MFA Painting Syllabus, Distance, Admission, Colleges, Scope 2023

MFA Painting or Master of Fine Arts in Painting is a full-time postgraduate painting course of 2-year duration which is divided into four semesters of study.

Check Top MFA Painting Colleges in India here.

Master in Fine Arts in Painting educates Visual Artists who create individual work and also perform autonomous research with a view to gain an insight into new prospects for Painting in a digital era which is based on a reflective and critical attitude.

MFA Painting Syllabus includes various subjects such as Aesthetic and Art Prediction, Creative painting or Portrait, Creative painting or Portrait, History of Modern Indian Art etc.

To be eligible to apply to this course, students must hold a Bachelor’s degree in relevant discipline from a recognized university with an aggregate of at least 50% marks.

Admission to this course will be done either on the basis of performance of candidates in the entrance exams conducted by the admission authorities or based on candidate’s performance in the Bachelor degree exams.

Some of the Top MFA Painting Colleges are as follows:

NIRF Ranking 2020	Name of the College/ University	Average Annual Fees	Admission Process	Average Salary Package
10	BHU, Varanasi	INR 4,620	Entrance-Based	INR 9,00,000
15	University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad	INR 12,130	Entrance-Based	INR 6,80,000
16	JMI, New Delhi	INR 10,550	Entrance-Based	INR 5,00,000
63	Amity University, Noida	INR 56,000	Assessment of portfolio on the day of selection process	INR 4,50,000
69	VBU, Birbhum	INR 8,160	Merit-Based	INR 6,00,000

The tuition fees for enrolling in MFA Painting courses vary as per universities. The average annual course fees generally vary between INR 10,000 and 3,00,000.

MFA Painting job prospects include a large number of jobs in many government and private sectors, industries, banks, media, insurance, and public relations etc. Students can work as a Gallery Artist, Art Instructor, Museum Curator, Designer, Art Critic, Fine artist, Printmaker, Exhibition designer, Art therapist, Stylist, Interior designer, Arts administrator, Gallery manager, Multimedia programmer, Museum officer etc.

The average starting salary can be around INR 2,00,000 to 10,00,000 per annum in top companies like AVM, Harvard etc.

On completion of this course, students can pursue higher studies and advanced academic exploration along with research through PhD Fine Arts, MPhil courses. This course essentially provides a solid basis for further studies and related prospects.

What is the Admission Process for MFA Painting?

The MFA Painting Admission Process can vary as per the university rules and regulations. Some universities grant admission to students in this course based on merit. Some of the top-most Indian universities prefer conducting entrance exams to grant admission to qualified candidates.

The admission procedures followed in the Indian universities for admission to MFA Painting course are given below.

Merit-based admission

In merit-based admission, the universities offering MFA Painting grant admission to students based on their marks obtained in the graduation level.

Entrance-Based Admission

The steps of the entrance-based admission are provided below:

Registration: Candidates have to register themselves using their email id and mobile number.
Filling up of application form: On creation of login id, fill the application form by providing the required information correctly.
Uploading of documents: In this step, candidates have to upload the necessary documents such as photograph, signature, id proof, Class 10 and 12 certificates, Bachelor’s degree etc.
Application Fee: On uploading the requisite documents, students have to pay the requisite amount of application fee online.
Issuing of Admit Card: Based on the details submitted by the students, the admission authority will issue the admit cards to the eligible students.
Entrance Examination: After getting the admit card, exam dates will be released by different conducting bodies. Candidates have to sit for the entrance test and qualify the same to get admission.
Declaration of Result: In the final stage, admission authorities will release the results of the entrance test they have appeared for.
Enrolment: Successful candidates will then be allotted seats to the respective institutes.

What is the Eligibility Criteria for Admission to MFA Painting Course?

The minimum eligibility criteria for students seeking admission to MFA Painting program in Indian universities are given below :

Candidates must hold a Bachelor’s degree in Arts stream from a recognized university.
Candidates who have scored an aggregate of at least 55% marks in their bachelor’s degree in any stream from a recognized board are eligible for MFA Painting course.

