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SVA’s Office of Financial Aid coordinates the many sources of aid to meet as much of the student’s financial needs as possible.

• Consultation with financial aid staff can be arranged at any time prior to or during the application process.
• Their site includes a listing of free scholarship search engines, including a specific one for international students.

We recommend that US citizens have the FAFSA form completed as soon as possible – this can be started before or in parallel to your application.

• Be sure to use the form for the year that you would start through the following year. For example, applicants with a start date of June 2024 would fill out the 2024-25 FAFSA form.
• Once accepted, having this already in place will speed up your process of obtaining loans and other aid, which is important with a June start date.

SVA will match any domestic outside scholarship up to $2500. The SVA Alumni Society offers a thesis grant award competition during your thesis year.

SVA matching scholarships are available to full- and part-time graduate students, based on the student‘s financial need, as determined by the completion and submission of the FAFSA form. Details here, under “Graduate.”

To learn more about what awards and grants our department offers, feel free to check out this blog post here.

All candidates are encouraged to submit applications by January 15th to be considered for first-round reviews and merit-based awards, as well as the Educator’s Scholarship. Remaining admissions and awards will continue on a rolling-deadline basis as space allows.

Tuition and fees are outlined here.

Payment plans are available.

For international students, the MFA Visual Narrative program is a perfect fit, as students are only required to be on campus in NYC for three eight-week periods during three summers. Because students are not considered “full-time” in the four six-credit fall and spring online semesters, the educational visa with SVA will not allow students to stay in the United States during those four semesters.

• Typically, students can arrive in the US 30 days prior to the summer session and must leave no later than 60 days after the end.
• Some students have enrolled in ESL studies at other institutions in NYC during the fall and spring to bridge this gap, in which case the visa gets transferred temporarily to the other school during those periods, returning to SVA for the summer sessions. Contact us for more details or to be connected with an international alumnus who can answer your questions about this option.
• Please carefully review this structure – detailed information can be found on SVA’s International Student Office page, which includes a FAQ section.

Fully half of our curriculum is devoted to developing creative writing skills, which makes it essential that students enter exhibiting a strong command of both spoken and written English. MFA Visual Narrative applicants must have a minimum score of 100 (internet-based) or 250 (computer-based) TOEFL to be considered for admission.