1. What programs and depth of study are available in my area of interest? How many and what kinds of courses are offered?
PROGRAMS/DEPTH OF STUDY
MICA is breaking new ground in its curriculum, providing you with opportunities to work collaboratively on project-based enterprises, to build the intellectual sophistication needed for innovative thinking, and to develop professional skills for a successful career through real-world experiences and client-driven projects. An incredible breadth and depth of offerings allow you to pursue a truly inter-disciplinary program of study—or to immerse yourself in a single avenue of artistic exploration. See our current course offerings.
LIBERAL ARTS
MICA has made substantial investments to ensure that the quality of its liberal arts program equals that of its nationally recognized studio program. This commitment to quality is evident in MICA’s course offerings and faculty appointments and sets the College apart from other art colleges. Each year, you can choose from nearly 200 courses offered in art history, literature, writing, humanities, social sciences, and sciences; you can also select classes at 12 other area colleges and universities in math, science, languages, and other liberal arts areas.
2. How flexible is the curriculum? Can I design my own program of study, combine programs, or take courses outside my major area?
FLEXIBLE CURRICULUM
MICA’s curriculum allows you to customize your education to match your interests and realize your career goals. The College minimizes barriers among disciplines and provides opportunities to explore a wide range of interests while experimenting with a variety of mediums and approaches to artmaking. The curriculum encourages and values cross-disciplinary work and also allows you to pursue a single avenue of in-depth study. As you chart a path specific to your interests and long-term plans, you can tailor your academic experience by combining a major, studio minor, and liberal arts minor, and even take classes at a top liberal arts university or pursue study abroad.
You can choose from a wide variety of studio majors that mirrors the diversity of the contemporary art world. You might focus on time-honored and formal processes, finding your voice within a single discipline and creating object-based art. Or you might create art that is interactive, uses multiple mediums, or relies on collaboration with other artists—or scientists, or writers, or musicians—for its execution. At MICA, painting, sculpture, photography, and other traditional mediums co-exist with interdisciplinary and multimedia approaches to art and critical thought. In addition, MICA offers seven fifth-year capstone programs leading to a master of arts or master of professional studies degree. These intensive, professionally focused programs are designed to prepare artists and designers to make the most of the cross-disciplinary career opportunities open to them today.
3. What is the school’s reputation? Are its programs and professors respected in the art world and by employers? What organization accredits the school’s programs?
REPUTATION
MICA is consistently ranked in the top tier of visual arts colleges in the U.S. It is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. No other art college can boast the number or frequency of undergraduate students receiving prestigious awards. MICA is also consistently named a “top producer” of Fulbright award winners: in the past 10 years, more than 20 MICA students, alumni, and faculty have been selected for the Fulbright, traveling to India, Turkey, Tanzania, Czech Republic, Germany, Mauritius, Iceland, Cambodia, Panama, Denmark, Italy, Canada, Australia, Sweden, and Norway to study, do research, and make art. Many others have been awarded full fellowships for graduate study—including the prestigious and highly competitive Jacob K. Javits Fellowship, the Soros Fellowship for New Americans, and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship.
One reason employers recruit our graduates and why top graduate programs —from CalArts to Yale—actively seek them out is because they value our students’ creativity, ability to think critically, breadth of real-world experience, and exceptional artistic and technical skills.
4. Does the school offer opportunities to study abroad? Where? In which areas of study?
STUDY ABROAD
To encourage young artists to work and live in other cultural settings, MICA has long administered more study abroad programs than any other art college in the U.S. Each year, the College offers an expansive range of international study options in a wide variety of disciplines both in MICA-administered programs and through exchange with other institutions. Offered for the summer, a semester, or a full year, recent study abroad and exchange programs have allowed students to travel to Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, The Netherlands, Nicaragua, Poland, São Tomé and Príncipe, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey. MICA at SACI, offered in cooperation with the Studio Art Center International in Florence, Italy, offers a rigorous, interdisciplinary program. Through a gift of the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation, MICA offers the largest institutionally administered travel grant available to undergraduate fine arts majors. MICA seniors may apply for this grant, which provides $25,000 for travel to research and make art. Another unique travel grant available to MICA seniors is the Meyer Traveling Fellowship for a photography major, which culminates in a solo exhibition at MICA.