Is There Any Entrance Exam for Admission to MFA Painting course?

A large number of Indian universities conduct entrance exams for MFA Painting admissions. The entrance exams conducted thus vary according to the respective universities. Some of the most sought-after entrance examinations are:

JNUEE: The entrance exam conducted by Tripura University is known as TUET. The entrance test is conducted for the admissions to various undergraduate and postgraduate programs in streams including, Humanities and Social Sciences, Science, Engineering, Arts, Commerce, Education, and Law. The entrance exam is conducted in a pen-paper based test mode across 12 test centres including Tripura University Campus.

Check Tripura University Admissions here.

BHU PET: Banaras Hindu University conducts the Banaras Hindu University Post graduation Entrance Test (BHU PET) entrance examination for candidates aspiring to pursue a career in fields of Arts, Science, Fashion, Music, Sanskrit, and various other language courses, under Banaras Hindu University.

BHU PET Exam Pattern	BHU PET Practice Papers

The important dates of these exams are given below :

Exam Name	Exam Date
TUET	To be announced
BHU PET	Check here

How to prepare for MFA Painting entrance exams?

Candidates are advised to follow the below mentioned points to score well in the entrance examination: .

As entrance examinations vary from one university to another, it is recommended that students prepare for a list of targeted universities and their relevant admission tests.
Knowledge of the relevant entrance examination and their respective patterns and syllabus will enable the candidate to prepare for the entrance exam more solemnly.
Aspirants must have a good knowledge and a thorough understanding of the concepts related to Fine Arts.
The students must have a clear idea of the concepts and syllabus of the relevant entrance tests.
Following the rules and regulations of the relevant examinations is another important point that the candidates have to keep in mind while attempting the entrance tests.
Don’t forget to revise things before appearing for the entrance exam, as this is the most important aspect of one’s preparation.

How to Get Admission in a Good MFA Painting College?

Students can get admission in a good college if they have an astounding academic record in graduation and also on the basis of your performance in various national or state level entrance tests. The greater the score, the better will be the chances of getting admission in the top colleges across India.
To succeed in the tough competition of cracking the entrance exams, students must have a proper understanding of the pattern, syllabus and the concepts related to the concerned discipline.
Many universities across India grant admission to students based on their merit or marks obtained in the graduation level. So the students must have a high aggregate score at the graduation level.
Some universities prefer considering both the marks of graduation aggregate and entrance exam score for an ultimate merit list. Hence, it is highly recommended that the students get high marks in both these examinations to gain a top position in these merit lists.
Keep track of all the important events pertaining to admission so that you will never miss any deadline. Also, keep a track of eligibility criteria, course cut-off, application procedure, application fee and all the updates in newspapers, official websites etc.
Students are advised to practice as many papers and questions as they can in order to enhance your time management skills.

MFA Painting: What is it about?

Read the points given below to know what MFA Painting is all about:

This course provides an educational context where motivated and creative artists can pursue their own goals, hone technical skills, and advance personal vision through intense, focused individual studio activity.
The main emphasis of this course is on creating professional artists, and graduates of the program have made significant contributions to the discipline as artists, curators and gallerists.
This degree program teaches students about the principles of design by completing a variety of drawing projects.
While pursuing this course, students will develop a strong sense of design through decision-making and problem-solving projects that may include media such as, graphite, oil pastel, coloured pencil, chalk pastel, and charcoal.
The major subjects considered and studied in this discipline are landscapes, still-life, the figure, and abstraction.
This course provides opportunities to students in identifying and developing their own style and medium at advanced level to become a professional Artist.

