Lighting Design

Lighting Design (MFA) Application Instructions

Deadline

The Admission Committee will make a decision on your application only after all the required materials have been received.

Applicants who wish to be considered for a Dean's Scholarship must submit a complete application packet by January 10. Applications received after January 10 will be considered on a rolling basis.

Required materials

You may download these instructions.

Parsons graduate programs use a self-managed application process: You submit your application online and then mail any supplemental application materials, preferably in a single packet, to the Office of Admission. The Materials Cover Sheet, which can also be downloaded from the Supplemental Forms section of the online application, should accompany all mailed application materials.

Applicants must submit the following items to the Office of Admission:

1. Application form: Complete the online application.
2. Application Fee: Pay the $50 nonrefundable application fee. A credit card is required to submit the online application.
3. Official Transcripts: Submit a sealed original copy of your official college transcripts with your application packet. If that is not possible, instruct the institution to send the transcripts directly to the Office of Admission. Photocopies are not acceptable.
   
   International Transcripts: All applicants with transcripts from international institutions must submit an original transcript from each institution attended outside the United States. Additionally, a certified English language translation must be provided for all official international transcripts that are not written in English. Applicants who would like to transfer academic credits earned at non-U.S. institutions are also required to have their transcript(s) evaluated by World Education Services (WES), our preferred provider, or by another member of the National Association of Credit Evaluation Services (NACES). A course-by-course evaluation report must be prepared for each transcript. Please start the evaluation process as early as possible, including the submission of all required documents to WES (or another provider), in order to ensure the timely completion of the evaluation report. In addition, an admission counselor may require a transcript evaluation by WES or an NACES-approved evaluator if it is deemed a necessary part of the admission decision process, even when applicants to not want transfer credits applied to a program of interest. Instruct the provider to send the report to:
   
   Parsons The New School for Design
   Office of Admission
   Graduate Programs
   72 Fifth Avenue
   New York, NY 10011
   
   If applying online for transcript evaluation, search for "New School Parsons" when requesting our institution.
   
   If your provider is unable to send the evaluation report directly to the school, please obtain a copy and forward it yourself to Parsons along with a Materials Cover Sheet.
4. Résumé: Submit a brief résumé/curriculum vitae summarizing your academic qualifications, relevant work experience, volunteer/community work, travel, exhibitions, public speaking, or any other relevant experiences as they may relate to your field of study, including dates and positions held. Please also note any special language or computer skills that you have. The résumé must be submitted online with the application.
5. Statement of Interest and Intentions: Please outline your reasons for applying to the program. In what ways will you contribute to the subject matter of the program? Your should include a thoughtful description of your background, tentative plan of study or area of inquiry in the field as you now envision it, your professional goals, and how this graduate program will help you realize those goals.If you have not been enrolled as a student in the past five years, please address anticipated opportunities or challenges in pursuing the degree, and future career expectations upon completion of the program. The School of Constructed Environments offers students wishing to combine studies in interior design and lighting design, a unique double major. In the MFA Interior and Lighting Design double major, a three-year, 102 credit-hour curriculum, students develop an in depth technical and esthetic understanding of the relationship between light and interior design. Interested students should apply directly to their primary program of interest-Interior Design or Lighting Design-and address their candidacy and qualifications for the double major essay. The statement of interest must be submitted online with the application.
6. Recommendations:Submit two letters of recommendation from faculty members with whom you have studied or from people with whom you have worked professionally. Your references may submit their recommendations online or you may forward sealed original letters with your application packet.
7. GRE: If English is your native language, submit your scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and general tests (Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing).
8. TOEFL or IELTS: If English is not your native language, submit results of the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System). The minimum TOEFL score required for acceptance to this program is 92 for the Internet-based exam, 580 for the paper-based, or 237 for the computer-based. A minimum IELTS score required is 7.0.
   
   Students required to take the TOEFL can obtain further information from the Educational Testing Service.
   
   Note: A GRE or TOEFL score is required for all applicants. International students who are native English speakers, or who received a bachelor's degree from a university where English was the primary language of instruction, or who completed ESL level six at The New School, must submit a GRE score in place of TOEFL or IELTS.
9. Portfolio: This must be in bound-book form and no larger than 9" x 12" (A4). It may include drawings and photographs of projects and samples of other artwork. Submit your portfolio by mail accompanied by a Materials Cover Sheet (also available in the Supplemental Forms section of the online application). Do not include slides or digital media, and do not use excessive packaging.