Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private college that is an affiliate of the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). It offers a Master of Fine Arts degree with six different concentrations in a low-residency format. The literary magazine Hunger Mountain is operated by VCFA writing faculty and students.
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History
Vermont College of Fine Arts traces its roots to the Newbury Seminary, which first opened in Newbury, Vermont in 1834. One of the earliest faculty members and principal for two years was Clark T. Hinman who later became the first president of Northwestern University.
The seminary moved in Montpelier in 1868. After existing in several forms including a Wesleyan Seminary and a Methodist Seminary, using the name Montpelier Seminary, it became Vermont Junior College in 1941. In 1958, it became Vermont College. In 1972, Vermont College became a part of the larger Norwich University.
In 2001 Vermont College became a part of the Ohio-based Union Institute & University and in 2008, the MFA programs of Vermont College along with the Vermont physical campus separated from Union Institute & University and incorporated as Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA).
VCFA moved its residencies away from Vermont after June of 2022. The residencies in 2023 and 2024 were held on the campus of Colorado College and Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania.
In April of 2024, VCFA became an affiliate college of the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and began hosting its residences on the CalArts campus in the Los Angeles metro beginning in January 2025.
Academics
Programs feature writers-in-residence, artists-in-residence, and artist-scholars such as Richard Russo, Andrew Blauvelt, Susan Cooper, Gregory Maguire, Holly Black and Meredith Davis, who give lectures, readings, and workshops.
Around a hundred different authors, designers, filmmakers, composers, artists, and scholars teach at Vermont College of Fine Arts in a part-time capacity and all have terminal degrees in their field.
Programs
The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Writing program was established in 1981 and the MFA in Visual Art in 1991. The MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults, the first "MFA program in writing for young readers," began in January 1997. In 2011, it launched an MFA in Music Composition program and an MFA in Graphic Design program The MFA in Film program was established in 2013. In 2014, the residential MFA in Writing and Publishing began, and the Graduate Studies in Art & Design Education Program was established in 2015. The newest program is the International MFA in Creative Writing & Literary Translation, which enrolled its first students in 2018.
Multiple-residency structure
VCFA has a curricular structure that provides adaptability for students through independent, guided study followed by a robust, immersive, in-person experience as a capstone for each term. Students earn their graduate degrees through self-designed study paths, flexible scheduling, and personalized attention through one-on-one guidance with a faculty mentor. The on-campus residencies at the end of each term consist of workshops, lectures, readings, panel discussions, student-teacher conferences and critiques, exhibitions, performances, and presentations of works in progress or completed."
Presidents
Newbury Seminary (1834–1941)
Charles Adams (1834–1839)
Osmon Baker (1839–1844)
Clark T. Hinman (1844–1846)
Harvey Wood (1846–1847)
Francis Hoyt (1847)
Henry Sanborn Noyes (1853–1854)
Vermont College of Fine Arts (Since 2006 )
Thomas Green (2006–2020)
Leslie Ward (2020–2023)
Andrew Ramsammy (2023–present)
Notable alumni
Newbury Academy
Horace W. Bailey
George C. Chamberlain
James M. King
Caroline Burnham Kilgore
Janette Hill Knox
George McKendree Steele
Vermont College
Linda McCartney (Associate of Arts, 1961)
Lola Van Wagenen (Bachelor's degree, 1982)
Roxane Gay (Bachelor's degree, 1999)
Vermont College of Fine Arts
Millicent Borges Accardi (1993)
W.E. Butts (1995)
Marcus Cafagna (1998)
Allison Hedge Coke (1995)
Olena Kalytiak Davis
Alison Hawthorne Deming (1983)
Ted Deppe
Frank DiPalermo (2021)
Frank Giampietro (2002)
Pamela Harrison (1983)
Katherine Hastings
Patricia Spears Jones (1992)
Nancy Lagomarsino (1984)
Moira Linehan
Alyce Miller (1995)
David Mura
Jamie Parsley
Bill Rasmovicz
Tim Seibles (1990)
Betsy Sholl
Janaka Stucky (2003)
Jennifer K. Sweeney
Martha M. Vertreace-Doody
Marjorie Welish
Valerie Wohlfeld (1993)
Gail Gregg (1998)
Tracy Krumm (1995)
Notable faculty
Current
Mark Cox
Former
M. T. Anderson
Ashley Hunt
Jean Valentine