Graduate Admissions

Applicants must have:

• An undergraduate degree in art education or related degree
• A minimum 3.0 undergraduate GPA
• Access to internet for general computer use

Applicants submit:

Graduate College requirements:

• Found on the Graduate Admissions website - including official college transcripts, a letter of interest/intent and English language proficiency test results (if an international student from a country where English is not an official language.)

Art Education Program Requirements:

• Contact information for three references
• Portfolio of 15-20 images of personal artwork and student work saved as a single Adobe PDF file 
• Teaching Philosophy
• Statement of research interests in Art Education

The application for the MA in Art Education is done entirely through the Graduate College. The MA in Art Education has a rolling admission allowing students to start fall, spring, or summer terms. Please reference the top of the page for submission deadlines.

For information about tuition and fees, go to the Bursar page of our website

For more information about the program, contact Assistant Professor, Audrey Hilligoss at reeveam@bgsu.edu.

Admission is selective and competitive based on the number of well-qualified applicants and the limits of available faculty and facilities. Those who meet stated minimum academic requirements are not guaranteed admission, nor are those who fail to meet those requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths.

Prerequisites to Graduate Work

• Found on the Graduate Admissions website - including official college transcripts, a letter of interest/intent and English language proficiency test results (if an international student from a country where English is not an official language.)

Applicants submit:

Graduate College requirements:

• Found on the Graduate Admissions website - including official college transcripts, a letter of interest/intent and English language proficiency test results (if an international student from a country where English is not an official language).

MA in Art History program requirements:

• Research paper from a recent art history course
• Cover letter describing goals, objectives, educational background, and personal history
• Resume
• Statement of purpose
• Three original recently dated letters of recommendation

The application is in two parts; the first to the Graduate College and the second to the School of Art using the SlideRoom online portfolio platform. 

Note: Applications are only reviewed once a year for admission in the fall. The School of Art is currently not accepting new students into the MA in Art History program.

Admission to the MDes in Integrative Design requires a four-year undergraduate degree from an accredited institution with a minimum 2.75 GPA. The MDes program prefers applicants with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design or Communication Design, but will consider candidates with other degrees and design-related experiences.

All candidates completing the application process will be evaluated by the Division of Graphic Design, the Graduate Coordinator and Graduate Faculty representatives from the School of Art. On the basis of the Admissions Team’s evaluation of the applicant’s academic profile and assessment of the applicant’s likelihood for success in the MDes degree program by reviewing transcripts, resume, personal statement, recommendation letters, and a portfolio of work, the program’s Graduate Coordinator will make a recommendation for admission to the Graduate College and the Graduate College would then grant admission if all requirements are met.

Those who meet stated minimum academic requirements are not guaranteed admission, nor are those who fail to meet those requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths.

Applicants to the MDes program are not required to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE).

Prerequisites to Graduate Work

It is recognized that students will enter the program with different experiences and backgrounds. Those without previous professional design work experience or an undergraduate degree in design, may need to complete additional coursework prior to or shortly after entering the program. Prerequisite coursework includes experience in visual design courses with technical proficiency in the Adobe Software. Students lacking this background will need to take courses before beginning the program and will be counseled through process.

Applicants submit:

Graduate College requirements:

• Found on the Graduate Admissions website - including official college transcripts, a letter of interest/intent and English language proficiency test results (if an international student from a country where English is not an official language).

MDes program requirements:

• Resume
• Letter of Intent: Letter should outline goals, educational, professional and personal background. Letter should draw a correlation between applicant’s work, thinking and processes to illuminate the ability to develop creative work through visual and critical research and the motivation to explore and experiment while focusing on design studies.
• Digital Portfolio: Consisting of 10-15 recent works/examples/contributions. Applicant must provide contextual information of title, description, media, size and year. A multi-page single PDF or URL of the portfolio with descriptions is preferred for submission, however individual files of projects with descriptions can be uploaded as well. See instructions below.
• Three (3) letters of recommendation: Letters should denote competencies in creative thinking, problem-solving and leadership skill sets.
• Portfolio Requirements:

Submit a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 15 projects. Only work completed within the last 5-7 years should be included, preferably at least half of them should be works made in the last twenty-four months.

The application for the MDes is done entirely through the Graduate College.

Note: Applications are only reviewed once a year for admission in the fall semester. The BGSU School of Art is not currently accepting students into the MDes program. 

Application requires the presentation of a comprehensive portfolio in addition to general admission procedures. Admission is selective and competitive based on the number of well-qualified applicants and the availability of faculty and facilities. Those who meet stated minimum academic requirements are not guaranteed admission, nor are those who fail to meet those requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths.

Applicants to the MFA program are not required to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE).

Prerequisites to Graduate Work

Admission to the MFA in Art requires the equivalent of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree or 60 hours in art and 12 hours in art history.

Applicants submit:

Graduate College requirements:

• Found on the Graduate Admissions website - including official college transcripts, a letter of interest/intent and English language proficiency test results (if an international student from a country where English is not an official language).

MFA program requirements:

• Cover letter that addresses your educational background, goals/objectives, brief personal history, and reason for applying to graduate school at this time. Also include an artist statement (direction of work, influences).
• Portfolio consisting of recent works, preferably from the proposed area of specialization. (See specifications below.)
• Image descriptions including title, medium, size and year
• Resume
• Three original recently dated letters of recommendation (sent under separate cover)

Portfolio Requirements:

Requirements for Digital Images:
Submit a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 images. Only work completed within the last three years should be included. Preferably at least half of them should be works made in the last twelve months.

• Accepted images: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif
• Accepted videos: .m4v, .mov, .mp4, .wmv, .flv, .mpeg, .mpg, .asf Audio: .mp3, .wma, .ogg, .flac
• The maximum file size that SlideRoom will accept is 5mb for images and 60mb for video
• The ideal image size is 1280 x 1280 at 72dpi
• All files should be saved with the following convention:
• LastnameFirstinitial_image no.(Area of Study).jpg
  [e.g., SmithR_1(Painting).jpg, SmithR_2(Painting).jpg and so on.]
  When uploading works in SlideRoom, label corresponding artworks with details of the works submitted (including title, media, size and date) and description.

For Digital Arts Only:

• For time-based work (video, animation, installation pieces, etc), please submit one or more videos
• For interactive work (web, interactive installation, etc.), in addition to still images, please submit a URL
• Copy URL into description of the piece
• Create a screen capture (video), or .swf, etc.
• If using a URL, please upload a screen shot as reference

The application is in two parts; the first to the Graduate College and the second to the School of Art using the SlideRoom online portfolio platform. 

Note: Applications are only reviewed once a year for admission in the fall.