Established in 1826, MICA is the oldest independent, continuously degree-granting art college in the nation. We are fully accredited both regionally and nationally and have been consistently ranked in the very top tier of visual arts colleges in the country.
MICA is breaking new ground in its curriculum, providing you with opportunities to work collaboratively on project-based enterprises, to build the intellectual sophistication needed for innovative thinking, and to develop professional skills for a successful career through real-world experiences and client-driven projects.
An incredible breadth and depth of offerings allow you to pursue a truly interdisciplinary program of study—or to immerse yourself in a single avenue of artistic exploration. Visit mica.edu/programs to see current course offerings.
MICA has made substantial investments to ensure that the quality of its liberal arts program equals that of its nationally recognized studio program. This commitment to quality is evident in MICA’s course offerings and faculty appointments and sets the College apart from other art colleges. Each year, you can choose from nearly 200 courses offered in art history, literature, writing, humanities, social sciences, and sciences; you can also select classes at 11 other area colleges in math, science, languages, and other liberal arts areas.
MICA’s curriculum allows you to customize your education to match your interests and realize your career goals. The College minimizes barriers among disciplines and provides opportunities to explore a wide range of interests while experimenting with a variety of mediums and approaches to artmaking. The curriculum encourages and values transdisciplinary work while also allowing you to pursue a single avenue of in-depth study. As you chart a path specific to your interests and long-term plans, you can tailor your academic experience by combining your major with a co-major and/or minor, and even taking classes at a top liberal arts university or pursuing study abroad.
You can choose from a wide variety of studio majors that mirror the diversity of the contemporary art world. You might focus on time-honored and formal processes, finding your voice within a single discipline, and creating object-based art. Or you might create art that is interactive, uses multiple mediums, or relies on collaboration with other artists—or scientists, or writers, or musicians—for its execution. At MICA, painting, sculpture, photography, and other traditional mediums co-exist with interdisciplinary and multimedia approaches to art and critical thought.
In addition, MICA offers seven fifth-year capstone programs leading to a Master of Arts or Master of Professional Studies degree. These intensive, professionally-focused programs are designed to prepare artists and designers to make the most of the cross-disciplinary career opportunities open to them today.
MICA is consistently ranked in the top tier of visual arts colleges in the U.S. It is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. Our students are frequently recognized with prestigious national and international awards, reflecting the strength of the College’s curriculum. MICA is also consistently named a “top producer” of Fulbright award winners: in the past 20 years, almost 30 MICA students, alumni, and faculty have been selected for the Fulbright, traveling to India, Turkey, Tanzania, Czech Republic, Germany, Mauritius, Iceland, Cambodia, Panama, Denmark, Italy, Canada, Australia, Sweden, and Norway to study, do research, and make art. MICA faculty members are regularly awarded major grants, including those from the National Science Foundation, Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, T. Rowe Price Foundation, and the Small Business Administration. Many alumni have received full fellowships for graduate study—including the prestigious and highly competitive Jacob K. Javits Fellowship, the Soros Fellowship for New Americans, and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship.
One reason employers recruit our graduates and why top graduate programs—from CalArts to Yale—actively seek them out is because they value our students’ creativity, ability to think critically, breadth of real-world experience, and exceptional artistic and technical skills.
MICA is widely recognized for offering a diverse range of semester and faculty-led study abroad programs. This commitment reflects the College’s belief in the value of global experiences for artists and designers. Through immersive travel, students gain exposure to new ideas, environments, and ways of thinking, strengthening both their creative work and their understanding of what it means to be a global citizen.
Programs are offered during the summer and the semester and include opportunities across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and beyond. Faculty-led Global Pathways programs take students to locations of significant aesthetic and historical value, as well as contemporary art and design hubs, to earn college credit toward their MICA degree. Semester-long study abroad and international exchange programs enable students to enroll directly at partner institutions abroad, while domestic exchange opportunities are available through MICA’s membership in the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) Extended Opportunities Program.
