Person walking across MFA Fine Arts thesis exhibition artwork on the wall

MFA in Fine Arts

Refine your artistic vision, think critically, develop your professional practice and become part of the diverse Los Angeles arts community with an MFA in Fine Arts from Otis College of Art and Design.

In the Otis Fine Arts MFA program we believe artists thrive when they work closely with a diverse group of peers to explore a wide range of topics, media, methods, and approaches in artmaking. Our program provides an artistic learning environment where artists of different backgrounds, ages, experiences, and approaches to creative practice can flourish together. Our courses, events, studios, labs, galleries, and social spaces are welcoming places where everyone in our community can develop as artists and as engaged participants in society.

Graduate Fine Arts at Otis

The MFA program promotes experimentation, the development of individual studio practice, interdisciplinary critical dialogue, and collaborative engagement within our close-knit community. Our weekly Visiting Artist Lecture program, Mandy and Cliff Einstein Lectures, and annual Critic in Residence program enhance learning with an ongoing dialogue with distinguished artists, curators, and thinkers.

Vita Kari performance

Vita Kari, “Billboard Prenup: A Byte of Love”, performance documentation

What You’ll Learn

Our MFA Fine Arts curriculum balances group critiques, rigorous academic coursework, and one-on-one studio visits with faculty. These individual meetings foster collaborative conversations about work in progress, ideas, readings, or plans. Our MFA elective courses offer the exploration and the development of skills in a variety of media and methods and engage with the many art institutions in the city of Los Angeles.

 

Suwichada Busamrong-Press, “Bucha: Self Healing”, installation shot, performance documentation

Suwichada Busamrong-Press, “Bucha: Self Healing”, installation shot, performance documentation

untitled (10 PTS, 10 REB, 10 AST), (2021), Joseph Louis Sherman Jr. (MFA Fine Arts ’23)

untitled (10 PTS, 10 REB, 10 AST), (2021), Joseph Louis Sherman Jr. (MFA Fine Arts ’23)

Patsy Pitts (MFA ’24), Sandy Kupfer (MFA ’25)

Patsy Pitts (MFA ’24), Sandy Kupfer (MFA ’25)

Fine Arts Curriculum

Flourish at Otis College

Student Exhibitions

Student Exhibitions

Between project spaces, annual open studios, the mid-residency show, and the final thesis shows in the Bolsky Gallery, MFA Fine Arts students have ample exhibition opportunities over the course of the two-year program. The MFA Open Studios event occurs during the campus-wide O-Launch weekend exhibition, showcasing the culmination of the students’ study and studio work.

24/7 MFA Studios

24/7 MFA Studios

Our individual MFA studios with 24/7 access (except during holiday college closures) are located in the Galef Fine Arts Center in the heart of campus. In these dedicated spaces, students can create ambitious work and experiment in a broad range of media.

Otis Labs and Shops

Otis Labs and Shops

Our campus offers students full access to large painting, sculpture, and lighting studios; state-of-the-art, professionally staffed wood, metal, and model shops; photography, video, film, printmaking, and ceramics labs; and the Millard Sheets Library.

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Visiting Lecture Series

The Visiting Artist Lecture Series brings distinguished artists, curators, and thinkers into close dialogue with students. Recent speakers include: Audrey Chan, Miles Coolidge, Beatriz Cortez, Nicole Eisenman, Anne Ellegood, Darby English, Denise Ferreira da Silva, Karen Finley, Charles Gaines, Malik Gaines, Katie Grinnan, Ann Hamilton, Salomón Huerta, and more.

 

Fine Arts Faculty

MFA in Fine Arts faculty at Otis College are celebrated and distinguished artists whose work has been shown around the world.

Meg Cranston's Portrait

Meg Cranston

Department Chair, Fine Arts

Department: BFA Fine Arts, MFA Fine Arts, BFA Fine Arts: Painting, BFA Fine Arts: Photography, BFA Fine Arts: Sculpture/New Genres
Email: mcranston@otis.edu

Kathrin Burmeister’s Picture

Kathrin Burmester

Director MFA Fine Arts and Assistant Professor

Department: MFA Fine Arts
Email: kburmester@otis.edu

Kade L. Twist's Work

Kade L. Twist

Associate Professor

Department: MFA Fine Arts
Email: ktwist@otis.edu

 

Meet the Faculty

The Fine Arts Community

The Fine Arts community at Otis College is a diverse one that includes both the BFA and MFA programs. MFA students can expand their skills and knowledge by taking BFA electives, and by serving as Teaching Assistants in BFA and MFA courses. Our community comes together frequently in the many exhibition receptions, lectures, and other Fine Arts and College activities that take place throughout the semester.

Explore the BFA in Fine Arts

Untitled, (2022), Ali Minette (MFA Fine Arts ’22)

Untitled, (2022), Ali Minette (MFA Fine Arts ’22)

Contact Us

Our MFA Fine Arts program is a small, intimate program. We welcome prospective students to visit our studios and sit in on our classes. Contact us to schedule a date and time.

Phone: 310-665-6820

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