Apply

Admission to the program is by online application, portfolio, and a telephone interview.

As a program intended to investigate the boundaries of interaction design across disciplines, we are interested in candidates who have a multi-disciplinary background. We believe that the ideal candidate for MFA in Interaction Design program is a user-centered designer with a cross-disciplinary set of interests, comes from a design or design-minded field, and is a systems thinker. Simply, the candidate is equal parts abstract thinker and craftsperson.

BACKGROUND

We recommend students have at least two to five years of professional experience, although some may come directly from an undergraduate degree. Prospective students need not be advanced web, mobile, or interactive designers already, but should be curious and imaginative, experimenting with interactions on their own. Prospective students from fields such as research, writing, and engineering with a fluency in design provide an interesting complement to the program as well.

REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university
• Official college or university transcripts
• Completed online application ($80 registration fee)
• Three letters of recommendation from instructors or practicing professionals (signed at the seal)
• Statement of purpose (250-500 words) and résumé
• Personal phone interview
• Portfolio
• Proof of English proficiency (required of applicants whose primary language is not English); Nonimmigrant alien applicants are required to submit documentation of sufficient financial resources to attend SVA

Apply for admission.

DESIGNING A PORTFOLIO

Because we emphasize diversity in students’ background — from industrial design to graphic design to cognitive psychology to business — what characteristics might one emphasize in a design portfolio? Is it a design portfolio at all?

Attributes
We are looking for five characteristics in the portfolio: concept, craft, communication, process, and empathy. When considering each piece you include in your portfolio, consider how each might contribute to the story you’re telling about your work across these five criteria.

Diversity
Because this is an interaction design portfolio doesn’t mean that it should only include interaction design work. Demonstrating that you have a design range that spans multiple disciplines, and that you have fluency across multiple media demonstrates that you have a holistic approach that will be not only valuable to other students and to the program. While we suggest that you consider including 20 pieces in your portfolio, you should use that as a guideline. You should only include pieces that you are proud of.

Details
Don’t be afraid to show details. We’re equally interested in reviewing a final product as we are the concepts and sketches that comprised the process. Consider including process sketches as portfolio pieces in their own right as they contribute to a visual story of your personal design process.

Format
Most of all, your portfolio should be easy to use. Consider your audience—the portfolio committee. While we don’t want you to innovate (no need for fancy Flash or superfluous design), we do want to be able to experience your portfolio the way you would like us to. After all, you are the curator. If you were designing a space, you’d consider whether you’d like us to turn left or right through the gallery. Make the same considerations with your portfolio and the experience of your portfolio committee.

PORTFOLIO REQUIREMENTS

The clarity of your portfolio is a critical part of presenting the quality of your work. Thus, each portfolio piece must be paired with a brief statement describing it (including URL where appropriate).

Applicants are strongly encouraged to curate a portfolio of work that demonstrates a broad range of interaction design work. We recommend a guideline of 20 pieces that demonstrate your work through concept, communication, craft and process. Work should demonstrate a fluency in at least some of the following—Web design, application design or industrial design; design research; a proficiency with interface design, information architecture or usability methods; prototyping methods; typography and layout; attention to shaping human behavior.
Web-based portfolios: only a URL is required, and all URLs must be active through August 2010.
Disk-based portfolios can be submitted on CD or DVD. It must be accessible from a Macintosh platform to be considered. Title the disk, lastname-firstname. Include any required plug-ins. Presentation formats (PowerPoint, Keynote) will not be accepted. Slides, printed portfolios and all other file formats (swf, exe, etc.) will not be accepted.
Note: All portfolio submissions become the property of the School of Visual Arts and will not be returned. For this reason, we strongly recommend that applicants NOT submit original art work. The College is not responsible for any media that is received in damaged condition and cannot be viewed.

MAILING APPLICATIONS

All required application materials must be received together in one package by the Office of Graduate Admissions. Please include recommendation letters in a sealed envelope with recommender’s signature across the seal. Applicants who need confirmation of the receipt of materials should mail documents by a trackable means.

All materials should be sent together to:

Office of Graduate Admissions
School of Visual Arts
209 East 23 Street
New York, NY 10010-3994

SCHEDULE: WHAT TO EXPECT

January 1, 2010
Reminder for prospective students interested in pursuing financial aid; fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

January 15, 2010
Online applications closed.
Prospective students can expect the following timeline from January through April:

February/March 2010
Telephone interviews for select candidates.

April 1, 2010
Applicants who applied by January 15 receive a decision in writing from SVA. The College does not disclose admissions decisions via phone, fax or email.

Apply online