The Office of International Education (OIE) supports students throughout the entire process—from choosing a program to navigating academic, financial, and logistical details. OIE provides one-on-one advising, information sessions, and workshops, and works closely with offices across campus to ensure a smooth process for students and their families.
MICA has 1,700 students (1,200 undergraduate and 500 graduate) with a student/faculty ratio of 9 to 1.
MICA students come from 45 states and 33 countries.
The faculty at MICA comprise over 450 professional artists, designers, and art historians, as well as scholars and writers in the humanities and sciences hailing from Yale, Harvard, UCLA, Cooper Union, Georgetown, Howard, Oxford, Cambridge, and other prestigious universities. They exhibit in national, regional, and international museums and galleries, design for top brands and publishers, author best-selling books and articles, write for local and leading publications, investigate and partner on academic and scientific research, and engage and impact communities in Baltimore and beyond.
MICA faculty regularly receive highly competitive grants from such organizations as Creative Capital, Guggenheim, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the National Science Foundation, the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), and other national and international funding organizations for their projects. They are winners of every national prize offered to artists—from Fulbright Fellowships to Oscars, Louis Comfort Tiffany to Anonymous Was a Woman, and Joan Mitchell Foundation grants. They are represented in 250+ public and private collections—from MoMA to Stedelijk, and they lecture and are visiting artists, designers, writers, researchers, and creatives in Japan, Korea, Russia, China, Ecuador, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic, Scotland, Jamaica, Italy, England, Singapore, Argentina and Guatemala.
More than 175 visiting artists, critics, scholars, designers, poets, writers, and art historians come to campus each year to share their work, meet with students, and critique students’ work. For example, in recent years, renowned thinkers and artists-in-residence at MICA have included:
Baltimore is a city of 140,000+ college students, offering an array of art resources, activities, hands-on professional opportunities, and access to inexpensive living for artists. It is a place of high-ceilinged, well-lit studio spaces and all-night diners, year-round city markets and avant-garde theaters, independent film festivals and beehive hairdos, and as many high-end salons as gritty clubs. Some of the city’s most innovative music and performance venues can be found within walking distance of campus in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District.
Every day of the week, there is something exciting happening at or near MICA, and you can find it all through the Baltimore Collegetown Network, which includes 11 colleges and universities and offers a range of services and an online calendar that’s the best source of what’s happening in Baltimore. The city is also renowned as a showcase for cutting-edge work in visual arts, music, literary arts, film, theater, and performance—and venues such as the Creative Alliance, Maryland Art Place, School 33 Art Center, and an expanding array of galleries (many founded and run by MICA alumni) provide valuable exhibition opportunities. Baltimore is also at the center of the well-known East Coast art corridor, giving you easy access to collections of the finest museums and galleries in the country.
By train, Washington, D.C., is 40 minutes south; New York City, less than three hours north. MICA offers regular weekend bus trips as an inexpensive way to see the latest exhibitions in the galleries and museums of New York and D.C.
MICA’s residential campus, in Baltimore’s historic Bolton Hill neighborhood, is at the heart of the city’s cultural district, a short distance from downtown. This expansive urban campus features green spaces and eclectic architecture and is only minutes from major museums, galleries, cinemas, theaters, and cafés.
All but four of the College’s 31 buildings were creatively renovated from existing structures and redesigned to meet the needs of artists. Founders Green, MICA’s residential complex, and the award-winning Gateway residence tower feature unique and inspired design elements, geared to the needs of artists. Brown Center has been hailed as an architectural jewel by such publications as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Architectural Record. Two of MICA’s buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Over the past 20 years, MICA has doubled its residence life space, increased academic classroom space by nearly 50%, created a new high-end art/technology center, expanded student galleries, constructed an innovative multi-use performance space, and added 40,000 square feet of independent studio space for undergraduate and graduate students. The apartment-style student residence, Meyerhoff House, is a cutting-edge residential life experience for upper-division students and a prime example of the College’s successful tradition of repurposing important historic structures for artists’ needs. The Gateway was developed through the opposite strategy—an international design competition among top young architects yielded a cutting-edge design, refined with significant input from current students. All combined, the result is an architecturally diverse and distinctive campus that maintains the aesthetic integrity and European flavor of the surrounding neighborhood.
