Helpful Steps For Applying To Graduate School

Contributed by: Professor Patricia Fennell, University of Wisconsin Department of Art, Drawing and Painting Areas, updated and amended by Richard Holland JD/MFA candidate and Law School Admissions Assistant, University of Wisconsin.

1. Choosing a school program:
• Look at the reputation - (Positive, questionable, negative?
• Location - town or near/in a city. What sort of art community and resources does the area have?
• Are financial aid /Teaching Assistantship's available?
• Are studios /work facilities provided?
• Check out the faculty.
• Do they have a Visiting artist program? If so what artist have visited recently?
• Flexibility of program
• Do they have a program that suits you particular medium and style of work?
• What other resources are available on campus outside of the department?

2. Check to see if the school you are interested in has a website. If so many now have online forms to request information. If not the college or university should have an information number. Contact the department by phone and request information. You can also, mail a postcard requesting specific program information; faculty information; financial aid/ application(s).
3. Set-up a comparison chart. (Fill-in as school information arrives):
• Application deadline and fees, if any
• Are GRE's required for admittance?
• Number of credits to complete program
• Art history requirements
• Seminar requirements (course descriptions/topics offered) Other academic requirements
• Studio requirements (major area & electives)
• Faculty
• Facilities Studios, if provided and location (on and/or off campus)
• Visiting artist/ critic program
• Costs (tuition: fees: living expenses: travel)
• Diversity
• Types of financial aid: Are fellowships, project assistantships, available?
• Financial aid deadlines
• Teaching assistantships available - for entering grads, what are the Application/hiring procedures?
• Application deadline -reputation of school & specific program

4. GRE: If the GRE is required it is in your best interest to take it as early as possible.
5. Visit the school (call at least a week in advance and advise department of your arrival date to arrange a tour, if possible.)
6. If a visit is not possible, try a TELEPHONE INTERVIEW WITH THE GRAD CHAIR. Review the materials sent to you by the school first & fill in your chart with the info. Ask the grad chair if they could call you back (saves on your phone bill.) Ask if there is a catalogue from a recent faculty show which could be sent to you. If they say they have a limited supply, offer to send it back to them after you've seen it.
7. Make a list of questions to ask:
• Any questions you have which were not covered in the materials sent to you?
• Any questions about the information sent, clarification, explanation...
• Is there a prevailing departmental philosophy or direction?
  I.e. predominately figurative or non-representational? Is there more of a mix or diversity of approach within the grad program? Is this the same with the faculty's work?
• If you enter the program in painting, is it possible to also take a printmaking;video; sculpture, etc. course(s)? Can you work with faculty outside your major emphasis? How flexible is the program?
• What technology is available for grad student use? Computers, large printers, scanners, etc.
• Re: a specific individual faculty member you want to work with -how available are they to new grads? Will they be on leave? Will they be retiring soon or have they retired already?!
• What are the graduate studio spaces like? Private; On or close to campus or art dept? If you work on a large scale, can you get appropriate space? If you work with solvents, is there adequate ventilation?
• If GRE's are not required for admittance into the program, would they be useful or required for any fellowships available? (I.e. -at the UW, the University Wide Fellowship)
• Could you get the phone numbers of a couple of students in your area so you could talk to them and get a student's point of view, especially a student advanced in the program, who knows "the ropes?" Ask faculty about their recommendations for graduate programs. (Remember though, that for many faculty it's been years since they've been at their alma mater and things change.) Many faculty visit schools for workshops and as visiting artists so they may have a fresh, recent take on a school. Faculty may also be familiar with other faculty, friends and former grads, at other schools.

IF YOUR UNDERGRAD GPA IS LOW OR BELOW THE REQUIRED GPA
Ask if there is a way to gain admittance into the program, on first semester probation, with a statement of explanation, i.e. you changed majors or you were in a program unsuitable for you until you switched to art, you had a bad semester, personal reasons -health, family concerns, etc. Talk to the grad chair about your specific situation.

