Applications are open for the MFA in Visual Art at Washington University in St. Louis (WashU). The two-year, fully residential program supports diverse creativity — from historical techniques and emerging media to scholarly research and social practice. The MFA at WashU, a tier-one research university, is a close-knit community of artists and researchers. Expansive facilities and studios — including a digital fabrication lab, printmaking and book studio, wood and metal shops, textile studios, and a time-based media art studio — encourage intellectual and material experimentation across disciplines. WashU’s curriculum prepares students for a diversified approach to contemporary art that nurtures sustained, lifelong engagement while recognizing multiple pathways for a career in the arts. Students can expand studies through the Office for Socially Engaged Practice and opportunities like the Counterpublic triennial fellowship and Berlin Sommerakadamie. Throughout the course of the program, students prepare work for several exhibitions, including at WashU’s prominent Kemper Art Museum. Core faculty are Tiffany Calvert (Chair, MFA in Visual Art), Jamie Adams, Heather Bennett, Lisa Bulawsky, Joe deVera, Amy Hauft, Meghan Kirkwood, Arny Nadler, Patricia Olynyk, Jack Risley, Cheryl Wassenaar, and Monika Weiss. Additionally, the Sam Fox School invites nationally and internationally recognized artists, designers, architects, historians, and critics to campus for workshops, studio visits, and lectures. Recent visitors include Mark Dion, Jess T. Dugan, Mariam Ghani, Katharina Grosse, Blas Isasi Gutierrez, Dana Levy, Catherine Opie, Sarah Oppenheimer, Gregory Volk, and more.Alumni are eligible for residencies at Paris’ Cité internationale des arts, the $25,000 Stone & DeGuire Contemporary Art Award, and residencies and fellowships for recent graduates in St. Louis. Notable alumni include Layla Ali, Jill Downen, Addoley Dzegede, Kahlil Robert Irving, Lavar Munroe, Yvonne Osei, Ebony G. Patterson, Carlie Trosclair, and Cayce Zavaglia, among others. Applications are due January 10, 2026. Apply for free through December 14, 2025. To learn more, visit samfoxschool.washu.edu.