Customize Your Learning Experience
At PNCA, we encourage creative exploration. By breaking down barriers between departments and giving all of our students access to every lab, studio, and tool on campus, we provide resources and opportunities for experimentation. Although PNCA offers distinct graduate programs, we encourage cross-genre experimentation and multidisciplinary study. Your thesis project will be the result of your individual exploration and should reflect your unique style and voice.
Build Your Creative Community
While creating art can be a solitary act, we believe that artists and designers produce their most compelling work when they inspire and challenge one another. We maintain small cohort sizes to build a sense of community and throughout the program, you and your peers will become familiar with one another’s work. You will communicate and collaborate with creatives from different disciplines, and build a lasting network of creative and intellectual peers.
Bringing the World’s Top Creators to You Student Teaching
Through our visiting artist lecture series, students gain insight from artists, designers, scholars, and critics from around the world. The annual Graduate Symposium is a public event where PNCA graduate students come together with members of Portland’s creative community to explore issues such as environmental justice and art, the social and political implications of DIY creativity, and how emerging technologies will impact the future of art.
We provide opportunities for students who wish to become educators to develop their teaching skills and gain experience in academia. Teaching Assistantships allow students to apply the theory they have learned to a real classroom setting. They will develop lesson plans, create syllabi, lead classroom discussions, and build their teaching portfolio while deciding what kind of educator they will be.
Supportive Faculty MentorBased Approach
Strong Alumni Network
With economic and social factors impacting artists, an arts education can and should consider how best to set up students for thriving creative careers. The faculty at PNCA will not tell you what direction to take your art, but will guide you as you explore, experiment, and discover your voice. You will learn from working artists and designers who can offer perspective about making a life as a creator and who will help you achieve your goals.
Based on your areas of interest, you will be paired with a mentor who will serve as a sounding board, advocate, critic, and colleague. These mentors are drawn from PNCA’s expansive network that includes professionals in the Portland art community and PNCA faculty members. Your mentor will help facilitate your experimentation in the studio as you sharpen your perspective and pursue your goals.
At PNCA, we take a comprehensive approach to arts education, focusing on technical knowledge as well as professional skills. This approach is designed to give you options and prepare you for a variety of career paths. PNCA alums have started their own businesses and studios, shown work in galleries all over the world, and worked with powerhouse companies like NASA and Coca-Cola.
Alumni careers include: Artists Curators
Entrepreneurs Design Strategists Writers
Educators Marketing Specialists
Campus & Facilities
Our campus offers a range of resources to prepare for a career in the arts. Every MFA student is given an individual studio space that is theirs for the duration of their program, including summer. Campus also includes spaces dedicated to various mediums including:
• Drawing
• Printmaking
• Textiles
An Arts Community Unlike Any Other
• Photography
• Digital Artforms
Participating in our student exhibitions is an invaluable opportunity to gain exposure to the wider Portland arts community.
With a DIY spirit and community-based culture, Portland is a unique place to pursue an arts education. PNCA has deep ties to the city, working closely with non-profit organizations and local businesses to provide opportunities to our students. Our students participate in events and receive mentorship from leaders actively working and creating in the community.
Being located in the Pacific Northwest, our students’ work is often connected to the environment in some form. Whether you gain inspiration from the natural world or strive to use your work to have a positive impact on the planet, PNCA’s proximity to the ocean, rivers, mountains, and forests offers unparalleled ties to nature.
Admissions
PNCA admits students representing a range of backgrounds, perspectives, and artistic styles. While every department has its own admission requirements, to be admitted as a graduate student to PNCA, you will need a portfolio comprised of your strongest work. This is your opportunity to show us your strengths as well as indicate your goals.
As you prepare to apply, there is no better way to learn about PNCA, or for us to learn about you, than by visiting our campus.
• Tour our facilities
• Meet with faculty
• Talk with current students
• Become eligible for the Engagement Scholarship
You will be considered for financial aid upon admission to a graduate program. All admitted students receive a merit-based scholarship.
Learn more about the application process. willamette.edu/go/pnca-grad-apply
