The Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan, ranked among the top eight graduate schools in the United States for art and design by U.S. News and World Report, is currently accepting MFA in Art applications for Fall 2026.
At Stamps, MFA students are welcomed into a rigorous academic environment by a full-time faculty of 44 leading scholars, artists, and makers who mentor, encourage, and challenge students every step of the way. Throughout the two years of the program, students will engage with faculty from Stamps and across the University of Michigan, with access to the resources and collaborative opportunities only available at a R1-designated research university. They’ll also learn from nationally and internationally recognized visiting artists and critics, who provide one-on-one feedback, insightful perspectives, and networking via studio visits, critiques, and other events.
Students receive financial support, access to world-class studio spaces, the curricular foundation for creative work, exhibition opportunities, and thoughtful advising and mentorship throughout the program and beyond. Central to our program, students conduct research and creative practice through their funded international project, which they complete between their first and second years. At the end of this journey, graduates of the program will have a newfound clarity on how their work engages with, reflects upon, and intersects with the world at large; and will be ready for a wide range of opportunities in a variety of fields and contexts.
“The Stamps MFA Program supports research-based, interdisciplinary, and materially sophisticated artistic work — often in dialogue with critical theory and urgent social movements. Faculty, staff, and regional community members support students in finding contexts for their work that align with their aspirations and intentions, while working collaboratively to reimagine what artistic research could look like in the complex, fraught contemporary moment we are in.”
Angela Washko, MFA Program Director and Catherine B Heller Professor of Art
Visitors to the Stamps Faculty and Graduate Studios view work by Sujay Saple (MFA ’26)
Visit the Stamps website for a visual introduction to the Stamps MFA program through our most recent thesis exhibition, and learn more about our graduate program in our upcoming virtual open house and Graduate National Portfolio Day events.
Applications are due January 3, 2026.
To learn more, visit stamps.umich.edu.
