All graduate applicants are required to complete the online application and submit the nonrefundable $80 application fee.

You must enter valid credit card information in order to submit the online application.

Applicants must submit a Statement of Purpose of approximately 1,000 words that tells us why you wish to pursue this two-year degree. Please provide details of your specific interests in curatorial work and what relevant experience you have had at this point. What are your particular fields of interest? What exhibitions or curatorial projects have you experienced lately that were important to you? What texts have you been reading that are especially compelling to you? What are your ambitions for your curatorial studies and subsequent work in the field? Please best describe your knowledge of art history and related cultural studies, as well as previous curatorial work or cultural practice, if any. If the background you bring to the program is especially unique, please tell us about it.

While we acknowledge the usefulness of AI for research purposes in our program, we value original writing for your Statement of Intent as well as your exhibition proposal. Particularly for your exhibition proposal, any inclusion of AI content must be specifically cited. All submissions will be reviewed for AI-generated content.

Online submission is available through the online application. After you submit your application, you will have access to a checklist to upload materials like the Statement of Purpose.

If you are experiencing difficulty uploading your materials via the online application, please email them to Graduate Admissions and include your full name and date of birth in the email.

Applicants must submit a résumé, which should include professional experience as well as related activities such as research, awards, and exhibitions.

Online submission is available through the online application. After you submit your application, you will have access to a checklist to upload materials like the résumé.

If you are experiencing difficulty uploading your materials via the online application, please email them to Graduate Admissions and include your full name and date of birth in the email.

Applicants are required to submit three letters of recommendation from instructors or practicing professionals.

Online submission is available through the online application. Applicants will be required to provide the email address and contact information for their references. A “Send Email” button for each recommendation is provided to send the online form to the email address you provided for your recommender.

If your recommender is experiencing difficulty (uploading the letter via the recommendation portal, receiving emails, etc.), please instruct them to email the letter to Graduate Admissions and include your full name and graduate program in the email.

Note: The School of Visual Arts does not provide letter of recommendation forms.

Applicants must submit official transcripts from each college or university they’ve attended. In order to be considered official, transcripts must come directly from the institution(s).

Please Note: Unofficial transcripts, screenshots, or PDFs emailed by applicants do not fulfill this requirement. There are no exceptions to this policy. Please follow the guidelines below.

Electronic Transcripts

• SVA accepts secure electronic transcripts from Parchment, National Student Clearinghouse, and Credentials Solutions.
• Applicants from institutions in India should request and submit official transcripts directly through TrueCopy Credentials. Requests are processed by TrueCopy Credentials and will be sent electronically to SVA Graduate Admissions.
• Check with the registrar’s office at your institution to see if your school issues its own digital transcripts or if it’s a member of any of the organizations mentioned above. (Important Note: Please be sure that all electronic transcript submissions are directed to “Graduate Admissions” at gradadmissions@sva.edu.)

 Mailing Transcripts

• Transcripts may also be submitted in an unopened envelope that is stamped and sealed by the college registrar of the issuing institution.

Please address to:

School of Visual Arts

Graduate Admissions

209 East 23rd Street

New York, NY 10010                                           

Special Notes

• Pending acceptance, all graduate applicants currently enrolled in school for their bachelor’s degrees for the Spring or Summer 2026 semesters are required to submit verification of graduation before they attend SVA.
• All transcripts from foreign institutions must be officially translated into English and U.S. grading equivalencies. For more information, see the below accordion.

Applicants who have academic documents from institutions outside of the U.S. are required to provide original, attested, or certified true copies of academic records for all institutions attended. These records should be in the original language issued.

Please Note: SVA does not review PDFs or screenshots sent directly via email from applicants.

Records Not in English

For records not in English, applicants must also submit an official translation of all academic documents. Translations must be a complete, literal, word-for-word translation in the same format as the original academic document.

All foreign post-secondary (university-level) transcripts should be converted into U.S. educational equivalencies. Records that are not converted into U.S. equivalencies must be evaluated by an external evaluation agency. The evaluation should be course-by-course.

