Master of Fine Arts

Bailey Grayson '25 poses with “Letting Go of the Waves of Entanglement” featuring herself, by Jeannine Dabb '25

Program Overview

The Master of Fine Arts Program at Wilson College is a two-year, 60 credit hour, low-residency terminal degree program designed for working professionals or experienced practitioners. The program serves as a creative and academic incubator for our community of artist-scholars. As an interdisciplinary program, our students and faculty work in a range of modes of artistic and academic inquiry and creation in our quest to better understand the spectrum and scope of the human condition and experience. 

Concentrations Offered

• Master of Fine Arts in Choreography - for artists working in concert dance, musical theatre, film, performance art, or other movement-based artforms
• Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing - for writers working across a range of forms from creative nonfiction to fiction, performance writing, poetry, and other practices*
• Master of Fine Arts in Devised Performance -  for performance artists who make original dance or theatrical work via transdisciplinary practices, often (though not always) through ensemble building. 
• Master of Fine Arts in Directing - for artists working in theatre or musical theatre
• Master of Fine Arts in Directing & Choreography - for artists who direct and choreograph in a combined/integrated capacity 
• Master of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts - for artists working in any 2D or 3D medium/media
• Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts - for artists incorporating multiple artforms (and other disciplines) in an integrated practice

*We do not currently accept applications for the Young Adult category.

The program locates the study and practice of artmaking within human ecology, examining historical perspectives and approaches and developing creative practices by investigating the human relationship to our natural, sociopolitical, constructed, and curated environments. 

Program Structure

The MFA Program is designed as an intense, 24-month program which requires two consecutive Summer Residency periods (four weeks each) which generally run the last week of June through the third week of July, annually. Students are highly encouraged to begin their first year with the Summer Residency, though Fall starts are an option in extenuating circumstances.

The Summer Residencies consist of individual and collaborative studio practice along with faculty mentoring and feedback/critique in the creative process and completion of realized works, as well as coursework addressing major areas in the disciplines. Each of the courses are conducted with students from all concentrations to foster in-depth interdisciplinary exploration and the opportunity to consider art and artmaking from a variety of approaches and perspectives. Each student is responsible for substantial preparation to make the most effective use of the Residency period. During the non-residency periods, students engage in remote coursework along with regular contact each semester with the Wilson program faculty and an additional outside mentor that the student nominates in consultation with the MFA Director Faculty. Non-residency semesters include online coursework, work-in-progress showings, and engagement in the Critical Response Process with the works-in-progress among members of the program’s learning community. Study concludes with a thesis project and oral defense. 

Application Deadlines

• Fall 2025 start: June 13, 2025
• Summer 2026 start: April 1, 2026
• Fall 2026 start: June 1, 2026
   

2026 Summer Residency Dates

• Move in: Saturday, June 20, 2026
• Orientations: Sunday, June 21, 2026 
• First day of classes: Monday, June 22, 2026
• Last day of classes: Friday, July 17, 2026
• Final Exhibitions & Performances and Closing Celebrations: Saturday, July 18, 2026
• Move out: Sunday July 19th, 2026