5. What is the total enrollment and student-faculty ratio? How many people major in the program’s that interest me?
SIZE
1,900 students (1,360 undergraduate and 540 graduate) with a student/faculty ratio of 9 to 1
6. Where do students come from? Is it a local or regional school, or does it attract students from across the country? Are students right out of high school or are there many transfer and nontraditional age students?
STUDENTS
MICA students come from 42 states and 52 foreign countries.
7. Who is on the faculty, and what colleges and universities did they attend? What about their experience and professional activities? Have they published or exhibited work recently?
FACULTY
The faculty at MICA comprise over 300 professional artists, designers, art historians, poets, and writers hailing from Yale, Harvard, UCLA, Cooper Union, and other prestigious universities. They exhibit in national, regional, and international museums and galleries, and are represented in major public and private collections around the world. MICA faculty regularly receive highly competitive grants from such organizations as Creative Capital, Guggenheim, and other national and international funding organizations for their projects. They are winners of every national prize offered to artists—from Fulbright Fellowships to Oscars, Louis Comfort Tiffany to Anonymous was a Woman, and Joan Mitchell Foundation Grants. They are represented in 250+ public and private collections—from MOMA to Stedelijk, and they lecture and are visiting artists in Japan, Russia, China, Ecuador, The Netherlands, Poland, Czech Republic, Scotland, Jamaica, Italy, England, and Guatemala. You can explore more of our faculty bios by picking a program of study and choosing “faculty” in the left-hand menu on that page.
8. Does the program feature visiting artists or critics so I can meet practicing professionals and learn the latest theories and techniques? Who are they, and how many visit each year?
VISITING ARTISTS AND CRITICS
175+ visiting artists, critics, scholars, designers, poets, writers, and art historians come to campus each year to share their work, meet with students, and critique students’ work. For example, in recent years, renowned thinkers and artists-in-residence at MICA have included international renowned artist Xu Bing; Amy Sherald ’04, who was commissioned to paint former First Lady Michelle Obama’s official portrait for the National Portrait Gallery; filmmaker Barry Levinson; artist and activist Hank Willis Thomas; political activist Angela Davis; art impresario Jeff Koons ’76; Syrian-born artist and Joan Mitchell Grant recipient Diana Al-Hadid; data visualization entrepreneur Lisa Strausfeld; filmmaker and co-founder of the Yes Men, Andy Bichlbaum; Jon Rubin and Dawn Weleski, co-creators of Conflict Kitchen; acclaimed painter Odd Nerdrum; noted multimedia artist Miguel Luciano; celebrated graphic designer Chip Kidd; the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Associate Curator of Chinese Art at the Guggenheim, Xiaoyu Weng; virtual reality pioneer Scott Fisher; Pulitzer Prize winning art critic Jerry Saltz; conceptual visual artist Mel Chin; poet Ishmael Reed; National Geographic photographer Dick Durrance; and groundbreaking land-scape architect Topher Delaney.
9. Does the school’s location suit my needs and preferences? Are there opportunities to view art in museums and galleries?
LOCATION
Baltimore is a city of 120,000+ college students offering an array of art resources, activities, hands-on professional opportunities, and access to inexpensive living for artists. It is a place of high-ceilinged, well-lit studio space and all-night diners, year-round city markets and avant-garde theaters, independent film festivals and beehive hairdos, and as many high-end salons as gritty clubs. When citing its reasons for naming Baltimore the nation’s “Best Scene,” Rolling Stone noted the “...many edgy acts hatched at the Maryland Institute College of Art,” and some of the city’s most innovative music and performance venues can be found within walking distance of campus in the Station North Arts & Entertainment District.
