Application Tips

Include your name and email address on every document you submit, especially if you are sending pieces of your application separately, instead of gathered into one packet.  If your documents, such as your letter of intent or resume, have multiple pages, number the pages, and staple the pages of the document together, please. The Department prefers applications to arrive in a single packet, if possible. 

Include contact information, including phone and email address, on your letter of intent, portfolio ID sheet, & resume.  If we need to contact you, for example because your application is incomplete, we will do this by email or phone.  Email is our first contact point, so please be sure to include an email address that you check regularly. 

If you are applying for the studio MFA, state in the first paragraph of your letter of intent which concentration you are applying for: Photography, Painting/Drawing, Printmaking, or 3D (Sculpture or Ceramics).  Once students are admitted, work that incorporates many mediums is encouraged, and students can work in the Art & Ecology area from any medium.  The application process, however, is divided into these areas, and students are admitted into one area only. 

Admissions: Frequently Asked Questions

The instructions say to include a copy of my application, but the online form won’t let me back in to print it out. 
Please include a copy of the Application Summary if you have applied online. If you submit the paper application, please submit the actual application and fee to the Admissions office, and a copy to the Art Department.

Do you admit graduate students for Spring or Summer semesters?
No.  Our admissions process is annual, for Fall semseter only.  The deadline is January 15th for Fall semester of that year.  For example, the deadline for Fall 2008 admission is January 15, 2008. 

The UNM website has three different sets of information about where to send my transcripts!  What am I supposed to do?
It is very important that all transcripts come directly to the Department of Art & Art History!  Because UNM’s Admissions Office has gone “paper-free” when they receive an official transcript, they scan it into our online system, and then shred the original.  This means that if our faculty are to see your transcripts (which they must do to evaluate your application), the Graduate Office must print out a copy of the scanned transcript.  These printouts are often extremely difficult to read.  It is therefore vital that you have two copies of your official transcripts from every college/university you’ve attended sent directly to the Department of Art & Art History Graduate Office.  We will keep one on file, and forward the other to Admissions for their scanning process (which is then part of your permanent online record at UNM). 
            Therefore, please ignore the request at the end of the online application to send transcripts to the Office of Admissions.  Send them to the department instead.  We will make sure Admissions gets a copy, after we have one in your application file. 

What address do I send my transcripts (and letter of intent, letters of reccomendation, and portfolio or writing sample) to?
           
Department of Art & Art History
            Graduate Office, MSC 04 2560
            1 University of New Mexico
            Albuquerque, NM 87131
           

Do FedEx, UPS, and DHL deliver to your office?
Yes, they do.  Please use the address above. If UPS needs a physical address, use the above
address, but add “220 Yale Blvd NE, Art Building.”

Can I submit my application by hand, directly to the Department?
Yes!  Please bring it to the Art & Art History Graduate Office, Art Building, Room 255. 
If you need directions, call the Advisor at 505-277-6672.

I got “locked out” of the online application form, and now it won’t let me back in.  What do I do?
This is happening to about a quarter of the students who apply online.  If it tells you you are “locked out,” and you can’t return to the application process, you have two options.  You can call the Office of Admissions at 505-277-2447, and try to get somebody to fix it, or you can download a paper application and mail it in.  We recommend that you download a paper application and send it in.  It’s much faster and simpler, and the Admissions Office is extremely busy this time of year.  You can download the paper form at: http://www.unm.edu/~grad/forms/forms.html.  Admissions forms are at the top of the list; note that there are both pdf and Word doc options. 

The paper application asks for my “major code.”  What is that?
            For Art Studio, the major code is ARTS.  For Art History, it is ARTH.

The paper application asks for “Graduate Unit.”  What do they mean by that?
They mean the department.  The graduate unit is either Art Studio or Art History, depending on which of our programs you’re applying to.  If you are applying to Art Studio, please include your studio concentration here as well.  For example: Art Studio (Photography). 

The deadline falls on a holiday/weekend.  Is the real deadline therefore the day before or the day after? 
When the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, it will be considered to be the next regular business day.  For example, if the 15th is MLK, Jr holiday, and the University is closed, the deadline will be considered January 16th. 

Is the deadline for “postmarked” or “received”? 
            The deadline is for departmental receipt of all admissions materials.  All components of
your application need to be received by the Department Graduate Office by 5pm on the day of the deadline.  If you are mailing items very close to the deadline, consider using priority mail, delivery confirmation, UPS or FedEx to ensure that your materials arrive on time.  It is the applicant’s responsibility to make sure that all materials are here on time. 

I have attended UNM in the past; do I need to send you my UNM transcripts? 
            Yes.  You can bring or send unofficial UNM transcripts, but you must include them in your
application packet.

Can I include a copy of my resume or artist’s statement?
It is not required, but you are welcome to include those materials.  Resumes are helpful when determining Teaching and Graduate assistantship awards, so we encourage you to include one. 

Do my recommendation letters and transcripts need to come directly from the letter-writers or universities, or can I gather them up myself in sealed envelopes and send them to you in my packet? 
            Either one is fine.  You have more control over when they get here if you gather them
yourself.  If you do this, the letter-writers should sign across the seal of the envelope, so that we know the information is confidential.  In either case, they should arrive at UNM by January 15th.

I see that you have Letter of Reccomendation forms—do these need to be submitted with my letters, or do they stand in place of the letters, or are they optional?
These forms are strongly reccomended, in addition to the letter itself.  Have your references fill out the form and include it with their actual letter of recommendation for you.  The form provides us with important information about who the letter is referring to, including ID number, and program.  However, please do not let the form substitute for the actual letter. 

Do you require the GRE for admissions? 
            No, we do not, for Art History nor for Art Studio.

Should I put my matierals into a binder, portfolio folder or other formal presentation format?
Please don’t.  We’ll just have to remove them from the binder in order to put your file together.  The faculty who review the files will not see your binder or other presentation format, and it is more of a hassle for the staff who compile the application files. 

MFA Portfolio Questions

What format should I submit my portfolio in?
            You can submit your portfolio as slides or as jpgs on a Macintosh and PC-compatible CD, or as
slides in a slide carosel.  If you are applying for the Photography MFA, you can submit a
combination of slides, prints or CD/DVD images. 

What size can my digital images be for my portfolio?  Is there a min/max size for the files, or a preferred resolution?  Is there a preferred file format? 
The preferred file format is jpg or tiff.  CDs must be Macintosh and PC compatible.  There is no specific size for images, but high quality images are preferred.

The return postage information for portfolios confused me.  How does that work, exactly?
First, this is only pertinent to people who have submitted slides or prints as their portfolio, or who wish for the return of their CD portfolio.  All you need to do is include a mailing label and a check for $5 (to cover shipping & handling), made out to UNM.  However, if you’d rather include a UPS or Priority Mail prepaid box/envelope/label, that’s fine.  If you do that, you do NOT need to include the check.  Please don’t send stamps: they are far too easy to lose.

Special Note:
            Please put your name on each piece of your application, especially if you are sending the
materials separately, rather than all in one packet.  

More questions? 
Please see our webpage at http://www.unm.edu/~artdept2/graduate_programs/index.html, or call the Department Graduate Advisor at 505-277-6672, or email art255@unm.edu.