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.

In 800 words or less, respond to the prompt: "What motivates and defines your data and design practice?"

If helpful, please use these additional questions to inform your response:

• Data visualization takes a hybridized approach towards communication - help us understand your history in data, design, or visual art and how you want to apply these skills in the future.
• Why do you want to help inaugurate the DV&C program?
• Do you have a mission or passion?
• We love big ideas - tell us about someone who influences how you think and work.
• You might reflect on a moment, experience, or frustration that's pushing you to explore this field more deeply.

Please submit this as a PDF document.

We value personal voice and storytelling, so please submit original work with citations, including mentioning if you use AI generative software.

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.

• Create a 90-second video to introduce yourself as a person and designer.
• We want to get a sense of your energy, curiosity, and voice. No need to be overly polished, we're looking for authenticity, not perfection.

Upload your video to a platform like Vimeo or YouTube or an accessible folder, and paste the URL link in the application portal.

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 Video Introduction.

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, including any academic, artistic, or professional experience as well as related activities such as publishing, awards, and exhibitions. Please keep your Résumé to two pages or less.

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 79 (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 6.5 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 115 on the Duolingo English Test.

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

A minimum score of 6 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 53 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.

Applicants are required to submit a portfolio of relevant work in data visualization, design, fine art, business analytics, or academic research that demonstrates ability, awareness of design and data related skills, as well as point of view.

Portfolios must include at least five projects. You might consider:

• Work that demonstrates visual literacy, craft, and process
• Strategy documents or publishing that communicates design challenges and outcomes

Coding projects that show samples, processes, and outcomes

Guidelines:

• Portfolio must be submitted as an online portfolio site (preferred) or a single PDF document
• Do not send links to Google Folders, DropBox folders, or individual jpg/mp4 files, please
• Do not make portfolio sites of files password-protected

We value personal voice and storytelling, so please submit original work with citations, including mentioning if you use AI generative software.

Selected applicants are invited to interview with the Department Chair and Director of Operations. Interviews are conducted online via video chat. Please check your email frequently for an invitation to interview; if you do not respond, we will not be able to proceed with your application. Please do not reach out to inquire about interviews.

Be the first to launch this new concept in data visualization design! 

Are you an analyst, data scientist, or developer who wants to build your design designs? Do you have a background in design and want to watch your skills with a higher fluency with data? Are you an artist who wants to take your work to a wider public through a focus on data? Are you a professional that wants to pivot your skills into something more specialized? We encourage applications from candidates of all academic and professional experiences and career pivoters at any stage of their professional journeys. A bachelor’s degree in any discipline is required.

The MPS Data Visualization and Communication (DVC) program is tailored to fit those who are not afraid of a world overloaded with information. We give you the fundamental dataviz and interactive storytelling tools to not only confront that world but also to change it. Learn to use data to influence decisions and provoke action. With your compelling designs, you could become a leader in the next generation of data visualization experts.

The MPS Data Visualization and Communication program aims to impart fundamental skills in data visualization and interactive storytelling tailored for a world overloaded with information. While other master's programs focus on data engineering, coding, and business intelligence, very few programs train students in design and communication. This program will combine all of these areas. The MPS DVC program emphasizes the cultivation of job-ready skills and professionalism to broaden career prospects.

Currently, data visualization is mainly taught in data science, data engineering, and business analytics schools, which focus on data engineering and analysis with limited emphasis on design and communication. Despite various formats for teaching design and data storytelling, there's a lack of comprehensive graduate programs covering this hybrid area. This gap represents a significant opportunity, especially as the intersection of design thinking and data communication becomes increasingly valuable in our information-saturated world.

Students will learn design methods and coding skills for creating data visualizations for use across practices and mindsets. The initial semesters enhance design skills by applying design and code know-how through collaborative problem solving and polished presentations. The third semester focuses on crafting a thesis to use as a standout portfolio piece.

Creativity and design will soon become the most sought-after skills in the data industry because AI will replace technical skills. Recent studies show that AI has increasing importance in dataviz. We give students a unique ability that is the qualitative difference between those designers who rely on AI and those who use it to their advantage. That distinctive ability comes from being able to present data creatively in a way that uses human stories to build a connection between the audience and the information. Our program will integrate the usage of AI to increase efficiency and to extend the skills of our students, teaching AI tools primarily as a way of understanding, structuring, and engineering data. By using AI to enhance our students’ coding capacity and framework integration, we position AI as a tool to aid creativity rather than replace it.

Through this hybridized approach, we prioritize human connection over technical complexity. Students will master the art of transforming abstract data into meaningful stories that speak to both hearts and minds. Armed with both creative design principles and cutting-edge tools, students will emerge as the next generation of data communicators who can make the invisible visible and the overwhelming understandable, crafting visualizations that inspire empathy and drive positive change.

While many enrolled students hold part-time jobs or internships during the semester, our academic program is full-time and studio-based — classes, workshops, and special events take place throughout the daytime and evenings on all weekdays. 

• All applications submitted by January 15th are reviewed by our Review Committee, which includes several MPS Data Visualization & Communication faculty members and the Chair of the Department.
• The department continues to accept applications after the deadline as space in the program remains available.