MFA Painting Course Highlights

Course	MFA Painting
Full form	Master of Fine Arts in Painting
Level	Postgraduate
Duration	2 years
Eligibility	Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in relevant discipline from a recognized university
Admission Process	Merit-based/ Entrance test followed by an interview or counselling
Average Annual Fees	INR 10,000 to 2,00,000
Job Positions	Gallery Artist, Art Instructor, Museum Curator, Designer, Art Critic, Fine artist, Printmaker, Exhibition designer, Art therapist, Stylist, Interior designer, Arts administrator, Gallery manager, Multimedia programmer, Museum officer etc.
Top Recruiting Areas	Educational Institutes, Arts, Crafts Shops, Art Galleries, Museums, News, and Magazines, Publication Homes and many others.
Average Annual Salary	INR 2,00,000 to 10,00,000

Why Should You Study MFA Painting?

There are many benefits of pursuing a MFA Painting course. The main benefits of pursuing this program are as follows:

This course gives many opportunities to personally grow as Artists.
The students will have access to a variety of facilities and artistic materials, including oil, acrylic and water-colour paints.
It helps to prepare individuals creatively and technically to express emotions, ideas, or inner visions by the application of paints and related chemical colour substances to canvases or other materials.
The postgraduates can practice printmaking and other art forms while pursuing this course.
It is also beneficial for further studies such as PhD.
The skills gained during a Master of Fine Arts Painting degree program are transferable to a wide range of careers – from visual communication to project management, idea development, and art curation.

MFA Painting vs MFA Applied Arts

MFA Painting and MFA Applied Arts are both post-graduate degree courses in the field of Fine Arts. But there are subtle differences between the academic curriculum of these two-degree courses.

Also check top MFA Applied Arts Colleges here.

A comparison between the two courses is given below in a tabulated form for better understanding along with their respective fee and expected salaries :

Parameters	MFA Painting	MFA Applied Arts
Level of Study	Postgraduate	Postgraduate
Duration	2 years	2 years
Course Overview	Master in Fine Arts in Painting educates visual artists who create individual work and also perform autonomous research with a view to gaining insight into new prospects for painting in a digital era which is based on a reflective and critical attitude.	This degree program is essentially about the application of design and decoration to everyday objects and products to make them aesthetically pleasing.
Eligibility	Bachelor’s degree in relevant discipline or equivalent from a recognized university	Bachelor’s degree in relevant discipline or equivalent from a recognized university
Admission Process	Merit-based/ Entrance test followed by an interview or counselling	Merit-based/ Counselling after qualification of entrance exam.
Average Annual Fees	INR 10,000 to 2,00,000	INR 1,00,000 to 4,00,000
Job options	Gallery Artist, Art Instructor, Museum Curator, Designer, Art Critic etc.	Musicians, Music Teachers, Grafter & Writer, Art Director, Art Teacher, Graphic Artist etc.
Average Annual Salary	INR 2,00,000 to 10,00,000	INR 3,00,000 to 8,00,000

Source: College Websites

Which are the Top Colleges for Studying MFA Fine Arts Course?

A large number of universities across India offer MFA Fine Arts courses. Some of the top universities among them are given below in a tabulated form along with their respective location, average annual fee, and NIRF ranking :

NIRF Ranking 2020	Name of the College/ University	Average Annual Fees	Admission Process	Average Salary Package
10	BHU, Varanasi	INR 4,620	Entrance-Based	INR 9,00,000
15	University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad	INR 12,130	Entrance-Based	INR 6,80,000
16	JMI, New Delhi	INR 10,550	Entrance-Based	INR 5,00,000
63	Amity University, Noida	INR 56,000	Assessment of portfolio on the day of selection process	INR 4,50,000
69	VBU, Birbhum	INR 8,160	Merit-Based	INR 6,00,000
95	Mumbai University, Mumbai	INR 34,405	Merit-Based	INR 6,28,000
101	BAMU, Aurangabad	INR 28,536	Merit-Based	INR 2,80,000
101	University of Kalyani, Kalyani	INR 16,810	Merit-Based	INR 3,96,000
151	KUK, Kurukshetra	INR 35,700	Merit-Based	INR 5,58,000

