SVA To Close Photography MFA Program Amid $22 Million Deficit

(MENAFN- USA Art News) The School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York will discontinue its MFA program in photography, video, and related media at the close of the 2027–28 academic school year. Jason Koth, the school's provost and vice president of academic affairs, announced the decision in an email in August, a development first reported by Hyperallergic, which reviewed the communication.

Koth stated in his email that the closure stems from“SVA's ongoing economic challenges, the nationwide decline in enrollment in graduate-level photography programs, and broader federal policy and financial headwinds that have made it untenable to sustain the program's current model.” Students currently enrolled in the program, which was established in 1988, will be able to complete their degrees through a“seamless teach-out process.” This is the latest curriculum reduction at SVA, following the announcement earlier this year that its curatorial master's program would also be terminated in 2027.

SVA has experienced a 34 percent drop in registration since 2019 and is reportedly facing a $22 million structural budget deficit this year, marking the largest in its 80-year history. Charles Traub, the founding chair who launched the photography, video, and related media program, expressed his view to Hyperallergic:“I believe that the closure could have been avoided through better coordination and by rethinking how we were going to deal with the future of AI in a more aggressive way.” Last fall, foreign students reportedly constituted nearly 45 percent of SVA's student body.

We previously reported:

The School of Visual Arts is ending its graduate Photography, Video, and Related Media program due to economic challenges and declining enrollment.

Source: ARTnews

MENAFN15092026005694012507ID1111669134