MFA Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield MFA facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Which welding technique joins metal pieces using a filler rod melted by an electric arc, and is common in contemporary metal sculpture? → MIG (GMAW) welding
2. Which sculptor is known for creating large-scale Cor-Ten steel works including 'Tilted Arc'? → Richard Serra
3. Which process involves pouring liquid material into a mold and allowing it to harden to produce a three-dimensional form? → Casting
4. What's the name of this piece of art? → The Scream
5. Which early 20th-century movement rejected traditional artistic forms and embraced irrationality, chance, and anti-bourgeois provocation? → Dada
6. Which feminist art historian coined the phrase 'Why have there been no great women artists?' as a critical intervention? → Linda Nochlin
7. Which sculptural process involves removing material from a solid block — such as carving wood or stone? → Subtractive sculpture
8. Which seminal text by Clement Greenberg argued that modern painting should emphasize its inherent flatness? → 'Avant-Garde and Kitsch'
9. In color theory, what are split-complementary colors? → A color paired with the two colors adjacent to its direct complement
10. Which term describes a sculpture created by joining together found objects or pre-existing materials? → Assemblage
11. Which element of art refers to the perceived surface quality or 'feel' of a work — whether rough, smooth, or bumpy? → Texture
12. Which point of view uses 'I' and 'me' to narrate a story from inside one character's direct experience? → First person
13. Who of the following artists created the 1889 work Starry Night? → Vincent Van Gogh
14. Which element is most central to a successful MFA thesis exhibition? → A cohesive body of work that reflects sustained artistic inquiry
15. In the context of MFA studio critiques, what does 'formal analysis' primarily examine? → The visual elements and principles of design within the work itself
16. An artwork's central concept is referred to as the → Theme
17. An object's relative brightness or darkness is: → Value
18. What does 'in medias res' mean as a narrative technique? → Beginning the story in the middle of the action rather than at the chronological beginning
19. What does 'site-specific' art primarily mean? → Art created in response to and inseparable from a particular location
20. Which principle of design refers to the visual weight distribution that creates a sense of stability in a composition? → Balance
21. What does 'chiaroscuro' refer to in painting? → The use of strong contrasts between light and dark to model three-dimensional form
22. In color theory, what term describes colors that sit directly opposite each other on the color wheel? → Complementary colors
23. What is 'free verse' poetry? → Poetry written without a fixed meter or rhyme scheme
24. In photography and visual art, what does 'depth of field' control? → The range of distances within a scene that appears acceptably sharp
25. In ceramics, what does 'bisque firing' accomplish? → It hardens unfired clay into a porous state ready for glazing
26. Which material is traditionally associated with the direct carving movement championed by sculptors such as Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore? → Marble and stone
27. In ceramic sculpture, what is the purpose of the bisque firing stage? → To harden unfired clay into a porous, unglazed state suitable for glazing
28. In the context of MFA programs, what is a 'critique' (crit)? → A structured group discussion in which peers and faculty analyze a student's work
29. What does 'mark-making' refer to in fine arts practice? → The intentional or expressive traces, gestures, or strokes an artist leaves on a surface
30. The concept of 'negative space' in sculpture refers to: → The empty space surrounding or passing through a sculptural form