©Gregory Halpern, Professor

Each installment of In Focus: The MFA Review highlights a different MFA program for photographic artists, offering readers a concise overview of its identity, curriculum, faculty, student experience, financial support, and post-graduation outcomes. It also serves as a showcase of the creative work produced by faculty, students, and alumni. Rather than functioning as rankings or endorsements, these features are intended as practical starting points—tools to help prospective students compare programs, identify what matters most to them, and make more informed decisions about their graduate education. While certain details shared in these articles may change over time, my hope is that these program snapshots offer a clear sense of what each represents in the present moment.

Thank you to Joshua Thorson for completing this interview and compiling all the images/resources!

Institution name: Rochester Institute of Technology

Degree Title: MFA in Photography and Related Media

Location: Rochester, NY

Link to Program Page: https://www.rit.edu/study/photography-and-related-media-mfa

Link to Application Page: https://www.rit.edu/admissions/graduate/application-instructions

Instagram: @rit.photo.mfa

©Ahndraya Parlato, Assistant Professor

Tell us a little about your program. How would you define its scope and purpose?

The MFA Photo program at RIT takes an expanded view of photography. We provide students with critical tools for developing concept, form and practice through large projects. By guiding our students through the process of critique, articulating themselves and writing about their work we also prepare them professionally for a career in the arts.

©Juan Orrantia, Assistant Professor

What would you say makes your program special?

Our program supports student experiments with diverse techniques and processes. While we are up to date with the newest equipment, we also support analog and alternative practices and are currently one of the only schools in the U.S still maintaining a color analog processor. Additionally, our students have the opportunity to teach and graduate with valuable classroom experience. With our smaller class sizes, we are also able to foster a strong community between the student cohorts and faculty.

©Joshua Thorson, Associate Professor

What specialized facilities are available for student use (i.e. darkroom, lighting studio, print lab)?

Personal studio spaces; dedicated computer lab with printers, scanners, large format printer, copy stand negative scanning setup; dedicated MFA darkrooms with 24 hour access; Kreonite color processor for paper up to 24’”; large format darkroom with mural enlarger; huge selection of cameras, both analog, digital, medium and large format (up to 11×14); large lighting studio with cyc and natural north-facing light and 20 more fully-equipped lighting studios. Additionally, RIT has an on-campus professional photo lab where students can pay discounted rates for film processing, printing, and mounting.

©Cristin Hand, MFA Candidate

Is your program strictly photography-focused, or does it encourage/allow interdisciplinary work?

Our program uses photography as the foundation but encourages students to work in the mediums that are best suited to their projects. In the recent past,  we’ve had students print collodion on glass they blew themselves, make quilts and mobiles and work at the intersections of sculpture, photography, video and more.

©Fiona Veronique, MFA Candidate

Do you specialize in a particular area (i.e. documentary, experimental, environmental work)? And once in the program, is a student able to shift their focus if their creative interests change?

We are a fine art program. Students work across poetic documentary, alternative processes, photo books, collage, and more. We nurture students practice based on their conceptual goals, which at times, may mean changing processes, techniques, strategies, etc.

©George Meng, MFA Candidate

How structured is the curriculum? Are there required courses, or is it more self-directed?

Our curriculum features a main critique course for both years, photo history, a course focusing on students’ thesis writing and public presentations, and professional development. The rest of the credits are made up of electives in our program, in the art and design school, and throughout the university.

Does the program incorporate video work or emerging media such as AI, VR/AR, or 3D/360 imaging?

We have video courses and opportunities to expand into other related and extended media.

©Jesse Gwilliam, MFA Candidate

Does the program offer career development support, such as portfolio reviews, workshop/conference attendance, or networking opportunities?

Gregory Halpern teaches a New York City class, where students travel to New York to meet curators, artists, publishers, non-profit spaces, alumni, and more.

Additionally, we have a Fine Art Lecture series that brings in four visiting artists per year to give artist talks and do studio visits with our MFA students. For our second-year critique class, we bring visiting artists and curators for critique of the work leading up to and during the thesis exhibition. Students in their second year take professional development course, where they hone their resumes, websites, and learn about how to apply for grants, residencies, teaching opportunities, and more.

©Hankyung Ryu, MFA Candidate

What are key graduation requirements (exhibition, thesis paper, portfolio, etc.)?

Students are required to make work for a thesis exhibition and write an extended artist statement thesis paper. They are encouraged but not required to make a portfolio.

©Don Casper, MFA Candidate

Who are your current faculty members? What are their areas of creative interest?

Our current faculty members: (Gregory Halpern, Ahndraya Parlato, Juan Orrantia, Josh Thorson, Cat Zuromskis, Carole Woodlock, Greg Hayes, Rachel Hutchison, Meredith Davenport, and Eric Kunsman), represent a wide spectrum of the medium, working with lyrical documentary, text/image combinations, and alternative processes, and studying the history of vernacular images and processes. Their interests are as wide ranging as: American mythology, the post-colonial landscape, gender and sexuality, personal narratives, and the medium of photography itself.

Are faculty members primarily full-time or adjunct?

Our faculty are all full-time.

©Tim Mulhall, MFA Candidate

How involved are faculty in mentoring students beyond coursework?

Community is very important to our program. We have opportunities for getting together as a community off campus, such as with faculty-hosted potlucks, nature hikes, pizza nights, trips to the thrift store, etc. In terms of mentorship specifically, our faculty are available to students outside of class time for meetings.

How often do guest artists, curators, or critics visit for lectures and/or critiques?

Our Fine Art Lecture series brings in four visiting artists per year, to give artist talks and do studio visits with our MFA students. Additionally, the school of art and university galleries also have their own lecture series.  Individual classes often bring artists to campus for presentations and critique. Our program is also structured with two Open Studio events a year which are open to the public at large and often draw regional artists and curators.

©Daniil Kolchanov, MFA Candidate

How many students are admitted each year, and how many are photography focused? What is the approximate cohort size, and what effect does this have on critiques, collaboration, and networking?

We admit eight students per year, so the cohort is approximately sixteen.

What kind of work are current students creating?

Photography in the expanded field—which at the moment includes abstract and cameraless images, alternative processes, collage, sculpture, text/image combinations, and video.

©C. Rose Smith, Alum

What is the total cost of the program (and duration), and what funding options are available? Are there teaching assistantships, and what percentage of tuition do they cover?

We are a two-year program. We offer scholarships based on applicant portfolios and personal statements for students who submit by the priority deadline of Feb 1. Every admitted student receives a graduate assistantship, which is paid as a stipend. These positions range from leading one of the Photo School’s Intro to Digital and Intro to Film for Non-Majors courses, working with a faculty for a class or on a project, working in the rare-book archive to learn archival cultural heritage preservation processes, working with the photo book librarian, and more.

Are additional grants/resources available to support student projects?

At the end of the first year, additional scholarship funds are awarded to students who show outstanding progress. We also award funds for purchasing film or other related items between the first and second year. The Office of Graduate Education offers a grant to help offset the costs for students completing their thesis project or traveling for professional purposes.

©Joe Cuccio, Alum

What types of careers to alumni pursue, and how does the program support students after graduation?

Curating, photo editing, teaching at both the college and high school levels, editorial photography, working in museums or archives, freelancing and more.

How connected is the alumni network, and do graduates stay involved with the program?

The Photo School at RIT will be 125 years old in 2027. We have an extensive alumni network, and many grads have benefitted from connections made through this network.

©Ian Edward White, Alum