Frequently Asked Questions

No. The majority of this program is offeref online with a multi-day, on-campus residency each semester. The residency is packed with workshops, critiques and visiting designer lectures. International students, please visit the International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) regarding additional considerations in taking online courses. 

Yes. There are several scholarship and awards provided by The Graduate College and by the College of Fine Arts, including a Merit Fellowship Award. The Graduate College also assists in obtaining external funding and the MFA program offers additional research funding and travel support. Learn more about scholarships here. 

Yes. We offer mentoring in pedagogy for our Graduate Instructional and Graduate Teaching Assistants. We may also offer Graduate Assistantships in other areas of service within the School of Art & Design. These positions provide students with first-hand experience of teaching in a university setting along with a stipend and office space. Contact the MFA Office for additional information. 

Review our Grad Assistant page for more information. 

The degree will require a minimum of 60 credit hours: 18 credit hours of the core curriculum, 30 hours of prescribed communication design studio electives, six credit hours of free electives, and six credit hours of thesis. The formal thesis will represent students' research, design, and documentation of an original hypothesis in communication design. 

Threes classes (=9 credit hours) each fall and spring semester is considrered full time by the Graduate College. We do not recommend taking any more than two classes (=6 credit hours) if you work full time. 

A low-residency program is made up primarily by online learning with short on-campus residencies. In the MFA/CD program, this takes the form of one multi-day on-campus residency each semester. 

Classes may or may not be offered in the summer, depending on faculty availability, University funding, and student participation. 

One average, students will enroll in Thesis A for one semester and Thesis B for two semesters. 

No. If you are an out-of-state student, you must pay out-of-state tuition regardless of how the courses are delivered. Out of state tuition rates are less than other MFA programs. See tuition rates. 

We count all pieces within a larger campaign as individual pieces. 

Our courses meet one day a week after 5:30 p.m. on Zoom, with a multi-day, on campus residency event at the end of each semester. 

MFA/CD students have various potential career paths, such as becoming graphic designers, UI/UX designers, design researchers, typographers, and educators.

Furthermore, the program equips students to move their careers beyond a traditional nine-to-five job and use design to engage their communities. For students seeking a career as an educator in higher education, the program provides mentorship, the appropriate academic credential, and the terminal degree in visual communication design: the MFA degree.

Alumni have gone on to teach at institutions such as Weber State University and Ringling College of Art and Design; work in the tech industry at companies like IBM, Apple, General Assembly, and PayPal; and contribute to creative agencies and organizations including Frog, AIGA, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, and The Menil Collection.