March 23, 2022

Dear MICA Students and Parents:

I hope that this letter finds you and your family in good health.

Each year, the MICA Board of Trustees and administrative leadership set tuition for the next academic year based on an in-depth consideration of the College’s educational goals and capacity to achieve them.

We understand that tuition is a very special investment in a student’s future and that it is our responsibility to be efficient and effective stewards of those funds. Since 2015, MICA has taken deliberate steps to flatten the annual rate of tuition increase to a steady 3.5% to ensure that a MICA education remains accessible for all talented young artists and designers who seek to attend. For the 2022-2023 academic year, the tuition increase will be increased by 3.4%, with the resulting tuition cost at $51,870. We will continue to work diligently to control rising tuition levels in the future.

This increase will help support the rising costs in general and especially in areas such as technology, facilities, instruction, and public health and safety.  As you may know, MICA was able to successfully implement rigorous health and safety protocols that allowed the College to reopen the campus last year safely, with low positivity rates for our community. MICA continues to restore and enhance the on-campus experience for our students with our full return to campus this Spring and the happy return of in-person signature events like Commencement and Artwalk. This expansion will continue for the fall semester and supports students in returning to and resuming their on-campus educational experience safely. We are excited to start the fall semester with a rich campus experience while maintaining appropriate health and safety protocols as necessary

MICA remains a community of care that puts its students first, and we recognize that the global pandemic continues to affect students and families financially and in unexpected ways. To assist students and families who require additional financial assistance, MICA has established a financial aid appeal fund for the coming year. The friendly team at the Office of Financial Aid can be reached at finaid@mica.edu.

In closing, the pandemic has underscored more than ever the need for creative thinkers to help solve society’s most difficult challenges, and I am continually amazed to hear how MICA students and alumni are doing just that—and excelling across fields. For example:

Jerrell Gibbs ’20 (LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting MFA) was chosen to paint the official portrait of the late congressman Elijah E. Cummings, which is permanently installed at the U.S. Capitol.

MICA’s Center for Social Design is one of 14 institutions across the country involved in a $15 million, five-year project funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation to reimagine a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient food system. Led by American University, this national academic research network will deepen understanding of how the causes of wasted food are interconnected and how they intersect with other regional systems beyond food.

Current student Jenny De La Cruz ’22 (Illustration BFA)—a former France-Merrick Fellow for MICA’s Voter Access Initiative—was selected as one of 15 students for the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge’s 2021 Student Honor Roll.

Recent graduate Herschel Ruben ’21 (Product Design BFA), is designer of the Compressent Desk Chair, which helps neurodiverse people who experience overstimulation and need a calming mechanism be productive in their everyday lives. Ruben, who recently partnering with Baltimore-based American Bully Manufacturing to prototype the chair, is a finalist in MICA’s annual UP/Start Venture Competition.

3D printed prosthetic covers by Danae, Inc.—a digital manufacturing service provider co-founded by Winston Frazer ’16 (Painting BFA)—are currently being featured in the Smithsonian Institution’s FUTURES, an exhibition and festival celebrating the institution’s 175th anniversary.

And several members of the MICA community— including recent graduates Andrew Gray ’18 (Illustration and Painting BFA) and Megan Koeppel ’18 (Painting BFA)—were recently named semifinalists for the 2022 Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize, a $30,000 award to visual artists in the Baltimore region.

Thank you in advance for your understanding and support. I send you my very best wishes for you and your loved ones’ continued health and safety and look forward to seeing you on campus in the fall.

Sincerely,

Samuel Hoi
President