The College’s named art galleries—Meyerhoff, Decker, Pinkard, Middendorf, and Rosenberg—feature exhibitions by students, faculty, and internationally esteemed artists. Galleries in nearly every campus building are devoted to showcasing student artwork. The 525-seat Falvey Hall was designed for performance art, video and film, dance, theater, poetry readings, and lectures, and BBOX is dedicated to student performances and events. Decker Library provides access to over 450,000 art and design books and periodicals, ebooks, ejournals, streaming videos, and dvds. The library collection spans a wide range of creative subjects to support exploration, research, and making. Additionally, the library contains rare and historic items, including artists' books, and MICA historical materials. The library provides information literacy instruction, programming, personalized research services, and a wide array of services to support academic and creative pursuits. To see the campus, click here.
MICA’s investment in state-of-the-art technologies for artists is reflected in the many purpose-built facilities that support digital innovation across disciplines.
Campus-wide, MICA provides state-of-the-art hardware and software for 3D animation, video and sound editing, graphic design and illustration applications, and a wide range of fine art applications—from 3D modeling to computer-assisted printmaking. The College is constantly updating its systems to meet the software needs of both students and faculty. WiFi is available throughout campus, including in all residential facilities. Click here for information on current computer hardware and software.
MICA’s housing complexes are designed for artists who need a balance of independence and community. Founders Green is specifically designed with the needs of new students to MICA in mind. The sprawling green space and common areas in the heart of the complex make it ideal for meeting new people and interacting with your classmates.
Founders Green is home to more than 500 students and is less than a five-minute walk from the Main Building. Founders Green consists of Latrobe House, Spear Hall, Carter Hall, Glace Hall, and Leake Hall. Apartments have either two or three bedrooms—either single or double occupancy. The percentage of singles is much higher than regular residence halls. Each apartment has a living room, kitchen, and bathroom, and each building surrounds the central courtyard. Throughout the year, you’ll always find something happening—performances, Ultimate Frisbee, basketball, barbeques, sculpture installations, and most-creative snowman contests. Amenities include on-site laundry facilities and parking spaces. Latrobe House is a central meeting place, with comfortably furnished lounges for movie nights, parties, potluck dinners, and informal social gatherings. The complex is also home to a lecture hall, gallery space, and a black box performing space; studios are available for students who need space to work on their projects.
Upper-level students can ease into independent living in Meyerhoff House or the Gateway—cutting-edge residential life experiences. Each apartment in Meyerhoff House has a unique character: high ceilings, exposed brick, interesting geometries, and, especially from the upper floors, spectacular views. Every bedroom is single occupancy. The first floor houses MICA’s new main dining facility and serves as the campus living room. The Gateway anchors the north end of MICA’s campus (which is the gateway to Baltimore’s cultural corridor) and offers apartments, a studio tower, and a landscaped central courtyard for residents. Public spaces include a public gallery focusing on student work and BBOX, a multi-use performance space focusing on student events and performances. On the second floor of the Gateway, the Joseph Meyerhoff Center for Career Development provides comprehensive career development support and the Ratcliffe Center for Creative Entrepreneurship helps MICA students and alumni grow creative ideas into viable businesses.
Meal service at MICA is provided by Parkhurst, a company that has earned its reputation as one of the nation’s best collegiate food service providers by offering dishes made from the freshest ingredients and innovative recipes prepared by thoughtful and service-oriented staff. Meal plans and service have been tailored to the unique tastes and schedules of student artists, with a diverse array of options, including ethnic and exotic entrées, vegetarian and vegan offerings, fresh side dishes and salads, and homemade desserts. Parkhurst, a lead partner in MICA’s efforts to become a more environmentally sustainable campus, has implemented a number of changes—such as the use of local produce and suppliers, degradable utensils and food containers, trayless dining, and a reusable coffee mug program—that reduce waste and save water and energy.
