Montserrat College of Art is an independent residential college of art and design located in the coastal, historic city of Beverly, Massachusetts. The college delivers an innovative curriculum which focuses on the individual needs of each student. The college was established in 1970, at a time when artists and educators were seeking new creative approaches and progressive non-traditional methods of teaching.
From a bold and pioneering group of Boston-based artists, the Montserrat College of Art emerged. It is a progressive college of art and design with a small, tight-knit community of creatives working in an intensive studio environment, providing educational opportunities to produce exciting and original work.
Today, the college offers a range of accredited programs of study culminating with the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Areas of focus are animation and interactive media, book arts, graphic design, illustration, painting and drawing, photography, video, printmaking, sculpture, self-designed studies and a program in art education. The college encourages an interdisciplinary approach and collaboration between different areas of study and also includes options for minors in art education, art history, creative writing, curatorial studies and entrepreneurship in the arts.
Students benefit from a small and highly communal population of around 375 students, with a faculty to student ratio of 12:1, which results in plenty of contact time between staff and individual students, and a personalized educational experience. Students are immersed in art 24 hours a day.
The college exhibits the work of accomplished regional, national and international contemporary artists Â鶹Դ´ student work in its galleries, and organises a yearly timetable of free lectures and events which connects the school with the wider artistic community.
Montserrat College of Art has had a swift and effective response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and continues to operate with the safety of its students and staff as a strong priority.
The college has implemented a for all staff and resident students, which is particularly effective with the influx of people on campus at the start of each semester. PCR testing and rapid testing are freely available on-site, and students are encouraged to wear masks where appropriate and take all preventative measures necessary to mitigate the risk of infection.
So far, these measures have been extremely successful, and as a result of the diligence and consideration of the Montserrat community, there has been no incidences of on-campus spread and zero hospitalizations to date. Current policy requires mandatory booster shot, and the college Heath Center will continue to update and advise throughout the year.
Montserrat also has trained staff available through its Wellness Center to help promote good health, safety and positive mental health choices.
US$40,745 Undergraduate Fees are for indicative purposes, for details
US$4,467 Living costs Source:
US$16,900 To live on campus Source:
Montserrat is small by design and is particularly invested in enrolling students for whom the college is a good fit and is dedicated to supporting the creative journey of each member of its student community. The college has developed a variety of financial support options offered on both need-based and merit-based criteria to ensure that anyone who feels that the school is the best choice for themselves, has the means to live and study in confidence and comfort.
The college achieves this through a combination of Montserrat scholarships, federal grants and loans, as well as state and private grants and scholarships. Each applicant is automatically considered for merit scholarships, with the vast majority of incoming students receiving a merit award. These awards can vary and are offered up to the value of full tuition fees.
Further details for the funding schemes available can be found on the college website, and the college’s is available all year-round to help new and current student with any queries relating to fees and funding, as well as personal finances such as budgeting and money management.
Montserrat employs two entry points during the academic year, either Fall or Spring semester, enabling the college to accept admission applications on a rolling basis throughout the year. There are a few key admission deadlines for any prospective student who wishes to apply for a scholarship or receive early-access confirmation of their application result, and these are available on the college .
Applications can be made online, through the Common App platform, and will typically include the following submission material.
Certain types of application will require additional materials. Transfer students will require a transcript from their current college or university. Students for whom English is not their primary language will need to demonstrate a minimum level of proficiency, which can be done using the TOEFL assessment system, or other equivalents. Homeschooled applicants must submit SAT/ACT scores.
Montserrat College of Art has developed a creatively stimulating and highly adaptable curriculum, centered around its Bachelor of Fine Arts programme and delivered by a faculty who represent a diversity of artistic specialties. The school provides a well-resourced learning environment which encourages freedom of expression, as well as working across disciplines to develop each individual as an independent thinker and creator.
The college has a talented, professional and enthusiastic teaching faculty, who comprise a multinational team of artists, scholars and educators. More than two thirds of teaching staff are practicing artists and are able to give students advice and insights into the professional realities of a career in art, as well as expert tutelage in their subject specialty.
Classes are delivered with a distinctly hands-on approach in the college’s studio-oriented working environment. The faculty to student ratio at 12:1 is significantly higher than the national average of 15:1, ensuring that students are in frequent contact with their tutors and can build productive and supportive working relationships.
The college also assigns each student a good use of , who is able to assist individual students with addressing specific issues they may encounter, whether academic or personal. Advisors also provide guidance to students in developing their educational work in line with their personal interest and career goals.
Montserrat is a tight-knit, independent institution and offers a compact portfolio of courses including foundation programs, undergraduate degree, continued professional development course and a summer school option. Graduates are given the option of participating in the Loop Learning Program, which allows them to take up to five free BFA classes during their lifetime after they receive their degree from the college.
The college’s flagship programme is the , which is offered with the following specialties:
The Bachelor of Fine Arts course includes optional minor modules in creative writing, art history, curatorial studies, entrepreneurship in the arts and art education.
Montserrat also offers both non-credit classes aimed at pre-university students and adults who wish to expand their creative practice. There is a for-credit pre-college summer program for high school students and follows a S.T.E.A.M. program for grades 3-8 centered around science, technology, engineering, mathematics and the arts as starting points for ideas, discussion and creative thinking. Additionally, the college runs a variety of one-month overseas study programs in Viterbo, Italy; Mallorca, Spain; Niigata, Japan, Santa Fe New Mexico and other locations.
The Montserrat College of Art campus is located on a charming, landscaped site with tree-lined avenues and many green spaces, only three blocks from the beach. The main campus building features beautiful brick-build architecture and contains the college’s working studios, which are furnished with a multitude of artist equipment, learning spaces, and teaching technologies.
The Paul M. Scott Library is found at the heart of the campus and includes a carefully curated selection of both printed and non-printed resources, with more than 15,000 books and subscriptions to over 90 periodicals spanning the visual arts, art history, and creative writing. The library is also home to special collections of artists’ books and unique publications from the nineteenth century to which students have free access.
Accommodation is available on-site, and the college’s smaller community allows for a higher quality of student resident halls than might usually be expected. typically have two or more bedrooms and at least one bath, with shared kitchen and living room spaces. All housing is located within a short walk of the college campus, and there are trained residential staff available all year round to address any student issues.
English - Global