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How to Apply

BFA Studio Art/MA Teaching Art, All Grades Dual Degree

This dual degree allows undergraduate students enrolled in the BFA program the chance to focus on their art practice while completing an MA in Teaching Visual Art in just five years. Successful graduates are eligible for New York State Initial Certification and teaching positions working with grades PreK–12. 

Application Deadlines

February 1

Interested BFA students complete graduate level courses during their junior and senior years with advisement, and apply for the 5th year MA degree by February 1 of their senior year.  

How to Enroll

Step 1: Are you eligible to enroll?

This dual BFA/MA program is only open to currently enrolled BFA in Studio Art students in good academic standing (maintaining a 3.0 GPA). Interested students should make an appointment with your undergraduate Academic Advisor during Freshman or Sophomore year to review the five-year program and curriculum.

Step 2: Learn more about the graduate program

After speaking with your undergraduate Academic Advisor, attend an information session with faculty from the MA in Art+Education program. Information Sessions are typically offered in Fall and Spring semesters. Certification for Teaching Art, All Grades. Email artadvising@nyu.edu with specific questions or to request an opportunity to sit in on a graduate class.

Step 3: How to enroll

Students communicate their interest to their undergraduate advisor in their freshman, sophomore, or junior year in order to begin taking graduate-level courses during their junior and senior years. Students are strongly encouraged to enroll in at least one graduate-level course by the Spring term of their junior year to confirm their interest in the dual degree option. The course ARTED-GE 2015 Race, Education, and the Politics of Visual Representation, offered during the Fall semester, is a prerequisite for application to the MA degree.

Those students who wish to move ahead will gain initial approval from their academic advisor and then set up a meeting with the Director of the Art+Education program. After initial approval, students will create an academic plan to take as many graduate level courses that fulfill undergraduate elective opportunities with their undergraduate advisor. Students who continue in good academic standing will submit an official request to transition to the Masters Degree by February 1 of their Senior year. Students will also complete a Federal Student Financial Aid form (FAFSA) if eligible, by February 1 of their senior year. Students do not need to complete an official application for the MA degree through the Office of Graduate Admissions.

Becoming a Graduate Student

During Your Freshman and Sophomore Years

Meet with your undergraduate advisor to express interest in the dual degree BFA/MA program and discuss the required graduate courses taken during your junior and senior years. Attend an information session to get more information about the MA in Art+Education program and request to sit in on other graduate classes to find out more about the program and meet current students. In your sophomore year, register for the course ARTED-GE 2015 Race, Education, and the Politics of Visual Representation for the Fall semester of your junior year. 

During Your Senior Year

In the fall semester of your Senior year, meet with your Undergraduate Advisor to confirm that you have taken or are registered for all required graduate classes and are ready to apply for the MA during your 5th year. 

The undergraduate academic advisor will share a link and information to officially request to transition to the Masters Degree on their behalf by Feb. 1 of their Senior year. To be considered for any type of financial aid at the graduate level (including scholarships), you must submit a FAFSA renewal between October 1 and February 1 of your senior year. When submitting the form, be sure to indicate your new status as a graduate student. Once you have submitted your paperwork to transfer into the MA program in February of your Senior year, you will make an appointment with your Graduate Academic Advisor to register for graduate level classes in the fall of your fifth year.

Your Fifth Year

Before the beginning of the fall semester of your fifth year of study (your first as a graduate student), you will attend a new student orientation for the MA program and a Fieldwork Orientation to begin your student teaching experiences in schools. You will then complete the remaining 18 credits for your master’s degree during the August, Fall, and Spring semesters. You will also complete the required New York state certification tests to receive your Initial Certification upon graduation.

Important Information about Financial Aid

Please note that financial aid at the graduate level is different than at the undergraduate level. In fact, some types of aid available to undergraduate students are not available once you become a graduate student. You can be considered for graduate scholarships and financial aid once your official request to join the MA program is received by submitting a Federal student aid form (FAFSA) by February 1. You must maintain a full or part time course load once you become a graduate student to remain eligible for state and school-based aid and scholarships.

Contact Us

Jessica Hamlin, Art+Education Faculty, jhamlin@nyu.edu 
Hina Haider Fancy, BFA Academic Advisor, hhf5626@nyu.edu