School of The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The School of the Museum of FineArts was designed by artists, for artists. It puts you, the artist, at the center. You will be encouraged here. You will be pushed. To take risks. To work in a medium you've never tried before. But you won't be told what to do. You will work with the faculty to develop your own voice, your own point of view; which is why our students, our graduates, go on to define new directions in the arts. Many are pioneers in their field. Others create entirely new fields. The education you receive here will prepare you for a world that is constantly changing and constantly placing very high demands on its participants.

The SMFA is a challenging place; it is designed to be that way. But in the end, it is an experience that will be profoundly rewarding. And that is what a really good education is all about.

Mission

The mission of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is to provide an education in fine arts—for artists of all levels—that is interdisciplinary and self-directed. This education values cultural, artistic and intellectual diversity; it embraces a wide range of media; it stresses the development of individual vision and its relation to culture in general; it values equally the knowledge gained by thinking and doing; it is deeply engaged with the world as a whole. If the mission is constant, its practice is always transforming.

At the SMFA, you'll shape your own artistic process by choosing from an expansive range of studio art courses in 18 areas of study.

There is no required foundations program in the studio arts. Instead, with the support of advisors and mentors, you create your own individual course of study. It's a unique and rewarding process that enables you to experiment across media and evolve your art practice as you advance.

This approach brings an unusual freedom, and it bears extraordinary fruit: self-confident artists with unique sets of skills and interests, supported by the kind of fearless curiosity that fosters groundbreaking art.

This approach also involves unusual responsibility: to take charge of the process, to accept critiques, and to seek help when it's needed. And help is readily available: faculty members are accessible, and the School offers a range of advising and support services.