Every day of the week, there is something exciting happening at or near MICA, and you can find it all through the Baltimore Collegetown Network, which includes 14 colleges and universities and offers a range of services and an online calendar that’s the best source of what’s happening in Baltimore. The city is also renowned as a showcase for cutting-edge work in visual arts, music, literary arts, film, theater, and performance—and venues such as the Creative Alliance, Maryland Art Place, School 33 Art Center, and an expanding array of galleries (many founded and run by MICA alumni) provide valuable exhibition opportunities.
Baltimore is also at the center of the well-known East Coast art corridor, giving you easy access to collections of the finest museums and galleries in the country. By train, Washington, D.C., is 40 minutes south; New York City, less than 3 hours north. MICA offers regular weekend bus trips as an inexpensive way to see the latest exhibitions in the galleries and museums of New York and D.C.
10. What is the campus like? What kinds of facilities are available, and do students have access to independent studio and gallery spaces? What kinds of collections are available in the library?
CAMPUS & FACILITIES
MICA’s residential campus, in Baltimore’s historic Bolton Hill neighborhood, is at the heart of the city’s cultural district a short distance from downtown. This expansive urban campus features green spaces and eclectic architecture and is only minutes from major museums, galleries, cinemas, theatres, and cafés. All but four of the College’s 31 buildings were creatively renovated from existing structures and redesigned to meet the needs of artists. Founders Green, MICA’s newest student residence complex, and the award-winning Gateway residence tower feature unique and inspired design elements, geared to the needs of artists. Brown Center has been hailed as an architectural jewel by such publications as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Architectural Record. Two of MICA’s buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
MICA has invested a multitude of resources in its residence life space, increased academic classroom space by nearly 50 percent, created a new high-end art/technology center, expanded student galleries, constructed an innovative multi-use performance space, and added 40,000 square feet of independent studio space for undergraduate and graduate students. The apartment-style student residence, Meyerhoff House, is a cutting-edge residential life experience for upper-division students and a prime example of the College’s successful tradition of repurposing important historic structures for artists’ needs. The Gateway was developed through the opposite strategy—an international design competition among top young architects yielded a cutting-edge design, refined with significant input from current students. All combined, the result is an architecturally diverse and distinctive campus that maintains the aesthetic integrity and European flavor of the surrounding neighborhood.
The College’s named art galleries—Meyerhoff, Decker, Pinkard, Middendorf, and Rosenberg—feature exhibitions by students, faculty, and internationally esteemed artists. Galleries in nearly every campus building are devoted to showcasing student artwork. The 525-seat Falvey Hall was designed for performance art, video and film, dance, theater, poetry readings, and lectures and BBOX is dedicated to student performances and events.
Our art-oriented library has 64,000 monographs and 325 current periodicals, while the library’s website provides access to more than 5,500 full-text research titles in subjects such as music, film studies, folklore, religion, and the history of art and architecture. The Media Resources Collection includes 215,000 slides of contemporary and historical art, 35,000 digital images, and a video/DVD collection of more than 5,000 titles. Other MICA-specific resources include a nature lab.
11. How does the school integrate technology into the curriculum?
TECHNOLOGY
Brown Center, Art/Tech Center, the JHU/MICA Film Centre, and the Dolphin Design Center embody MICA’s commitment to state-of-the-art technologies for artists.
Brown was designed specifically to accommodate the technology needs of artists in animation and graphic design. It includes up-to-the-minute computer labs, and a 525-seat auditorium, Falvey Hall, designed to accommodate the special requirements for showcasing digital work.
The Art/Tech Center offers a wide array of archival, 3D, and large format output options and is home to the Technology Help Desk.
