APPLY NOW FOR FALL 2019
Application Deadline Extended to March 1st!
Portfolio Submission and Requirements
The Division of Drawing, Painting and Photography offers an international MFA Program in Painting. The program operates jointly in the School of Art and Design at Alfred University and at our studio facility in Düsseldorf, Germany. Graduate students work with American and European artists and scholars, gaining an international perspective while interacting with art communities on two continents. Through concentrated studio time, significant research opportunities, and mentoring from art world professionals, this program offers a graduate experience that prepares students to become the next generation of professional artists and arts practitioners.
Applicants must be committed to extended international study and the practice of painting. Graduate students spend three months of each academic year in Dusseldorf engaging in intensive studio work, research, and professional practices. The program encourages a diversity of approaches within the unique language of painting, and fosters critical dialogue addressing contemporary global perspectives.
Why Düsseldorf
Since the founding of its Art Academy in 1773, Dusseldorf has been a leading center of painting. The “Düsseldorf School” of painting attracted many notable artists to study in the city, including Albert Bierstadt, Georg Caleb Bingham, Eastman Johnson and William Morris Hunt. These artists went on the form the “Hudson River School” of American painting.
In the twentieth century major artists such as Paul Klee, August Macke, Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, Gunter Grass and Nam June Paik were associated with the Art Academy, putting Dusseldorf in the vanguard of the development of Modern and Contemporary Art. Today internationally recognized artists such as Tomma Abts, Katharina Grosse, Peter Doig, Andres Gursky, Rosemarie Trockel, Rita McBride and Tony Cragg continue to work and thrive in the city.
Düsseldorf has twenty world-class museums and over fifty Contemporary art galleries and non-profit exhibition spaces. In addition to the Art Academy, Düsseldorf is home to the Heinrich Heine University and the Robert Schumann University Music School. Düsseldorf attracts artists from across the globe, and is home to one of the largest Japanese communities outside of Japan. The city is both a hub and a crossroads for artists and students seeking a creative and supportive experience.
MFA in Painting Degree Requirements
Degree requirements include two years of full time residence (two semesters at Alfred University, two semesters at Alfred’s Düsseldorf Studio Facility) and a minimum of 60 graduate credit hours, submission of a written thesis and thesis exhibition. Reviews of work are scheduled at midterm and at the end of each semester.
Semester Structure
Semester 1, Alfred Credits
First Year Graduate Seminar 2
Critique and Discussion 4
Graduate Painting 6
Art History/Criticism Course 4
16 credits
Semester 2, Dusseldorf
Professional Practice Seminar 4
Graduate Painting 6
Critique and Discussion 4
14 credits
Semester 3, Dusseldorf
Professional Practice Seminar 4
Graduate Painting Thesis 4
Critique and Discussion 4
Written Thesis Preparation 2
14 credits
Semester 4, Alfred
Critique and Discussion 4
Graduate Painting Thesis 10
Written Thesis Preparation 2
16 credits
Total: 60 credits
Rhine Street Fair, Altstadt
