Create Success with an MFA in Graphic Design and Illustration Visual Arts
Marywood University’s low-residency 60-credit Master of Fine Arts degree is specifically designed for working art directors, designers, illustrators, new media artists, and art educators, who have to budget their time and resources carefully, while continuing with their full-time occupations. While production and technical skills are stressed, the heart of our program is bold thinking, powerful concepts, developing a distinctive voice, and self discovery.
Earn your MFA in just three years through a dynamic mix of four two-week summer residencies at Marywood, six immersive study tours, and guided independent work. One-third of your degree (20 credits) comes from self-directed creative projects and real-world strategies for marketing your art. The remaining two-thirds (40 credits) are delivered through inspiring lectures, studio classes, and conceptual exercises. And because the MFA is the terminal degree in the field, it opens the door to teaching at the university level nationwide.
Nothing elevates your work faster than collaborating with leaders in the industry. Our MFA students learn directly from celebrated designers and illustrators including Steven Brower, Lisa Cyr, Melanie Hall, Megan Halsey, John Kascht, James Romberger, Judith and Richard Wilde.
Twice a year, students in Marywood's MFA program meet in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, or another major U.S. city, to visit top studios, ad agencies, museums, and professional organizations. These trips create meaningful connections with working creatives and bring you right into the pulse of the design and illustration world. Low-residency program designed for working professionals
Mentorship from a faculty of renowned designers and illustrators Immersive study tours in major U.S. creative hubs.
Marywood has a blog called Where Creativity Works where art students share tips, artwork, blog writings and more to expand their disciplines and exposure.
Ranked Among the Best
Marywood's low-residency MFA program, “Get Your Master’s with the Masters,” ranks among the top 10 in the nation by Best Value Schools. At #4, Marywood is the only regional institution named in this ranking, which is based on student/faculty ratio and tuition cost, including out-of-pocket expenses.
Personalized Attention
With an 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio, Marywood offers personalized attention from highly qualified faculty who are experienced professionals who bring real-world industry insight directly into the classroom.
I really love that Marywood's Master's with the Masters allows you to travel and encourages you try new things and experiment. This out of the box thinking allows for much ...
Every art student at Marywood has access to superb facilities in our two art buildings, from computer labs and darkrooms to drawing, painting, printmaking, metal, wood, and sculpture studios and weaving looms. Facilities are available to art students 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Marywood is also home to four galleries on campus featuring regional and national artists, faculty, and students.
The Insalaco Center for Studio Art features drawing and painting studios showcasing naturally-lit rooms with beautiful views of the campus. There are studios and equipment for woodworking, fiber arts, jewelry-making, ceramics, sculpture, photography, printmaking, a Mac lab, and private and semi-private studios for upper level BFA, MA and MFA students.
The Shields Center for Visual Arts building contains The Maslow Collection, Mahady Gallery, Suraci Gallery, classrooms for art history and art administration, studios for art therapy, two graphic design Mac labs, and a 24-hour drop-in Mac lab. The Maslow Collection and Study Gallery for Contemporary Art housed in the Shields Center features more than 500 works by artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, and Chuck Close.
The Mahady Gallery is a spacious and dramatic setting for the display of contemporary artwork. Throughout the year, the gallery offers a variety of group and solo shows by visiting artists, juried regional competitions, faculty exhibits, student shows, and curated national exhibitions. The gallery hosts the annual Scholastic Art Awards and the popular Art Faculty Biennial. Featured exhibitions are accompanied by artists’ slide presentations, gallery talks, studio visits, and demonstrations. The Mahady Gallery is located on the first floor of the Shields Center for Visual Arts.
The Maslow Study Gallery is a learning laboratory, providing fieldwork experiences, internships, and opportunities in curatorial and exhibition studies to Marywood students. Works in The Maslow Collection are available for professional research and study, and many are loaned to regional and national exhibitions. The Maslow Study Gallery for Contemporary Art is located on the first floor of the Shields Center for Visual Arts. For more information visit maslow.marywood.edu
Exhibitions in the Suraci Gallery showcase regional and national artists; support art faculty work and scholarship; provide degree research and documentation opportunities for current and alumni art students; and foster community outreach projects and interests. The Suraci Gallery also houses Marywood’s permanent collection of fine and decorative art. The Asian Collection consists of ceramics, furniture, netsukes, inro, ivories, and prints. Bronze and marble sculpture, paintings, ceramics, glass, and French ivories comprise the 19th Century Collection. Religious icons, furniture, and 20th century works round out the Suraci Collection. The Suraci Gallery is located on the second floor of the Shields Center for Visual Arts.