STATEMENT OF WORK/INTENT
Usually kept to one page, be concise. Give them an introduction to who you are. It is an accompaniment to your slide portfolio - what you would want someone to know as they looked at your slides. Your interests and influences as an artist, what you hope to gain from graduate school. (Strong foundation on your work through criticism, production of work at an advanced level, more technical know-how, exposure to new ideas, concepts, and challenges from faculty and community of students.) How you would expect to contribute to the program and community of students. (I.e. Your willingness to contribute to class critiques and interest in what other students are doing in work like and/or different from your own.) Interchange within the grad program community is a big part of graduate study.

Keep in mind when writing these statements that the graduate committee will be reading a large number of them, make sure yours is clear, concise, and interesting.

PORTFOLIO
A cohesive set of slides (usually in the format of slides.) Not a mish-mash (a little of this, a little of that.) Should show some evidence of a personal vision/direction, some sense of an individual, unique person behind the slides, not necessarily technically perfect, not rigid-not this is me and I dare you to change me! Attitude. Try to show something beyond assignments given in undergraduate classes. As the people reviewing your slides are professors they can spot a class assignment easily, they are looking for a body of coherent work that shows professional promise. Show that your work is starting to gel, an artist, and individual vision is emerging, if imperfect, raw, in need of shoring-up. If you are applying in a specific area, i.e. sculpture, and 20 slides are requested, at least _ of them, or 15, should be sculpture, could flesh out with other work, drawings, prints, etc. (Also detail shots may be important for sculpture, painting, printmaking, etc.) Run your slide portfolio by a number of faculty and get their take on it; What are their suggestions, what to include, what to delete. This should help you get a sense of how to put together a slide portfolio.

Your portfolio is perhaps your MOST IMPORTANT part of your application to graduate school. GET THE BEST SLIDES YOU CAN!!!! Label them correctly! All you need on them is your name, title or untitled, size/dimensions (inches are fine to use, metric is not necessarily impressive) date (show the most recent work you have. If it's old or undated it will raise a question or a red flag to the viewer.) For the date, you only need the year, not a month and date. And, finally, list the media and support (be as specific as you can, but if you use a lot of media, too many to list, use mixed-media & the support. PLACE A RED DOT IN THE LOWER LEFT HAND CORNER OF THE SLIDE AS YOU LOOK AT IT THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO BE PROJECTED!!! You can label your slides neatly with permanent felt pens, for the red dot also. If you have to send in a tray of slides, instead of a sheet (sheets of slides are much more commonly requested) use the slide carousel tray which holds 80 slides. You may need to send in a tray of slides for a TA application. Make sure the slides are placed in the tray correctly!

Have friends and professors review your slides, it is better to get a sense of how the body of work is viewed by others before you send it in.

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

1. Ask for them early and follow up
2. If you've been out of school for a while, send an update/reminder letter to your reference (of what you've been doing) and send a half sheet of slides of recent work.
3. Try to request the letter early from your reference. Sometimes short notice is unavoidable, but try to give the reference adequate time to get your letter thoughtfully composed and written. Give them a sheet with your name and current address, phone, e-mail address, (if you have one.) Include on it the deadline for the letter (make this bold, easy to see, clear: "need this letter by...") where you want the letter sent, what the letter is for, i.e. application to grad school for printmaking. Also mention when you studied with them, to refresh their memories, i.e. Fall semester '95 life drawing-grade AB/Spring semester '97 life drawing -grade A/Summer semester, 4 week watercolor-grade AB.)

I would not advise you to ask anyone for a reference letter unless you received a 'B' or better from them. Do not assume they will write you a letter, even if they've given you all A's in every course you've had with them, and they practically would adopt you, you are their pet, their cherished student, etc. Still, ASK them politely, and with suitable deference to their exalted position, (aka "buttering-up," but don't be too obvious about it) if they would be willing to write a letter for you. (This will gain you BIG POINTS in the good sense and manners dept!)

DO NOT MISS THE APPLICATION DEADLINE! SOME SCHOOLS HAVE ROLLING ADMISSIONS DEADLINES, IT IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO GET YOU MATERIALS IN EARLY. IN THE EVENTUALITY THAT THERE IS SOME PROBLEM WITH YOUR APPLICATION YOU WILL HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO CORRECT IT.

GET YOUR APPLICATION IN ON TIME FOR APPLICATION TO THE PROGRAM AS WELL AS FOR TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS/PROJECT ASSISTANTSHIPS, ANY OTHER FINANCIAL AID OR FELLOWSHIP. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!