this Google Drive folder and enter it in TargetX where specified.
- A digital portfolio containing ONLY 20 examples of work in a single PDF file. Time-based work must be linked to its hosting site, and the URL must be included accompanying its thumbnail. Do not submit pptx or docx.
- A list of works with title, medium, size, date, and other relevant information (pdf)
- Resume in reverse chronological order (pdf)
- A maker/designer statement (pdf)
Portfolio Submission Process
- Go to drive.google.com and log in to your account.
- Create a folder named GradAppECU_YourName to upload your portfolio.
- Upload a digital portfolio containing ONLY 20 examples of work in a single PDF file. Time-based work must be linked to its hosting site, and the URL must be included accompanying its thumbnail. Do not submit pptx or docx.
- When you finish uploading your portfolio and the additional required items noted above, go to the Share setting for the folder. You may do this by clicking on the folder from the top menu (My Drive > GradAppECU_YourName) and selecting the Share option.
- In the Share dialog box, enter soad_gr@ecu.edu in the address field, then choose the share option to Viewer, and click Send.
- Your portfolio is now submitted. Copy the URL for this shared folder and enter it in the Portfolio field in TargetX where specified.
Completed applications are due February 1 to be considered for assistantship and scholarship funding.
For more information, please contact the Graduate Programs Coordinator soad_gr@ecu.edu 252 328.2839
FAQ
We put together a list of answers to the frequently asked questions. Please check it out!
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