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The Department of Design Media Arts accepts applications for the fall quarter only. The UCLA Application for Graduate Admission online form is due on December 15, 2012. The department supplemental application and the student portfolio must be sent directly to the Department of Design Media Arts. Both the Supplemental application form and portfolio are due no later than January 15, 2013.

Applicants to the Design Media Arts MFA program must have completed a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. While an undergraduate degree does not have to be in design or media art, a related emphasis is preferred. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 in the last two years of upper-division undergraduate work is required.

Students are recommended for acceptance into the Department of Design Media Arts program based on a faculty evaluation of their portfolio, their statement of purpose, transcripts of their academic record (two copies of official transcripts from all colleges attended), and their DMA supplemental application. International students whose first language is not English are required to submit TOEFL scores of at least 620 on the paper exam and 260 on the IBT computer exam. All applicants are expected to submit a statement of purpose. Applicants are asked to provide the names and addresses of three references. Letters of recommendation are not required. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) also is not required.

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.

Formal faculty review of graduate applicant portfolios takes place in February of each year. Applicant finalists should be available for an in person interview or, alternatively, via telephone as part of the application process.

The DMA student advisor is available to help students from the time of inquiry about application to the program until graduation. The graduate advisor may be reached by by e-mail at
saraslee@arts.ucla.edu. or by telephone at 310-267-4907.

Financial Support

To support graduate studies, UCLA offers several kinds of financial assistance, including fellowships, assistantships, loans and work-study employment. Merit-based financial support is available in the form of fellowships, teaching and research assistant-ships, and nonresident tuition waivers. Through DMA, fellowships (gift money designed to reward and promote academic and artistic achievement) are awarded primarily to select incoming students, but some financial assistance is awarded annually to continuing students. Nonresident tuition waivers are offered to the most outstanding eligible new and continuing students. Continuing students may apply annually, if qualified, for Graduate Division fellowships. For information on financial support available through the UCLA Graduate Division.

Entering students apply for DMA fellowships in conjunction with their admission application. Faculty members determine award nominations. Factors considered include creative work, general potential, and, in some cases, financial need.

Teaching assistantships will take special abilities into consideration when assigning individuals to specific courses. Efforts are made to distribute teaching assistantship awards among all principal areas of study in the department. While not guaranteed, students may be assigned teaching assistantships during their first and/or second year of study as part of the financial award. Please note that international students must pass required English exams to qualify for a teaching assistantship.

Need-based assistance is available to those who qualify. The Financial Aid Office calculates need based on the student's financial resources. For graduate students, need-based financial aid is awarded only in the form of loans and work-study. International students are not eligible to receive need-based aid. Visit here for details.