Skip to Content
MASSART Logo Programs
All programs Apply Now

Photography

MFA

MassArt’s MFA in Photography is a 60-credit, full-time graduate program with a 30-year history of supporting ambitious artistic development through sustained studio practice, critical inquiry, and experimentation with the photographic medium.

Students create within and beyond the boundaries of lens-based images, exploring straight photography, mixed and new media, material experimentation, moving image, bookmaking, contemporary criticism, and the history of photography to expand their approaches to image-making.

The department’s welcoming atmosphere, first-rate facilities, and culture of conversation create an environment where graduate students can test ideas, deepen their research, refine their methods of visual communication, and produce work that offers new perspectives on art, perception, and the world around them.

RELATED

What You’ll Learn

In the Photography MFA program, students develop ambitious bodies of work while deepening their research, technical skills, and critical understanding of contemporary photographic practice.

Through studio work, seminars, electives, critique, and engagement with visiting artists, faculty, and peers, students examine photography as a means of critical expression. They are encouraged to explore intersections with disciplines across MassArt and neighboring universities.

Faculty support students as they refine their artistic voice, expand their approaches to image-making, and strengthen the relationship between research, process, and form.

Visiting Artists & Critical Dialogue

Visiting artists are an integral part of the Photography MFA curriculum, often through MassArt’s celebrated Photography Lecture Series. Graduate students have direct access to prominent photographers, artists, critics, scholars, and curators through studio visits and roundtable discussions, and renowned guest critics also provide feedback to MFA candidates during in-progress critiques and end-of-semester reviews.

These conversations provide MFA candidates with meaningful feedback, professional perspective, and a broader understanding of contemporary photographic practice.

Teaching Opportunities

MFA students are afforded numerous opportunities to gain classroom teaching experience. Paid teaching assistantships in the undergraduate Photography program are available every semester, and students may co-teach at least one course during their time at MassArt.

Students who successfully complete the graduate elective College Teaching in Art and Design may co-teach one or more studio courses with a fellow MFA candidate during their second year in the program. MFA students may also choose to pursue the six-credit College Teaching Certificate, which focuses on college-level art instruction.

Graduate students interested in teaching K–12 may explore MassArt’s three-year MFA/MAT program, earning both an MFA in Photography and an MAT through the Art Education Department.

Each year, one recent Photography MFA graduate is awarded MassArt’s Post Graduate Teaching Fellowship, which provides an opportunity to continue developing their teaching skills and studio practice at the College.

Scholarships & Assistantships

The MassArt Scholarship for Graduate Study in Photography provides significant support to admitted MFA students, expanding access to graduate study in photography.

Scholarships and paid assistantships help defray the cost of MassArt’s relatively low graduate tuition, supporting affordable and equitable graduate study.

Curriculum

The MFA in Photography is a 60-credit, full-time program completed over four semesters.

Students complete coursework in major studio, graduate seminars, studio electives, open electives, and Liberal Arts, History of Art, or Art Education electives.

  • A minimum of 12 credits of studio electives are required. Of these, 3 credits must be designated as a major studio elective.
  • A minimum of 6 credits of Liberal Arts, History of Art, or Art Education electives are required.

In the final MFA semester, most students enroll in 9 credits of Major Studio. Students may also take 6 credits of Major Studio and 3 credits in a studio elective that is integral to their thesis project.

Semester 1 – 15 credits

  • MPPH601 Major Studio-Photography Sem 1, 6cr (Fall)
  • GRAD601 Graduate Seminar I, 3cr (Fall)
  • Studio Elective in the Major, 3cr
  • Non-Studio Elective from Liberal Arts, History of Art or Art Education, 3cr

Semester 2 – 15 credits

  • MPPH602 Major Studio-Photography Sem 2, 6cr (Spring)
  • GRAD662 Contemporary Art in Context, 3cr
  • Studio Elective, 3cr
  • Open Elective from Studio, Liberal Arts, History of Art or Art Education, 3cr

Semester 3 – 15 credits

  • MPPH701 Major Studio-Photography Sem 3, 6cr (Fall)
  • Non-Studio Elective from Liberal Arts, History of Art or Art Education, 3cr
  • Studio Elective, 3cr
  • Open Elective from Studio, Liberal Arts, History of Art or Art Education, 3cr

Semester 4 – 15 credits

  • MPPH702 Major Studio-Photography Sem 4, 6cr or 9cr (Spring)
  • GRAD602 Graduate Seminar II 3cr (Spring)
  • Studio Elective 3cr
  • Optional Studio Elective 3cr

Students who complete the MFA in Photography are expected to be able to:

  • Experiment with formal and conceptual invention as you develop a coherent body of work of depth and integrity on a personally chosen topic, which may or may not extend over the two year program.
  • Refine technical expertise in photography and acquire new skills in other media.
  • Bridge the visual language of photography with the written word and public speaking.
  • Understand one’s work in relation to contemporary art and art history by incorporating scholarly research, critical theory and analysis, and an awareness of historical and contemporary practices.
  • Develop the ability to critique peers’ work across disciplines to speak thoughtfully about the work of others.
  • Develop awareness and understanding of the diverse cultural, historical, and experiential issues expressed and inherent in one’s own artwork, and in that of one’s peers.
  • Exhibit one’s work in a professional manner in the thesis exhibition. Students may also participate in other exhibitions and curatorial opportunities at the college.
  • Understand a range of professional pathways for careers in the arts.
  • Collaborate with artists in other disciplines.
Graduate Program Chair
A person with long hair tied back is standing outside, wearing a black shirt. They are looking at the camera with a neutral expression. The background is blurred with trees and foliage, suggesting an outdoor setting. The image is in black and white.
Billie Mandle Chair, Photography

Graduate Faculty

Billie Mandle

Chair, Photography
  • Faculty

Matthew Connors

Professor, Photography
  • Faculty

Matthew Monteith

Professor, Photography
  • Faculty

Amani Willett

Associate Professor, Photography
  • Faculty

Natalie Ivis

Assistant Professor, Photography
  • Faculty

Derin Korman

Visiting Lecturer, Photography
  • Faculty

Ready To Take the Next Step?

MassArt logo
621 Huntington Ave,
Boston, MA 02115

(617) 879-7000

Academics

Programs

Admissions

Costs & Aid

Student Life

About

At MassArt

Giving

Information for