Expand Your Practice and Professional Network
We’re the #1 art university in Canada for many reasons — our excellence in reputation extends not only to your academic and studio experience, but also to the artistic opportunities you’ll have outside of the classroom and after graduation.
As a Low-Residency MFA student at Emily Carr University, your experience bridges your home studio and the wider creative community. You’ll build your practice through:
- Annual Thesis Exhibition: Present your final body of work in a public exhibition alongside your cohort at the culmination of the program.
- Summer Residency Programming: Engage in talks, critiques, workshops and special events with visiting artists, curators and scholars during your on-campus residencies.
- Graduate Forum Series: Participate in remote artist talks and dialogues throughout the year, designed to deepen your practice and expand your critical perspectives.
- Access to Research Facilities + Labs: Make use of ECU’s Shops + Studios and Research Centres + Labs, including DESIS Lab and Basically Good Media Lab, during your summer residency. MITACS also provides opportunities for students to collaborate with industry in research projects.
- Professional Development Opportunities: Stay connected year-round with career programming, exhibitions, mentorship and community-building activities designed specifically for low-residency students.
- Creative Community: Form lasting relationships with full- and low-residency peers while learning from leading voices in contemporary art.
In Others’ Words
“As a multidisciplinary artist, being able to try new materials and methods is an essential part of my praxis. I cannot think of a space or time that better allowed for that than at Emily Carr University. With access to a multitude of studios and workshops, I am able to create freely and organically, while being supported by faculty, staff and colleagues who genuinely care for my success.”
Rebecca Bair, MFA
Opportunities After Graduation
Graduates of the Low-Residency MFA program at Emily Carr University go on to build successful practices as artists, educators, and cultural leaders.
Career paths include:
- Exhibiting Artists: Showing work in galleries, museums and public art spaces
- Curators + Programmers: Leading exhibitions and cultural initiatives
- Educators: Teaching at post-secondary institutions and art schools
- Creative Entrepreneurs: Running studios, collectives and independent businesses
- Researchers: Contributing to interdisciplinary projects and residencies