Applicants must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, with a minimum GPA of 3.0 for the last two years of upper-division coursework. For the MFA degree, applicants are evaluated on their creative work, and all applicants must submit a portfolio of work consisting of a maximum of twenty still images. Applicants whose work is time-based should submit film stills, video stills, and/or performance documentation as still images in addition to their time based work. The portfolio should represent both the artistic medium the applicant is planning to emphasize and his or her potential for advanced specialized study. Applicants are asked to provide the names and email addresses of three references, but letters of recommendation are not required. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required. For the MFA program, applicants with a bachelor's degree in art are preferred, but those who hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution with only some previous study in art may be admitted on the basis of a review of their work. The University requires that an applicant hold a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution, comparable in standard and content to a bachelor's degree from the University of California, with an overall scholastic average of B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) or better – or its equivalent if the letter grade system is not used. Your IELTS Academic overall band score should be at least 7.0. 7.0 is the minimum required.
Your TOEFL score on the paper and pencil test must be at least 560 or at least 87 on the internet-based test.