MICA has a vibrant student life program that offers a wide range of activities to help students get involved and gain leadership skills on campus. Students can join a variety of clubs and organizations, from cultural and affinity groups like the Asian Student Alliance and the Black Student Union to interest-based groups such as the Cosplay Club, MICA Puppet Theater, the Print Club, and the Outdoors Club. The Student Voice Association advocates for the needs and perspectives of the MICA student body, while the Student Space Galleries provide opportunities for students to exhibit their work on campus.
MICA’s student life program is managed by the Center for Student Engagement (CSE), which supports students in building community, making connections, and discovering their identities, strengths, and passions.
With a schedule that includes nearly 80 exhibitions a year across 11 galleries, MICA exposes students and faculty to a range of important work by contemporary artists and designers.
Our exhibitions schedule also includes time and space dedicated to faculty exhibitions, and there are several galleries devoted to exhibiting student work beginning in the freshman year. You literally cannot walk to class without passing an exhibition. Regular trips to New York and Washington, D.C. keep students in touch with the contemporary international art scene.
MICA’s curriculum also provides students with numerous opportunities to gain hands-on experience and establish connections with professionals in their area of interest. The Exhibition Development Seminar offers experience in all areas of the design and implementation of a major exhibition—from curatorial to exhibition design, public programs to art education; design and illustration students take on real-world projects for clients and collaborate with professionals to implement projects throughout Baltimore; community arts programs offer experiences in community arts programming to build leadership, teaching, and collaboration skills for students in any major. Many programs of study include opportunities for internships and real-world coursework in students’ major requirements.
At MICA, we believe in empowering students to forge creative, purposeful lives and careers in a diverse and changing world. Career development begins the day students arrive on campus and continues beyond graduation. The Joseph Meyerhoff Center for Career Development offers a comprehensive career planning program tailored to the needs of artists and designers. Services include one-on-one advising, professional materials review, financial literacy courses, and a robust resource library covering everything from portfolio preparation to graduate school applications. Students also have access to a searchable database of more than 400 grants, residencies, and fellowships.
Many students also choose to pursue internships to gain industry experience and build professional connections while earning credit toward their degrees. MICA students have interned at top museums, galleries, product design firms, apparel companies, design and game studios, and performing arts centers across the country.
For many MICA students, entrepreneurship and creative practice are closely intertwined. The College’s focused yet flexible creative entrepreneurship programming empowers artists and designers with a wide range of professional tools. The Ratcliffe Center for Creative Entrepreneurship offers curricular and co-curricular opportunities to help students explore entrepreneurship as a career path and build real-world business skills. The UP/Start Venture Competition awards over $100,000 in seed funding annually to support creative business ventures within the MICA community.
Additional opportunities include the Creative Entrepreneurship minor, the year-long First Year Fellows in Creative Entrepreneurship program, and the E/Intern Fellowship, which provides funding for summer internships focused on entrepreneurship. Through the Baltimore Creatives Acceleration Network (B/CAN), MICA extends its reach by offering business, legal, marketing, and financial training to artists and creative startups throughout the region.
MICA alumni live in over 50 countries and have earned international awards, attended top graduate programs, exhibited in major museums and galleries, and are featured in public and private collections worldwide. As of the most recent Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) survey data, 96% of undergraduate alumni are working in a field related to their program.
Our alumni are entrepreneurs launching startups in a wide array of fields, and hot designers with firms specializing in print and UX design. They have been honored as fine artists in Art in America and Artforum, and lead major arts and nonprofit organizations. They are illustrators with work featured in Communication Arts and other national publications, have published best-selling comic and graphic novels, and work on Emmy, Tony, and Academy Award-nominated and -winning art teams.
In addition to receiving Fulbright awards soon after graduation, MICA students have also regularly earned the prestigious Jacob K. Javits Fellowship for graduate study, the coveted Soros Fellowship for New Americans, and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship. Many other students have been awarded full scholarships to prestigious graduate schools. Others have won the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition grand prize from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and received the MacArthur “Genius Grant.”
MICA’s Alumni Network connects you with fellow graduates across the globe, with active regional chapters hosting frequent networking events in cities throughout the U.S. and beyond. We also welcome alumni back to campus for speaking engagements during MICA Weekend and other special programs.