The School of Visual Arts should be listed as the recipient of the evaluation. The original academic records must be submitted in addition to the evaluation.

The School of Visual Arts requires that international academic records be evaluated by one of the following approved external evaluation agencies:

• The Evaluation Company (formerly SpanTran)
• Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE)
• World Education Services (WES)

Please note: Pending acceptance, all graduate applicants currently enrolled in school for their bachelor’s degrees for the Spring or Summer 2026 semesters are required to submit verification of graduation before they attend SVA.

In addition to the general application requirements, international applicants whose primary/native language is not English must demonstrate proficiency in written and spoken English. The following are acceptable ways to demonstrate English proficiency:

A minimum score* of 100 (internet-based or paper-delivered) Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

• The CEEB code for the School of Visual Arts is 2835. This is the code that must be supplied to ETS in order to have TOEFL scores mailed to SVA.
• Please note this means a composite score for a single test date. SVA does not accept MyBEST TOEFL scores.

A minimum score of 130 on the Duolingo English Test.

• Scores can be sent to SVA directly via the student portal.

A minimum score of 8.0 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

• IELTS is jointly managed by University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL), British Council and IDP Education Australia: IELTS Australia.

A minimum score of 9 in all categories of the English proficiency examination administered by the New York University American Language Institute in New York.

• For information on taking the NYU test, call 212.998.7040.

A minimum score of 68 on the Pearson PTE Academic.

Requirement Waivers

• This requirement may be waived for native English speakers who are citizens of any of the following countries and attend schools where English is the primary language of instruction: England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, India, South Africa and Common Wealth Caribbean (Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago).
• SVA will consider waiving the English proficiency exam requirement for students who have earned a degree at a regionally accredited U.S. college or university. Students seeking this waiver must submit a written request with their application materials.

Please provide an exhibition proposal, not a school paper you have written. The proposal should be no more than four pages and describe an exhibition or other curatorial project/event you would like to curate. The proposal should include:

• Concept summary: what is the subject of your exhibition?
• Site: where would you like for your exhibition to take place? Choose any venue that you like, from a museum to your home to a public place. Be as adventurous as you wish.
• Checklist of artists: provide names of artists and a sample thumbnail image of a work by each artist.
• An exhibition design: a sketch of the way you would lay out the exhibition or other curatorial project. This is not a test. We simply want to get a sense of your current thinking in order to understand the starting point for your curatorial training.

While we acknowledge the usefulness of AI for research purposes in our program, we value original writing for your Statement of Intent as well as your exhibition proposal. Particularly for your exhibition proposal, any inclusion of AI content must be specifically cited. All submissions will be reviewed for AI-generated content.

Online submission is available through the online application. After you submit your application, you will have access to a checklist to upload materials like the Writing Sample.

If you are experiencing difficulty uploading your materials via the online application, please email them to Graduate Admissions and include your full name and date of birth in the email.

It is preferable for applicants to have a thorough knowledge of twentieth- and twenty-first century art history, or equivalent in their cultural field, through their undergraduate education or proven in their subsequent work experience. Applicants with prior cultural experience who are seeking the next level of advancement in their careers are encouraged. Combining hands-on practical training, along with intellectual engagement and societal concerns toward a more equitable and just world, our program provides the requisite education for graduates of the program to enter the professional field. Together, we will interrogate established and new ideas about the intersection of objects, actions, spatial planning, presentation, and knowledge production in sociopolitical and cultural contexts. We are interested in candidates who will contribute to an intellectual and socially engaged community, as we consider the program a professional hub within both the global and local art worlds and society at large.

Select applicants will be invited for an interview either in person or online via Zoom.

We seek applicants who are passionate about art and are intellectually ambitious. Our students come from all walks of life, have studied many different subjects--not just art history--and want the professional training to become curators at the vast number of institutions that hire people in the field globally, from museums to alternative art spaces, art foundations, biennials, commercial art galleries, auction houses, private collections, corporate collections, and more. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are important to us.

• The program offers small need-based scholarships on an individual basis. Please note that these scholarships will only support a minimal portion of tuition.