Maryland Institute College of Art

For 180 years the top-rated Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) has assembled some of the most talented and committed students and faculty members from across the nation and around the world in a creatively energized, intellectually stimulating environment. A diverse, 1,900-strong student body comes to this highly selective program from forty-seven states and forty-eight other countries.

Art in the twenty-first century can take the form of object, energy, or expendable materials. The definition of art is expanding. The boundaries among disciplines and mediums are dissolving. MICA’s curriculum has been designed to prepare students for these contemporary approaches to art-making and thinking through a wide choice of studio majors. Students can focus on traditional discipline-based processes or they can create art that is interactive, uses multiple mediums, or relies on collaboration with other artists—or scientists, writers, or musicians—for its execution.

MICA has also taken the position that the quality and rigor of its liberal arts program should equal that of its nationally recognized studio program. This commitment is evident in MICA’s course offerings and faculty appointments. Each year students can choose from nearly 200 courses offered in art history, literature, writing, humanities, and sciences taught by an exceptional faculty of scholars who have earned advanced degrees from such institutions as Columbia, Harvard, Oxford, Princeton, and the University of Chicago.

Baltimore, located at the heart of the New York-Washington arts corridor, offers an array of cultural, social, and creative opportunities. MICA’s campus of twenty-five buildings is nestled in a charming historic neighborhood in the midst of the city’s cultural center. Nearby are world-class museums and galleries, the symphony hall and opera house, experimental and community theaters, cafés, bookstores, shops, and art cinemas. The MICA campus shuttle system provides transportation throughout the city, and weekly trips to New York City and Washington, D.C., are also available.

A highly successful Career Development Center is staffed by dedicated professionals who specialize in developing art and art-related career opportunities. The center provides career counseling and workshops, facilitates connections with the Institute’s alumni network, lists 1,000 internship opportunities and 1,130 art-related jobs, hosts dozens of corporate recruiters, and offers reality-based programs and courses in topics ranging from promoting oneself as an artist to developing business skills.

Facilities

The twenty-seven buildings on the MICA campus include 430,700 square feet of outstanding instructional facilities dedicated to departments of painting, ceramics, drawing, sculpture, photography, printmaking, fibers, environmental design, graphic design, illustration, video, animation, art education, and liberal arts. There is specialized equipment for work in both traditional and new media in each of these areas. In addition, MICA offers intimately sized liberal arts classrooms; a 550-seat auditorium for film, performance art, theater, poetry readings, and lectures; seven-days-a-week access to studios; independent studio space for seniors; and seven art galleries. The arts-oriented library houses 50,000 volumes, 300 periodicals/media resources, and 250,000 examples of contemporary and historical art in slide, video, CD-ROM, and DVD format. Computers are available for student use in all instructional buildings as well as the twenty-one computer labs and digital classrooms. There are 320 computers for student use; these include Apple G5’s Dell Xeon 3-D animation workstations, digital video editing stations, and computer-controlled looms and sewing machines.

Faculty, Resident Artists, and Alumni

The faculty of 267 professional artists, designers, and scholars are widely published and represented in public and private collections—from MOMA to the Stedelijk. Faculty members’ honors include the Fulbright, Guggenheim, and MacArthur Awards. There are also more than 175 visiting artists, designers, critics, poets, art historians, and filmmakers for residencies or lectures each year. Recent visitors included Manthia Diawara, Joan Fontcuberta, David Hickey, Chipp Kidd, Roberta Smith, and William Wegman.

Special Programs

MICA offers a five-year, dual-degree Bachelor of Fine Arts/Master of Arts in Teaching (B.F.A./M.A.T.) program, which combines an undergraduate degree in studio art with teaching certification at the master’s level. This dual-degree program boasts a 100 percent placement rate. The B.F.A./M.A. degree program in digital arts provides a fifth-year capstone experience. There are study-abroad opportunities in Canada, England, France, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Scotland, South Korea, and Spain. Students can also participate in MICA’s New York studio program, MICA in TRIBECA. Cross-enrollment is possible with The Johns Hopkins University and the Peabody Conservatory of Music.

Application Procedures

Deadline--freshmen: February 15; transfers: March 3. Notification date--freshmen: March 15; transfers: April 18. Required: essay, high school transcript, college transcript(s) for transfer students, 3 letters of recommendation, portfolio, SAT or ACT test scores, minimum TOEFL score of 550 for international applicants. Recommended: minimum 3.0 high school GPA, interview, honors and advanced placement level coursework in English and other humanities subjects. Auditions held 1 time. Portfolio reviews held continuously on campus and off campus in various cities; the submission of slides may be substituted for portfolios (slides preferred).

Maryland Institute College of Art

Facilities

Faculty, Resident Artists, and Alumni

Student Performance/Exhibit Opportunities

Special Programs

Application Procedures

Undergraduate Contact

Graduate Contact