Visual Arts Foundation Scholarships and Awards
The Visual Arts Foundation provides scholarships for deserving students to study at the School of Visual Arts; supports exhibitions, conferences, and competitions and promotes the study and improvement of the arts; encourages cooperation and exchange among artists, designers, students, publishers and others engaged in artistic activities; receives gifts, legacies and donations; and offers awards, appropriations and scholarships from these resources.
Please Note: All Third Year students are automatically considered for these scholarships except where otherwise indicated.
In order to establish a scholarship, award, or exhibition fund please submit a Letter of Intent including:
- Name of the award
- Purpose of the award
- Number of awards to be distributed
- Frequency of distribution
- Duration of the award
- Amount of each award
- Eligibility criteria for award (e.g. portfolio of work, G.P.A., financial need, college grade level, citizenship, essay, etc.)
- Delegation of responsibility to select grant awardees
- The type of fund to be established:
- An endowed fund, created from a minimum $25,000 corpus, to be invested and maintained by the Foundation. This fund is sustained by investment returns
- A single or annual donation to be disbursed until depleted. The gift may be supplemented over time with additional donations.
Development Program
Office of Admissions/BFA Advertising & Design Departments
- Deutsch NY Fund the Change
This scholarship recognizes the academic achievement and creative potential of students who, through their varied cultural perspectives and ideas, are poised to make an impact on the fields of design, marketing or advertising. It was conceived to support the development of creative undergraduate students from historically underrepresented backgrounds, particularly BIPOC talent.In 2021 two winners each received a $10,000 per year renewable merit scholarship for four years of study. Deutsch NY Fund the Change recipients will also benefit from mentorship opportunities and a paid internship each summer at Deutsch NY, one of the most innovative advertising, design and digital agencies in the US.
For full application information please see sva.edu/fundthechange.
- $10,000
BFA Advertising and BFA Design Departments | Gail Anderson, Chair
- Adam Zakin & Karen Duthie Zakin Scholarship
- $500
- Craig Adam Budin Memorial Award
- $500
- Frank Camardella Memorial Award
- $750
- Henry Wolf Foundation Scholarships
- $25,000
- Ruth & Ken Deardoff Scholarships in Advertising Three awards per year
- $5,000
- Jerry Ashkinos Scholarship Advertising Students
- $1,250
- Keith Gallagher Memorial Scholarship Design Students
- $500
- Rush Hinsdale Award
- $1,000
- Type Directors Club Scholarship Design Students
- $1,000
- Mitch Shostak Scholarship Sophomore, Junior & Senior Years of Study
- $10,000
BFA Animation Department | Hsiang Chin Moe, Chair
- John Gaug Memorial Scholarship
- $500
- Heroes of Color Grants Up to five awards of $200
- $1,000
BFA 3D Animation and Visual Effects Department | Jimmy Calhoun, Chair
- Billy Sunshine Award
- $500
BFA Film Department | Mary Lee Grisanti, Acting Chair
- Dr. John Lidstone Scholarship
- $1,000
- Diana King Memorial Scholarship Five awards per year
- $3,500
BFA Fine Arts Department | Suzanne Anker, Chair
- Pamela Brown Roberts Memorial Scholarship
- $1,500
- Society of Scribes Award
- $750
BFA Illustration and BFA Comics Departments | Viktor Koen, Chair
- Archie Goodwin Memorial Award
- $1,000
- Harvey Kurtzman Memorial Award
- $1,000
- Joseph Orlando Memorial Award
- $1,000
- Robert Eric Farmer Award Sophomore year of study
- $5,000
- Robert Eric Farmer Materials Award Sophomore year of study
- $1,000
- Lou Stathis Memorial Award
- $1,000
- Robert Frankenberg Award
- $2,000
- Wally Wood Memorial Scholarship
- $1,000
- Thomas Woodruff Scholarship For outstanding third-year project
- $10,000
BFA Interior Design: Built Environments Department | Carol Bentel, Chair
- Neville Lewis Memorial Thesis Award
- $1,000
- ASID Education Legacy Fund Open Competition with Other Schools
- Amounts Vary
- Decorator’s Club Open Competition with Other Schools
- Amounts Vary
- IIDA Scholarship Award Open Competition with Other Schools
- Amounts Vary
- Donghia Scholarship Open Competition with Other Schools
- Amounts Vary
BFA Photography and Video Department | Joseph Maida, Chair
- Alice Beck-Odette Award Scholarship
- $1,000
- Robin Forbes Memorial Award
- $1,000
- The Venus Award
- $1,000
- Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation Award
- $1,000
- The Darrel Ellis Memorial Award Rising Junior or Senior
- $2,500
- Marc Levine '80 Mets Photography Internship Summer internship with the NY Mets for a Rising Junior or Senior
- $10,000
MA Design Research, Writing & Criticism Department | Molly Heintz, Chair
- Henry Wolf Foundation Scholarships
- $25,000
MFA Design | Randy Hunt, Chair
- Paul Rand Thesis Venture R & D Awards
- $1,000
- Eva Doman Bruck Award
- $5,000
MFA Fine Arts Department | Mark Tribe, Chair
- Frieda Esikoff Scholarship
- $750
MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Department | Riccardo Vecchio, Chair
- Marshall Arisman Scholarship Fund Financial assistance in times of need
- Amounts Vary
- Coyne Family Foundation Award
- Amounts Vary
- Unalane Foundation Award
- Amounts Vary
- Frieda Esikoff Scholarship
- $750
- Robert Weaver Memorial Award
- $500
MPS Art Therapy Department | Deborah Farber, Chair
- Estelle Bellomo Award
- $5,000
- Ray Levine Memorial Award
- $2,000
- Irene Rosner David Medical Art Therapy Scholarship
- $1,000
- Valery Daniels Memorial Lecture
- Amounts Vary
MFA Photography, Video and Related Media | Charles Traub, Chair
- MFA Photography Fund Faculty and student support and development
- $5,000