Source: College Websites

College Comparison for MFA Painting

The comparison of the top three Indian universities offering MFA Painting is given below in a tabular form along with their average annual fees, and average placement package offered:

Parameters	JMI, New Delhi	University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad
Overview	Jamia Millia Islamia offers Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Diploma, and Distance Learning Education for students. The institution shows lots of history and is famous for it is rich in culture and has its own elegance.	This University is one of the Premier institutes in South India for Postgraduate Degrees. The University has been Accredited by NAAC 'A' Grade. It is also approved by UGC and AICTE. The university has emerged as the leading center for Teaching and Research.
NIRF 2020 Ranking	16	15
Location	New Delhi, Delhi NCR	Hyderabad, Telangana
Admission Process	Entrance test followed by an interview or other admission formalities	Entrance test followed by an Interview
Average Fees	INR 10,550	INR 12,130
Average Salary	INR 5,00,000	INR 6,80,000
Top Recruiters	India Infrastructure, TCS, Adobe, ABB Ltd., Mahindra and Mahindra, snapdeal.com, Belzabar etc.	CommVault Systems India Pvt. Ltd., Dell, Freescale, IBM, oracle, Qualcomm India Pvt. Ltd., Google, HSBC, Microsoft, TCS etc.

Source: College Websites

MFA Painting Distance Learning

Students who are unable to get admission to the MFA Painting course in regular mode can also pursue the same through Distance Learning mode. Before taking admission, Students must check for the validity of the course and the college in distance or correspondence mode.

In order to be eligible for this course through correspondence mode students must hold a BFA Painting degree or equivalent from a recognized university.
The minimum duration required to complete this course from distance mode is 2 year and the maximum duration of the same is 5 years.
Admission to MFA Painting course through correspondence mode will be done based on the candidate's merit in the Bachelor’s degree examination.
The average fee for the course ranges from INR 10,000 to INR 45,000 annually.

Given below are some colleges which offer this course through distance mode.

College/ University Name	Admission Process	Average course Fee
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi	Merit-Based	INR 10,800
Annamalai University, Annamalai	Merit-Based	INR 5,900

What are the Subjects Covered in MFA Painting Syllabus?

The MFA Painting syllabus includes a comprehensive and integrative curriculum of both theoretical and practical study spread over the four semesters in two years. A semester-wise breakup of the general syllabus for MFA Painting course is given below in a tabulated form:

Semester I	Semester II
Aesthetic and Art Prediction	Aesthetic & Art Appreciation
History of Modern Western Art	History of Modern Western Art
Creative Painting/Portrait	Creative Painting/Portrait
Exhibition, Viva-voce & Seminar	Exhibition, Viva-voce & Seminar
Semester III	Semester IV
History of Modern Indian Art	History of Modern Indian Art
Dissertation and viva-voce	Dissertation and viva-voce
Creative Painting/Portrait	Creative Painting/ Portrait
Exhibition, Viva-Voce & Seminar	Exhibition, Viva-voce & Seminar

Which are the Most Important Books for MFA Painting Course?

Some of the important books that students can refer to while pursuing MFA Painting course are as follows:

Name of the Book	Author
Realistic Painting	Deniel K. Tinnant
The History of Indian Art	Sandhya Ketkar
A History of Aesthetics	Bernard Bosanquet

What are the Career Options and Job Profiles Available After Completing MFA Painting?

Job opportunities are quite vast for the MFA Painting postgraduates and these jobs are available in the private and public sectors.
The graduates can work in areas like Educational Institutes, Arts and Crafts Shops, Publication Homes, Art Galleries, Museums, News and Magazines etc.

