Advantages to getting an MFA in digital art over a BFA?

aewrh alve asked:


I am currently pursuing my BFA in digital art, and am about half way through the program. I noticed that another in-state university offers a digital art MFA program, which definitely piqued my interest. My question is – Besides personal fulfillment, in the field of digital art is there any real advantage to me spending the additional 2 years to get the MFA instead of just keeping the BFA and starting a career? Thanks!

3 Comments
October 27, 2009 by admin in Other - Visual Arts

3 Responses

  1. MiKe B
    October 28, 2009 at 4:01 am

    Nope. In fact having a MFA hinders you because you become overqualified. Pretty much the only thing you can do once you have an MFA with no field experience is teach.

    I’d recommend getting your BFA, working in a studio for 3 or 4 years (or a couple of studios depending on how things work out) and once you get comfortable, get them to pay for your MFA (you’d be surprised at how easy that is to do). The experience and the overall quality of your work is what’s going to get you a job, not the letters on your diploma.

    Also, build a network! Be nice to people, make as many friends as you can and cast as wide a net as you can. Most jobs in the creative industry come from personal networking, NOT monster or hotjobs or places like that.

  2. captsnuf
    October 30, 2009 at 5:06 pm

    my lovely and talented wife has a bfa and cannot find work in her field, so she works in a frame shop at hobby lobby beside another lovely and talented lady who happend to be an mfa, (the mfa i think makes a quarter less per hour than my wife).
    get the picture…

  3. colettemr
    November 1, 2009 at 11:35 am

    I only have an AS degree in Multimedia from an accredited community college and I got a job before i graduated. All depends on your quality of work and personality.

    There were those I felt were better than me in school but their personality kept them from getting the jobs they desired.

    I now make over 45k base salary doing what I love. I work above and beside those with BFAs and BSs degrees.

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