Located in the lobby of the Insalaco Center for Studio Arts, the Kresge Gallery is a versatile exhibition, critique, and lecture space. An alternative venue to the formal art galleries, the Kresge Gallery provides a working and experimental exhibition site for art students and faculty to showcase a variety of work throughout each semester. Recent exhibitions include the Foundation Year student show, Senior Exhibition, Advanced Painting & Sculpture shows, MA shows, the Marywood Print Guild show, Design & Letterpress shows, art auctions, and Art Club shows.
Shields Center for Visual Arts
The Shields Center for Visual Arts building contains The Maslow Collection, Mahady Gallery, Suraci Gallery, classrooms for the art history and arts administration programs, studios for art therapy, two graphic design Mac labs, and a 24-hour drop-in Mac lab. The Maslow Collection and Study Gallery for Contemporary Art housed in the Shields Center features more than 500 works by artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, and Chuck Close.
The School of Business classrooms at Marywood University are modern, technology-equipped learning spaces designed to support collaboration and professional development. These classrooms feature multimedia presentation systems, comfortable seating, and flexible layouts that encourage discussion, group work, and interactive learning. The environment reflects real-world business settings, helping students develop practical skills in areas such as management, finance, marketing, and entrepreneurship while working closely with faculty and peers.
The Michael and Dolores Insalaco Center for Studio Arts is home to the Art Department. The Insalaco Center also houses the Kresge, Mahady and Suraci Galleries and features drawing and painting studios showcasing naturally-lit rooms with beautiful views of the campus. There are studios and equipment for woodworking, jewelry-making, ceramics, sculpture, photography, printmaking, graphic design, illustration, and art therapy, and private and semi-private workspaces for upper-level BFA, MA, and MFA students. Private and semi-private work spaces are available to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students. Art students can access the building 24 hours a day.
Built and dedicated in 2001, the facility was made possible through the generous support of Michael Insalaco, Trustee Emeritus and former Board Chair, and his wife, Dolores.
The Insalaco Center for Studio Arts features drawing and painting studios showcasing naturally lit rooms with beautiful views of the campus. There are studios and equipment for woodworking, jewelry-making, ceramics, sculpture, photography, printmaking, multipurpose classrooms for graphic design and illustration, and private and semi-private studios for upper level BFA, MA, and MFA students.
The Clay Studio consists of a large common workroom with electric- and kick- wheels, extruders, slab roller, and worktables. Adjoining the workroom is a kiln and glazing room with four electric kilns and two gas kilns. Ceramics majors and minors also have access to personal workspaces that connect to the main workroom and kiln room.
Students in illustration, drawing, painting, and foundations have access to two adjacent studios, each about 800 square feet of uninterrupted space with 10 ft. ceilings. One studio has floor-to-ceiling windows extending 80 ft. along two walls. The other has floor-to-ceiling windows extending 40 ft. along one wall. Both studios are fully equipped with easels and taborets, as well as track lighting, student lockers, storage racks, and ventilation systems.
In addition, students have use of multipurpose classrooms equipped with negative, slide and flatbed scanners, large-format color inkjet printers, color plotters, and digital access to Adobe Creative Cloud software.
The large and airy third floor art studio offers dedicated space for novice through advanced painting students. The room has movable partitions for configuring semiprivate work areas according to class size. Six private art studios 12x15 overlook a stand of mature trees and provide plenty of natural light for each student pursuing a undergraduate degrees in studio art painting.
Graphic design, printmaking, and photography students have access to a group black and white darkrooms, a private darkroom for making large projection prints, and an alternative processes room devoted to working with historic printmaking methods such as palladium, cyanotype and gum bichromate. The department has seven 4x5 view cameras which are available for student use, along with a variety of 35mm and 2-1⁄4 cameras. The spacious lighting studio is equipped with versatile strobe systems, backdrops, and a prop zone. Resources include an adjacent multipurpose classroom equipped with negative, slide, and flatbed scanners, large-format color inkjet printers, color plotters and digital access to Adobe Creative Cloud software.
The second floor printmaking studio provides facilities for working in all the major processes. Currently there are there intaglio/relief presses, a litho press with stones and grinding sink, a letterpress proof press and assorted type, camera room, screen stretching unit and assorted frames, screen washout unit, NU ARC exposure units, and various paper filing and materials cabinets. Adjoining the main studio is a separate letterpress studio and a fully equipped papermaking facility including a Hollander paper beater.
