MFA in Art and Media

Applications are now open.

Please note that the program launch date is contingent upon the granting of initial accreditation by the UAE Ministry of Education’s Commission for Academic Accreditation.

NYU Abu Dhabi's Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Art and Media is designed as a full-time, studio-intensive interdisciplinary degree program that sits at the crossroads of practice and theory, tradition and change in the arts. Those completing the MFA degree are required to complete 60 credits over two years of residential study.

The MFA program combines contemporary art and media practices with cultural heritage, art theory, media studies, and emergent technologies. The curriculum immerses students in contemporary research and art and media practices while training them to become deep thinkers and artistic innovators. Courses emphasize artistic experimentation within a context of historical, cultural, and theoretical study.

Students can choose to work in-depth in a particular area or across multiple arts disciplines, including:

sculpture
photography
printmaking
fiber art
painting and drawing
digital art
design
digital media
transmedia (video, performance, digital)

Application Process

Funding Your Degree

The master's program provides a fundamentally different space within which to make art, in that it is geographically situated at a crossroads. While the global art market knows no boundaries, it is still true that art coming from certain regions is inflected with the landscapes, materials, traditions, and specific art and craft practices of that place.

David Darts, Associate Dean of Arts

Abu Dhabi is an exciting crossroads that is at once global, pan-Arab, a MENASA hub, and it is committed to the preservation of local, indigenous practices and aesthetics. The MFA at NYUAD intends to make use of this learning laboratory through using regional art and craft spaces as fieldwork and off-site learning laboratories.