Some of the popular professional jobs available to MFA Painting degree holders along with the corresponding salaries are provided in the table given below:

Job Profile	Job Description	Average Annual Salary
Fine Artist	A Fine Artist works across a variety of mediums like paper, metal, clay, photographic film, and wood and usually specialising in a single ‘fine arts’ sub-category.	INR 3,00,000
Art Therapist	An Art Therapist facilitates art group activities and the therapeutic process, encourages clients to analyze and reflect on their artwork, and inspires their clients to improve their attitudes toward the therapeutic process, themselves and those around them.	INR 2,31,000
Museum Curator	A Museum Curator develops and organizes new collections to expand and improve educational and research facilities and to maintain records and cataloguing acquisitions.	INR 3,58,000
Art Gallery Manager	An Art Gallery Manager schedules programs and staff for their gallery needs, and may also arrange for art work to be transported. They primarily work to create an effective link between artists and their audience by displaying artworks and hosting shows.	INR 4,85,000
Art Critic	The duties of an Art Critic are to travelling to galleries, exhibitions and private collections, to speaking with gallery managers, exhibitors and private owners, to making informed opinions on various pieces of fine art and communicating those opinions in a well-articulated way.	INR 5,00,000

Source: College Websites

What is the Future Scope After Completing a MFA Painting Course?

Students who have completed the MFA Painting program have numerous career options. The future scopes for students of MA Painting are given below :

Higher and advanced education: Students can opt for higher advanced education and research opportunities after completing their MFA Painting postgraduate course. The higher education options they can pursue are :

B.Ed.: For those who want to pursue a career as a school teacher in either public schools or private schools can consider enrolling in a B.Ed degree course. This course can provide them with the necessary insights required for teaching at different school levels.
PhD: Students can also enrol for a PhD in Fine Arts course. Along with in-depth research and studies on the subject, this provides massive scope for further employment with higher pay-scales.
Junior Research Fellowship:Students can also appear for NTA-UGC NET-JRF that will grant them eligibility for employment as Assistant Professor in Indian colleges and universities, and also open up research avenues in top universities.

MFA Painting FAQs

Some of the most frequently asked questions pertaining to MFA Painting program are given below:

Ques. How long is a Masters degree in Fine Arts Painting degree program?

Ans. The length of the MFA Painting course is 2 years.

Ques. What is the difference between an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degree and an MA (Master of Arts) degree in Fine Art?

Ans. An MA is a good degree for anyone who wants to become an arts administrator, a curator, a gallery director or some other type of culture worker.

An MFA, as others have pointed out, is a specialization in one specific area that prepares the student to become an actor, a dancer, a musician or an artist.

Ques. Can I get a Master's in Fine Arts without a BFA? I have a BA in business.

Ans. Yes, even in India it is possible to get an MFA after a BA, but not in traditional subjects like painting etc, and certainly not from traditional colleges. MFAs are available from some new-age art schools like the one at WUD Sonipat that offers MFA in contemporary arts, Curatorial practice, Art Education and Fashion Art.

Ques. What further study options one can choose after completing a course in MFA in Painting?

Ans. Any candidate can pursue PhD in Painting after the completion of MFA in Painting degree program.

Ques. Which universities offer distance education for MFA Painting in India?

Ans. MFA in Painting is a full-time course, no universities and colleges offer this course through distance mode of education.

Ques. What is the average annual fee for a MFA Painting course?

Ans. The average annual fees of MFA Painting course may vary from one institute to another. The average annual fee ranges from INR 10,000 to 2,00,000.

Ques. What is taught in an MFA Painting course?

Ans. MFA in Painting degree program teaches students about the principles of design by completing a variety of drawing projects.

Ques. Which are the best universities and colleges in India for MFA Painting degree programs?

Ans. The top universities and colleges in India which are offering MFA Painting degree programs are Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Amity University, Jamia Millia Islamia University, and University of Hyderabad etc.

Ques. What is the average salary that a student gets after completion of MFA in Painting?

Ans. The average salary is anything between INR 2,00,000 and 10,00,000.

Ques. Is there any delay in the admissions of MFA Painting courses due to the outbreak of Covid 19?

Ans. Yes; colleges like Banaras Hindu University and few more have extended their admission for the course till further update, due to the spread of Covid 19.