Students entering the UW-Madison MFA in studio art program are offered tuition remission, generous monthly stipends, access to UW-Madison health benefits and other annual funding opportunities. Students are assigned Teaching Assistantships within their first-year of study. Second and third-year students are appointed Lecturing Student Assistantships; in addition, they may be selected by faculty for Project Assistantships or be awarded Fellowships based on their eligibility.
MFA funding packages reflect our commitment to our students and require students to perform both academically and professionally at the highest level while studying on campus. Funding support is contingent on the student’s performance as a (TA, LSA or PA), academic performance and satisfactory progress toward the completion of the MFA program. Students on assistantship are expected to provide 20-hours of service through their appointment each week during the 9-month academic year.
Departmental Funding
Teaching Assistantship: (TA) Incoming MFA students are assigned teaching assistantships. Students assist a faculty member who administers weekly lectures in Art 100, Art 107, and Art 108/208. Teaching Assistants are responsible for knowing the course content and leading three undergraduate discussion sections per semester.
Lecturing Student Assistantship: (LSA) Rising second and third-year graduate students are assigned LSA appointments. LSA-assigned courses are taught with support from a supervising faculty member. The graduate student is responsible for the content and delivery of the course curriculum and assessment of student coursework through group critique. LSAs are assigned two sections of undergraduate foundations or beginning level studio courses per semester. Department courses taught by LSAs are Art 102, Art 104, Art 112, Art 212, and Art 176. Additional undergraduate courses are assigned at the discretion of the department.
Project Assistantship: (PA) Rising second and third-year graduate students may be appointed a project assistantship. Faculty hand-select students to assist with their studio research.
Fellowships: Fellowships support graduate student research without the expectation of weekly work requirements. Fellowships are awarded to rising third-year graduate students through the department’s annual application process.
Non-Departmental Funding
Office of Student Financial Aid
333 E. Campus Mall #9701
Financial Aid information for graduate student grants, employment appeals, and general loans is available at Student Financial Services. Please note that student financial aid awards are not connected with the Art Department.
Work Study
Work-study is awarded through the Financial Aid Office. Work-study positions are listed in the work-study office. Many professors in the Art Department hire work study students to assist them in lab courses.
