Admissions are made once a year. Applicants must meet general university requirements at the graduate level and have completed 36 semester hours (or its equivalent) in studio art and 12 hours in art history at the undergraduate level. Additionally, applicants must present a portfolio of work (digital format preferred) indicating creative ability, evidence of maturing direction, personal invention, and a capacity for growth. Admission to the program is competitive with a limited number of spaces available.
Complete applications must be received by March 1. Applications are made to NSU, the institution of record.
The admissions committee, composed of graduate faculty, reviews the portfolios of all applicants. The committee's decision will be communicated to the applicant in writing by the Dean of Graduate Studies.
A complete application package must contain the following materials:
- Completed
admissions application forms.
- $35.00
nonrefundable application fee (certified check or money order payable
to Norfolk State University)
- Three
(3) letters of recommendation from faculty members or persons familiar
with the applicant's interest and ability in art.
- A
portfolio (digital format preferred) 15-20 examples of the applicant's
recent work. Each piece should be marked with the applicant's name,
title of work and medium, and numbered to correspond with a summary
sheet listing each work by title, medium, and date of completion. Video
tapes or CDs must be marked with the applicant's name and complete mailing
address.
- One
official transcript from each college and/or university previously attended
(unless one transcript reproduces all others).
- A written artist's statement, not to exceed three (3) typewritten pages, relating the applicant's background, professional goals, and reasons for pursuing a graduate degree in this program.