Contemporary representational art has attained a prominent place in galleries and museums around the world, yet the skills and concepts required to create it are not always available or supported in art programs around the country. As a graduate program uniquely focused on representational art, Laguna College’s MFA in Painting and MFA in Drawing are structured to provide the critical environment and skill-based curriculum to ensure the highest standards of craft and concept. Our two-year degree program is designed as an immersion in the history, theory and practice of figuration and will prepare students for careers as professional artists and college-level educators. The program’s combination of academic research and studio critique creates an environment in which the student may pursue experiment and invention within the pictorial tradition.

Laguna College’s MFA is carefully designed to provide the best combination of independent research and exposure to the art culture of a major metropolitan area. The individual, 24-hour access studios at the Laguna Beach campus allow for personal exploration and interchange of ideas among our twenty to thirty Master’s candidates. Nationally recognized visiting artists come to campus regularly for critiques. Scheduled visits to our Los Angeles Mentor faculty ensure exposure to the working artists, curators and gallerists of this major cultural center and are complemented by the opportunity to show at a variety of L.A. exhibition spaces.
Full and part-time curricula are offered as well as teaching assistantships, work study and merit-based scholarships.

Perin Mahler
Chair, MFA