In addition to MICA-funded scholarships, the competitive scholarships for returning undergraduate students are made possible through bequests, annual gifts, and special grants and are awarded in recognition of academic achievement and demonstrated aptitude in art.
These scholarships are reserved for returning students and are awarded to sophomore through first-semester senior students through MICA's Competitive Scholarships for Returning Undergraduate Students application process. The application process is overseen by the Office of Academic Affairs.
Apply for Competitive Scholarships for Returning Undergraduate Students
(Dec. 1, 2018-Feb. 6, 2019)
Each spring, MICA offers students the chance to compete for more than $600,000 in merit-based scholarships. Eligible students must be currently enrolled, full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates and must register full-time for the following academic year. All entrants must have at least a 3.0 grade point average as of the Fall semester. Funding for competitive scholarships comes from MICA, as well as individual donors and organizations. All awards will be applied as a credit to the recipients' tuition. Students receiving MICA tuition remission benefits are not eligible for competitive scholarships.
How to Apply
- Create a Behance Project for jury review (see requirements below)
- Apply online by visiting www.mica.edu/competitivescholarships between December 1st and 4pm on February 6th, 2019.
- Downloadable instructions on how to set up your accounts and apply.
- Frequently Asked Questions
Don't wait until the last minute to apply!
Application Requirements
Your Behance project must:
- Contain only your own original work
- Not be restricted as "private" in Behance settings
- Be kept available and unchanged on Behance through the end of the Spring semester
Application Options
Your Project may contain any one of the following application options:
A. Up to 10 Digital Images
Each image must be:
- 300 dpi
- No larger than 7" on the longest side
- .jpeg or .gif formatted (.gif loop length must be 18 seconds or shorter)
- You may include image captions that describe the title, dimensions, and date of your work
B. Up to 5 Digital Images and Up to 1 Minute 30 Seconds of Media
Each image must be:
- 300 dpi
- No larger than 7" on the longest side
- .jpeg or .gif formatted (.gif loop length must be 18 seconds or shorter)
- You may include image captions that describe the title, dimensions, and date of your work
Each media file must be:
- Video, animation, audio, or documentation of time-based work
- .mp3, .mp4, or .mov format
- Files may contain one media work or several cut together into one file
- You may include a caption with the title and date of your work
- For video documentation of time-based art, performance, or installation, any sound must be part of the original work, not added for the purpose of the scholarship review. However, voice-over to assist in clarification or "to set the stage" is acceptable. It may not be used to describe meaning, technique, your process, interpretation, or intention.
C. Up to 3 Minutes of Media
Each media file must be:
- Video, animation, audio, or documentation of time-based work
- .mp3, .mp4, or .mov format
- Files may contain one media work or several cut together into one file
- You may include a caption with the title and date of your work
- For video documentation of time-based art, performance, or installation, any sound must be part of the original work, not added for the purpose of the scholarship review. However, voice-over to assist in clarification or "to set the stage" is acceptable. It may not be used to describe meaning, technique, your process, interpretation, or intention.
D. Interactive Work
- Provide a link to a webpage with interactive work instead of a Behance project
- Juries will spend 3 minutes viewing/interacting with the work
E. Written Work -Available to Art History or HMST majors only
- Provide a link to a Google Document of up to 2500 words in length instead of a Behance project
- Document's Sharing Settings must be set to "Anyone with the link can view"
- May be one paper or several smaller works combined into one document
- Acceptable art historical writing may be (but not limited to): exhibitions reviews, research papers, essays, or formal analyses. Acceptable Humanistic Studies writing may be: book reviews, research papers, essays, formal analysis or original creative writing.
Note: Collaborative work may be submitted, but the applicant must have written permission from the other collaborator(s) before applying.
Merit Scholarships & Prizes for Returning Undergraduate Students
- A. Claire Gaskins Harper '41 Scholarship
- AEGON USA, Inc. Scholarship
- Amalie Rothschild '34 Scholarship
- Arlene Raven Scholarship
- Art Market Scholarship
- Arthur Mitchell '66 Scholarship
- Baltimore Watercolor Society Scholarship
- Barry Holniker '81 Memorial Scholarship
- Betty Cooke '46 Scholarship
- Bill Woody/Tom Miller '67,'87 Scholarship
- Billy N. Hadaway '51 and Sonia Gordon Memorial Scholarship
- C. Louise Mullan Flanigan '34 Scholarship
- Carrie Macedonia '03 Memorial Scholarship
- Ceramics Alumni Scholarship
- Christopher J. Overholser '65 Scholarship in Graphic Design
- Christopher J. Overholser '65 Scholarship in Illustration
- Dale Burton Wood '30 Memorial Scholarship in Fiber
- Dale Burton Wood '30 Memorial Scholarship in Illustration
- Dr. Ernesto Molfino Memorial Scholarship
- Dr. Frank C. Marino Foundation Scholarship
- Edward C. Morton, Jr. '80 Memorial Scholarship
- Elaine L. Schaefer Scholarship
- Emanuel Herman '39 Scholarship
- Evelyn Dessel Hejl Memorial Scholarship
- Evergreen House Foundation Scholarship
- Francis Burns Harvey Merit Scholarship
- Freda Mueller Eichelberger '81 Scholarship in Drawing
- Freda Mueller Eichelberger '81 Scholarship in Environmental Design
- Freda Mueller Eichelberger '81 Scholarship in Painting
- Freda Mueller Eichelberger '81 Scholarship in Sculpture
- Gensler Worldwide Architecture Scholarship
- George (1910) & Louis E. Schmidt Scholarship
- Gertrude Pentland Scholarship
- Harriet '67 and Philip E. Klein Scholarship
- James E. Peterson '49 Scholarship
- Jerome Abrams '46 Memorial Scholarship
- Jessie Koch Jones Memorial Scholarship
- Jim Burger '82 Photography Scholarship
- Joseph Padgett Memorial Scholarship
- Jules M. Bodarky Scholarship
- Lenore G. Tawney Foundation Scholarship
- Leonard L. Greif, Jr. Scholarship in Photography
- Louise N. Myerberg Family Scholarship
- Lucile Hecht Memorial Scholarship
- Maggi '69 & Jules DeBaecke Endowed Scholarship
- Marc Levy '00 Memorial Scholarship
- Maryland Artists Equity Foundation Scholarship
- Maryland Photographic Society Scholarship
- Morris Louis '32 Scholarship
- Nancy Lee Rhodes Roberts '39 Scholarship
- Nora and Eugene Leake Scholarship in Painting
- Priscilla Alexander Scholarship
- Reba Stewart Memorial Scholarship
- Reuben Brook Memorial Scholarship
- Rosenstock Family Scholarship
- Samson Feldman '25 Scholarship in Art Education
- Samson Feldman '25 Scholarship in Illustration
- Seymour Mandelbaum Merit Scholarship
- Sgt. Ralph Roland Demuth Memorial Scholarship
- Thomas Sangiamo Scholarship
- Three Arts Club of Homeland, Inc. Award
- Tylden Wescott Streett Scholarship in Figurative Art
- Walter G. '38 and Betty '39 Wilkinson Memorial Scholarship
- William Ferguson Merit Scholarship