The Department of Design | Media Arts only accepts graduate admissions applications for the fall quarter of each academic year. The UCLA online application for graduate admissions is due by December 15 of each year prior to admission. The departmental application materials, including applicant portfolios, official transcripts, essays, and the departmental supplementary applications, are due by January 15 of each year prior to admission.
Applicants for admission to the M.F.A. program are expected to hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited academic institution. The bachelor's degree need not be in Design | Media Arts. However, applicants with degrees in interdisciplinary programs that emphasize design and media arts are preferred. A minimum grade-point average of 3.0 overall in undergraduate upper division coursework is required. Applicants are required to have working knowledge of graphics software. Additional experience in one of the following media is expected: video, interactive media, 3D modeling, or animation.
A portfolio documenting no more than ten of the applicant's original works is required. The portfolio must be submitted in digital form on a CD-ROM disk. Applicants should not submit photographic slides. Applicants working with video can submit excerpts on a CD-ROM as .avi or .mov files totaling no more than two minutes in length. Applicants are also required to submit a statement of purpose of their research interests and plans for future work. A minimum score of 620 (paper and pencil test) or 260 (computer-based test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or an overall band score of 7.0 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) examination is required for applicants whose native language is not English.
Formal faculty review of graduate applicant portfolios takes place toward the end of the winter quarter of each year. Applicant finalists should be available for an interview via phone or in person as part of the application process. The M.F.A. is a full-time, two-year program.
Complete outline of degree requirements >>
Financial Support
UCLA and the Design | Media Arts department offer several kinds of financial support to graduate students, including fellowships, assistantships, loans, and work-study employment. Merit-based financial support is available in the form of fellowships, teaching and research assistantships, and nonresident tuition waivers. Fellowships, which are gift moneys designed to reward and promote academic and artistic achievement, are awarded primarily to incoming students. Teaching assistantships are awarded quarterly to all eligible continuing M.F.A. students. Teaching assistantships offer significant financial support by providing a monthly work stipend and by covering all quarterly tuition and fees with the exception of nonresident tuition expenses. Nonresident tuition waivers are offered to the most outstanding eligible new and continuing students.
Entering students may apply for fellowships in conjunction with their admissions applications. Awards are determined by department faculty and in some cases by the UCLA Graduate Division. Factors considered include creative work, general potential, and financial need. Effort is made to distribute awards among all principal areas of study in the department.
Need-based assistance is available to those who qualify. The UCLA Financial Aid Office calculates need according to the student's financial resources. For graduate students, needbased financial aid is awarded only in the form of loans and work-study. International students are not eligible to receive need-based aid.
Detailed information on UCLA financial support for graduate students >>
Prospective applicants are encouraged to use the links to the right to research tuition and costs, housing, international requirements, course descriptions, and all other graduate admissions information.
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