The Film Centre is a one-stop-shop for the medium, with a comprehensive equipment cage, 49-seat screening room, a 600-square foot sound recording studio, a 2,000 square-foot cyclorama green room sound stage, and dedicated high-definition editing suites, among other tools.
Mount Royal Station houses state-of-the-art fabrication labs and a BioLab.
Dolphin Design Center is home to programs in architectural design, game design, product design, and interactive arts; its facilities include flexible use spaces, fabrication lab, game lab, and meeting area with multiple display options, including touch-sensitive smart boards.
MICA provides web space for all students, as well as state-of-the-art hardware and software for 3D animation, video and sound editing, graphic design and illustration applications, and a wide range of fine art applications—from 3D modeling to computer-assisted printmaking. The College is constantly updating the existing systems on campus to meet the software needs of both students and faculty. WiFi is available in residence facilities and most MICA buildings, and high-speed Internet is the norm on campus. Go to mica.edu/20questions for a list of current computer hardware and software.
12. What type of residence life experience is available—apartment style or dorm rooms? Does it include studio space? How’s the food?
RESIDENCE LIFE
MICA’s housing complexes are designed for artists, who need a balance of independence and community. Founders Green is specifically designed with the needs of new students to MICA in mind. The sprawling green space and common areas in the heart of the complex make it ideal for meeting new people and interacting with your classmates. Founders Green is home to more than 500 students and is less than a five-minute walk from the Main Building.
Founders Green consists of Latrobe House, Spear Hall, Carter Hall, Glace Hall, and Leake Hall. Apartments have either two or three bedrooms—either single or double occupancy. The percentage of singles is much higher than regular residence halls. Each apartment has a living room, kitchen, and bathroom and each building surrounds the central courtyard. Throughout the year you’ll always find something happening—performances, Ultimate Frisbee, basketball, barbeques, sculpture installations, most-creative snowman contests. Amenities include on-site laundry facilities and parking spaces. Latrobe House is a central meeting place, with comfortably furnished lounges for movie nights, parties, potluck dinners, and informal social gatherings. The complex is also home to a lecture hall, gallery space, and a black box performing space; studios are available for students who need space to work on their projects.
Upper-level students can ease into independent living in Meyerhoff House or the Gateway—cutting-edge residential life experiences. Each apartment in Meyerhoff House has a unique character: high ceilings, exposed brick, interesting geometries, and, especially from the upper floors, spectacular views. Every bedroom is single occupancy. The first-floor houses MICA’s new main dining facility and serves as the campus living room. The Gateway anchors the north end of MICA’s campus (which is the gateway to Baltimore’s cultural corridor) and offers apartments, a studio tower, and a landscaped central courtyard for residents. Public spaces include a coffeehouse/lounge, a public gallery focusing on student work, BBOX, a multi-use performance space focusing on student events and performances, and the new home for the Joseph Meyerhoff Center for Career Development.
Read more at Residence Life and Off-Campus Housing.
DINING
Meal service at MICA is provided by Parkhurst, a company that has earned its reputation as one of the nation’s best collegiate food service providers by offering dishes made from the freshest ingredients and innovative recipes prepared by thoughtful and service-oriented staff. Meal plans and service have been tailored to the unique tastes and schedules of student artists, with a diverse array of options, including ethnic and exotic entrées, vegetarian and vegan offerings, fresh side dishes and salads, and homemade desserts. Parkhurst, a lead partner in MICA’s efforts to become a more environmentally sustainable campus, has implemented a number of changes—such as use of local produce and suppliers, degradable utensils and food containers, trayless dining, and a reusable coffee mug program—that reduce waste and save water and energy.
Check out our full slate of dining options.
13. Is there an active student life program on campus? What activities and organizations are available?
STUDENT LIFE
MICA has dozens and dozens of student organizations. See the full list.
14. What level of professional exposure is available? Are there exhibition opportunities on and off campus? Can I exhibit as a freshman, and are there opportunities for reality-based coursework?
