Fully Funded MFA Studio Art Programs
Last Updated on December 15, 2022 by

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The School’s Side of the Deal
Getting into a fully funded MFA program is an awesome way to get an education, but it’s also a deal where both the school and the student have an obligation to fulfill. On the school’s side, that usually means waiving the cost of tuition for the student. The definition of full funding varies from school to school when it comes to MFA programs. Generally, though, schools define it as covering the cost of tuition in addition to any combination of the following:
- A modest stipend for living expenses (based on average cost of living in the area)
- Health insurance coverage
- Waives certain fees that the program may have (registration costs, health fees, student activity fees etc. )
The amount a school can award depends mainly on how much “budget” it has for the program. The number of qualified applicants and needs of individual students also play a big factor in how much is available to go around.

Fully Funded MFA Programs studio art programs
Ohio State University, MFA in Studio Art (Columbus, OH): Most students accepted into the MFA Program are funded with a Graduate Associate appointment, which requires working 20 hours a week in exchange for a fee authorization (payment of tuition) and a stipend. These appointments may include teaching introductory courses, assisting in department labs, and working for The Arts Initiative.
University of Connecticut, MFA in Studio Art (Storrs, CT): Fully funded program providing both tuition remission, stipend, and health insurance.
University of Georgia, MFA in Art (Athens, GA): All students in the MFA and PhD programs are fully funded. Assistantships are renewed on an annual basis. Funding is also available from various sources to offset the cost of materials and travel related to graduate research.
University of Michigan, MFA in Art & Design (Ann Arbor, MI): The Stamps School offers generous financial support to graduate students, in addition to teaching and research assistantships, stipends, and discretionary funds.

University of South Florida, MFA in Studio Art (Tampa, FL): Every current graduate student in the School of Art & Art History receives a full tuition waiver plus either a scholarship OR a graduate assistantship. The USF School of Art & Art History offers two graduate degree programs: Master of Arts in Art History and Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art.
University of Arkansas, MFA in Studio Art (Fayetteville, AR): All students in the M.F.A. Studio Art program are fully supported. We are able to provide full assistantships to all of our M.F.A.’s. The assistantship includes a full tuition waiver and a stipend that will increase next year to $15,000 annually, plus a Graduate Fellowship in the amount of $4,000 per year, for a total package of $19,000 of support per year
University of California, Davis, MFA in Art Studio (Davis, CA): The Art Studio MFA Program offers substantial financial support through paid Teaching Assistant positions each quarter and through Art Studio Program Fellowships, made possible by generous private endowments.
Fully Funded MFA Studio Art Programs
What do we mean by fully funded?
Graduate students at MSU receive two types of funding: assistantships and fellowships. An assistantship is employment, either related to teaching or research, while a fellowship does not involve work. Assistantships offer tuition waivers and health insurance: students are automatically enrolled in a health insurance plan with the premium paid by the university. Enrolled students may insure eligible spouse and/or dependent children residing with the insured. For information on Graduate Assistantships and health benefits visit our HR website dedicated to graduate students: hr.msu.edu/employment/graduate-assistants or contact the Director of Graduate Studies.
Whatever your form of support, the MFA program provides full tuition waivers that cover ten credits per semester and sixty credits total over three years.
What to expect each year:
Incoming and First Year Graduate Students
- FOR THE YEAR: first semester graduate students receive an assistantship for teaching, and will assist and observe faculty mentors in the classroom. Most can expect to be instructors of record beginning in their second semester
- FOR THE SUMMER: competition for funding for research from the Graduate School
- FOR TRAVEL: competition for conference and research travel from the College of Arts & Letters and/or the Graduate School; read more here
Second Year Graduate Students
- FOR THE YEAR: most graduate students can expect to be instructors of record for both semesters
- FOR THE SUMMER: competition for funding for research from the Graduate School or for Summer College Research Abroad Monies (SCRAM)
- FOR TRAVEL: competition for conference and research travel from the College of Arts & Letters and/or the Graduate School
Third Year Graduate Students
- FOR THE YEAR: many students compete for a Dissertation Completion Fellowship to replace one semester of teaching assistantship. Otherwise, students can expect to be instructors of record for both semesters
- FOR TRAVEL: competition for conference and research travel from the College of Arts & Letters and/or the Graduate School
While funding for the year is guaranteed, students do apply for summer support, as well as smaller grants and awards throughout the program. Students compete in any year for the Varg-Sullivan Award for outstanding national/international exhibitions or publications and, in their second year, for the AAHD Selma & Stanley Hollander Fellowship, which assists students in the final year of study.