Networking is very important for artists—this is how you make connections for exhibition opportunities and jobs. In addition to MICA’s Alumni Network, MICA faculty can provide guidance as you begin your professional career. They include artists, designers, critics, and scholars with stellar national and international reputations. For example, Graphic Design faculty member and director of MICA’s Center for Design Thinking, Ellen Lupton, is a noted author and curator at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum in New York; Harvey Award winner and founder of the Sequential Art concentration in Illustration, José Villarrubia, is internationally renowned for his comics color work; and Valeska Populoh in the Fiber Department is a widely recognized performer, an expert in costume, mask, and puppetry techniques, and the co-founder of the Puppet Slamwich at Black Cherry Puppet Theater. FYE faculty member LaToya Hobbs created a monumental woodblock print for the National Gallery of Art in 2025; and Illustration Chair Shadra Strickland is an Ezra Jack Keats Award-winning author and illustrator, whose work has appeared in books by Toni Morrison and Renée Watson and who has been instrumental in helping many MICA students secure publishing deals. Animation professor Laurence Arcadias collaborates regularly with scientists from NASA, and Fine Arts faculty, such as Tony Shore and Lauren Adams, have long-standing relationships with major galleries and exhibit frequently. MICA faculty in art education are among the most respected in the field worldwide, while faculty in the digital area, like Nate Larson and Nadia Hironaka, are literally writing the book on art and emerging technologies. Liberal arts faculty publish widely, including scholar of cultural studies Mikita Brottman; Firmin DeBrabander, who has written commentary for publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The New Republic;
and curator and art critic Mónica Amor.
MICA’s internationally renowned graduate programs draw top students and faculty from around the world. One reason graduate students choose MICA is the opportunity to study in the energized community of artists created by one of the nation’s top undergraduate programs of art and design. MICA enrolls approximately 500 students across 18 graduate programs, leading to degrees in Master of Arts, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Professional Studies, and a combination MA/MBA in partnership with Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.
For undergraduate students, the presence of a world-class graduate program means access to an expansive program of visiting artists and critics, internationally renowned graduate faculty who teach or critique in the undergraduate program, and the addition of a diverse group of professionally active graduate students, whose presence enhances campus life.
MICA is highly selective. Our applicants have made a serious commitment to art and demonstrated that commitment through their accomplishments and a strong portfolio of artwork. To complete the application for admission, go to mica.edu/apply.
Approximately 90% of MICA students receive financial assistance in the form of a package that may include a combination of need-based aid, loans, work-study, and merit-based grants. Families who may qualify for aid should complete the financial aid process. Application forms for financial aid are available online at mica.edu/apply. MICA offers a number of competitive scholarships for high school seniors who wish to attend the College. Students who wish to apply for these merit-based scholarships should check the appropriate box on the Common App. Scholarships are available to students from the U.S. and abroad. Some awards are based solely on meritorious achievement in art and/or academics. Others are based on a combination of meritorious achievement and financial need. For more information, contact the Office of Undergraduate Admission at 410.225.2222 or email admissions@mica.edu.
The best way to evaluate a college is to visit the campus. MICA offers a variety of programs, dates, and times to accommodate your schedule, including MICA Visit Days for high school students and open houses. Student-guided tours of our studios, classrooms, residential living complexes, and other facilities are available by appointment Monday through Friday. For the most up-to-date information about how to visit MICA, go to mica.edu/visit.
If you can’t come to campus, consider attending a National Portfolio Day in your region. These events give you the opportunity to meet with representatives from more than 50 leading art colleges and universities to discuss your portfolio of artwork and other admissions requirements. For more information, visit their website at nationalportfolioday.org.
MICA’s summer PreCollege program includes a full four-week session, or two-week options to fit your summer schedule. MICA’s PreCollege Art and Design Program is a wonderful opportunity to build your portfolio, expand your art experience, and test your commitment to future study in the arts. College credit is awarded to students who successfully complete the program.
For more information, visit mica.edu/precollege or email precollege@mica.edu.