PROFESSIONAL EXPOSURE
No other art college in the country not affiliated with a museum can boast the number of art galleries and exhibition opportunities available at MICA. With a schedule that includes nearly 170 exhibitions a year, MICA exposes students and faculty to a range of important work by contemporary artists and designers. Our exhibitions schedule also includes time and space dedicated to faculty exhibitions, and there are several galleries devoted to exhibiting student work beginning in the freshman year. You literally cannot walk to class without passing an exhibition.
Regular trips to New York and Washington, D.C., keep students in touch with the contemporary international art scene. Programs like MICA in New York: Summer Intensive put MICA students in the thick of it. MICA’s curriculum also offers students many opportunities to gain hands-on experience and make connections with professionals in their area of interest.
The Exhibition Development Seminar offers experience in all areas of the design and implementation of a major exhibition—from curatorial to exhibition design, public programs to art education; design and illustration students take on real-world projects for clients and collaborate with professionals to implement projects throughout Baltimore; community arts programs offer experiences in community arts programming to build leadership, teaching, and collaboration skills for students in any major. Many programs of study include opportunities for internships and reality-based coursework in students' major requirements.
MICA’s curriculum also offers opportunities to gain hands-on experience and make connections with professionals in their area of interest. Read more about our
- Exhibition Development Seminar;
- real-world projects for clients
- community arts programs.
Many programs of study include opportunities for internships and reality-based coursework in their major requirements.
15. What kind of career development services are offered, and when do they start? Are they generalized or designed specifically for artists? When do career services begin?
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
At MICA, you start planning for your future the day you arrive on campus. Professional development is integrated into every major and enhanced with community-based, hands-on opportunities. The full-service Joseph Meyerhoff Center for Career Development offers a comprehensive career planning program that focuses on the needs of artists and designers, including assistance with applications for graduate study and prestigious fellowships and a search-able database of more than 400 grants, residencies, and fellowships. The center also has an extensive resource library dedicated exclusively to the professional development of artists. Major Café helps you explore the career opportunities in different majors so you can choose a major to meet your goals and interests.
Read more about the Career Development office at MICA.
16. Do most students pursue internships? What kind and with whom?
INTERNSHIPS
More than 1,000 internship opportunities allow students to earn credit while working in art-related jobs.
MICA students put their skills and professional interests to work as interns in many of the nation’s top museums, galleries, product design firms, apparel companies, design and game studios, and performing arts centers. While internships give students valuable work skills, community-based art projects demonstrate the importance of art in our community. An online national database of opportunities allows you to post your resumé and samples of your work.
17. Are alumni working in their chosen field? What kind of entry-level jobs do recent graduates have?
MICA ALUMNI
MICA’s Alumni Network connects you with MICA alums around the world, sponsors young alumni networking events in cities across the U.S., and brings successful artists and designers to campus through its visiting professional series.
MICA’s alumni live in 54 countries and have won international awards, attended prestigious graduate programs, exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the world, and are represented in public and private collections around the globe. They are entrepreneurs launching startups in a wide-array of fields, and hot designers with firms specializing in print and UX design. They have been honored as fine artists in Art in America and Artforum, and lead major arts and nonprofit organizations. They are illustrators with work featured in Communication Arts and other national publications, have published bestselling comic and graphic novels, and work on Emmy, Tony, and Academy Award-nominated and -winning art teams.
In addition to receiving Fulbright awards soon after graduation, MICA students have also regularly earned the prestigious Jacob K. Javits Fellowship for graduate study, the coveted Soros Fellowship for New Americans, and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship. Many other students have been awarded full scholarships to prestigious graduate schools. Others have won the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition grand prize from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and received the MacArthur “Genius Grant.”
Read a select handful of their stories.