The first floor 3D/sculpture area consists of mold-making facilities for casting metal, resins, plaster, and glass. Fabrication equipment allows students to cut, forge, weld, and cold-finish metal. The hot shop is outfitted with kilns for glass cutting. slumping, and fusing in addition to the foundry for bronze and aluminum. The jewelry studio bays provide opportunities for students to work with "light" metals. The wood studio, shared with Architecture, is designed and equipped for all aspects of woodwork as applied to furniture making and sculpture, including carving, lamination, turning, and finishing.
The Robert J. and Elizabeth FitzMartin Mahady Gallery, known more frequently as the Mahady Gallery, is located on the first floor of the Insalaco Center for Studio Arts, providing an open and elegant setting for the display of contemporary artwork. Throughout the year, the gallery offers a variety of group and solo shows by visiting artists, juried regional competitions, faculty exhibits, student shows, and curated national exhibitions. Every art major has an exhibit in the Mahady Gallery before graduation.
Formerly known as the Contemporary Gallery, the venue underwent renovations in 2001. Elizabeth Mahady, a generous benefactor, underwrote the remodeling of the space, which was renamed to honor her and her late husband. In 2025, the gallery was relocated to the lobby of the Insalaco Center for Studio Arts. The refurbished Mahady Gallery has continued to showcase works of talented students, faculty, and visiting artists, providing a source of artistic enrichment for all the people of the region.
The Maslow Study Gallery is a learning laboratory, providing fieldwork experiences, internships, and opportunities in curatorial and exhibition studies to Marywood students. Works in The Maslow Collection are available for professional research and study, and many are loaned to regional and national exhibitions.
The Maslow Collection is the largest and most comprehensive collection of Contemporary art in Northeastern Pennsylvania, with over 700 works by more than 150 artists. Collected by Marilyn and Richard Maslow and originally housed at InterMetro Industries, it is now on long-term loan to Marywood University.
The largest part of the Collection is devoted to paintings by newly established or emerging artists working or exhibiting in New York during the late 1970s through the early 1990s, such as David Reed, Terry Winters, Nicholas Africano, Robert Cumming, James Biederman, Jack Goldstein, Melissa Meyer, Gary Lang, Anthony Sorce, Edward Henderson, and Katherine Porter, among many others.
The Collection also includes major prints and works on paper by Jasper Johns, Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Roy Lichtenstein, Jim Dine, Robert Longo, Chuck Close, Sherrie Levine, Edward Ruscha, Jane Hammond, Peter Halley, Sol LeWitt, and Andy Warhol, among others; and important photographs by Bernd and Hilla Becher, Barbara Kasten, Lee Friedlander, Sandy Skoglund, and Mark Cohen.
The Maslow Collection has loaned works to major exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art in NYC; The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC; the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA; P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Queens, NY; and the University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA; among others.
The Collection is, at its core, a learning laboratory that provides exhibitions, dialogue, fieldwork experience, internships, and other opportunities in curatorial studies. Access begins with all Marywood Art Department students, who interact directly with the Collection as an enhancement of their course content (exhibitions are frequently co-curated by faculty members), and extends to Arts Administration students in a more in-depth way, as well as the larger community as a major resource through loans and events.
The Suraci Gallery, located on the first floor of the Insalaco Center for Shields Arts, houses a rotating selection of Marywood's permanent collection of fine and decorative art. Exhibitions in the Suraci Gallery also showcase regional and national artists; support art faculty work and scholarship; provide degree research and documentation opportunities for current and alumni art students; and foster community outreach projects and interests.
The gallery consists of three collections. The gallery's Asian Collection consists of ceramics, furniture, netsukes, inro, ivories, and prints. Bronze and marble sculpture, paintings, ceramics, glass, and French ivories comprise the 19th Century Collection. Religious icons, furniture, and 20th century works round out the Suraci Collection.
Located in the lobby of the Insalaco Center for Studio Arts, the Kresge Gallery is a versatile exhibition, critique, and lecture space. An alternative venue to the formal art galleries, the Kresge Gallery provides a working and experimental exhibition site for art students and faculty to showcase a variety of work throughout each semester.
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's scholarship programs are designed to encourage and support outstanding students who work hard, demonstrate a strong will to succeed, and have financial need. Our scholarships provide financial assistance and academic support to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students.
Explore the vibrant community and endless opportunities that await you at Marywood. Attend one of our special events designed specially for you to learn more about Marywood's degree programs, dedicated faculty, and welcoming campus.
Marywood University hosts three academic Centers of Excellence on campus; The Center for Law, Justice and Policy, The Center for Urban Studies, and The Mother Theresa Maxis, IHM Center. Each center provides students with the tools and resources to excel in their academic endeavors, fostering a dynamic environment where they can engage deeply with their respective fields of study and make meaningful contributions to their communities and beyond.