18. What kind of networking opportunities are available with faculty, visiting artists, and alumni?
NETWORKING
Networking is very important for artists—this is how you make connections for exhibition opportunities and jobs. In addition to MICA’s Alumni Network, mentioned just above, MICA faculty can provide guidance as you begin your professional career. They include artists, designers, critics, and scholars with stellar national and international reputations. For example, Graphic Design faculty member and director of MICA’s Center for Design Thinking, Ellen Lupton, is a noted author and curator emeritus at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum in New York; Harvey Award winner and founder of the Sequential Art concentration in Illustration, José Villarrubia, is internationally renowned for his comics color work; and Valeska Populoh in the Fiber Department is a widely recognized performer and expert in costume, mask, and puppetry techniques, and is the co-founder of the Puppet Slamwich at Black Cherry Puppet Theater. Fine art faculty, such as Tony Shore, have long-standing relationships with major galleries and exhibit frequently. MICA faculty in art education are among the most respected in the field worldwide, while faculty in the digital area, including James Rouvelle, Nate Larson, and Nadia Hironaka, are literally writing the book on art and emerging technologies. Liberal arts faculty publish widely, including scholar of cultural studies Mikita Brottman; Firmin DeBrabander, who has written commentary for publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The New Republic; and curator and art critic Monica Amor.
19. Does the school offer graduate programs and, if so, how do the programs expand opportunities for undergraduates? How are studio resources and faculty divided between the graduate and undergraduate students?
GRADUATE PROGRAMS
MICA’s internationally renowned graduate programs draw top students and faculty from around the world. One reason graduate students choose MICA is the opportunity to study in the energized community of artists created by one of the nation’s top undergraduate programs of art and design. MICA’s 19 graduate programs, leading to the Master of Arts, Master of Fine Arts, and Master of Professional Studies, currently enroll approximately 540 students.
For undergraduate students, the presence of a world-class graduate program means access to an expansive program of visiting artists and critics, internationally renowned graduate faculty who teach or critique in the under-graduate program, and the addition of a diverse group of professionally active graduate students, whose presence enhances campus life.
20. How does the application process work? What are the costs for tuition, room, and board? Does the school offer financial aid and merit scholarships?
APPLICATION PROCESS, COSTS, FINANCIAL AID, MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS
ADMISSION
MICA is highly selective. Our applicants have made a serious commitment to art and demonstrated that commitment through their accomplishments and a strong portfolio of artwork. If you're ready, complete the application for admission now. Or, learn more about application procedures, deadlines, and current costs.
FINANCIAL AID AND MERIT-BASED SCHOLARSHIPS
Approximately 90% of MICA students receive financial assistance in the form of a package that may include a combination of need-based aid, loans, work study, and merit-based grants. Families who may qualify for aid should complete the financial aid process. Application forms for financial aid are available online at mica.edu/apply.
MICA offers a number of competitive scholarships for high school seniors who wish to attend the College. Students who wish to apply for these merit-based scholarships should check the appropriate box on the CommonApp. Scholarships are available to students from the United States and abroad. Some competitions are based solely on meritorious achievement in art and/or academics. Others are based on a combination of meritorious achievement and financial need
VISIT THE CAMPUS
The best way to evaluate a college is to visit the campus. MICA offers a variety of programs, dates, and times to accommodate your schedule, including MICA Visit Days for high school students and open houses.
Student-guided tours of our studios, classrooms, residential living complexes, and other facilities are available by appointment Monday through Friday.
If you can’t come to campus, consider attending a National Portfolio Day in your region. These events give you the opportunity to meet with representatives from more than 50 leading art colleges and universities to discuss your portfolio of artwork and other admissions requirements. For more information, visit their website at nationalportfolioday.org
MICA’S PRECOLLEGE SUMMER RESIDENCY PROGRAM
Experience one of the most challenging and rewarding opportunities for rising high school junior and senior artists and designers. The MICA PreCollege Art and Design Residency Program is a wonderful opportunity to build your portfolio, expand your art experience, and test your commitment to future study in the arts. College credit is awarded to students who successfully complete the program.