Eligibility & Requirements
Statement of Intent and C.V.
A Statement of Intent describes your reason for pursuing a Certificate of Completion with the Art Students League. You are encouraged to include information about yourself, your objectives, and your interests that may not be immediately apparent from a review of your portfolio and application. A Curriculum Vitae or résumé details your art-related activities and accomplishments.
Artwork Portfolio
Online artwork submission of 10 jpeg images is required. It is advised that applicants select recent work relevant to their chosen area of concentration. Two optional submissions can be made for video or audio works.
Transcripts
- Minimum educational level completion: Secondary school diploma or equivalent. A post-secondary degree or diploma is not required.
- Applicants to the four-year Certificate Program must demonstrate a minimum of one academic year (two semesters, or equivalent) of previous fine arts study in studio classes for drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking or mixed media.
- Applicants to the two-year Certificate Program must demonstrate a minimum of two academic school years (four semesters) of study from a post-secondary fine arts program.
- An Official Transcript is required to show your previous fine arts studies. A transcript from the Art Students League is acceptable. Transcripts from other institutions must be sent by mail to the Art Students League of New York, 215 W 57th Street, New York, NY 10019, Attn: Thomas Tacik; or by electronic service to: tom@artstudentsleague.org.
Recommendations
Provide two (2) to three (3) letters of recommendation from individuals who are familiar with your development as an artist. Recommenders should email tom@artstudentsleague.org or send letters by mail to the Art Students League of New York, 215 W 57th Street, New York, NY 10019, Attn: Thomas Tacik.
Application Fee
A non-refundable application fee of $50 is due upon submission.
International Student Language Proficiency
If you are an international student, a good working knowledge of English is required. TOEFL scores are not required. English proficiency is determined through teleconference or in-person meeting.
Other Program Fees in addition to tuition
- $300 Certificate Student per Semester (all certificate students)
- $300 International Student per Semester (F-1 students only)
(Note: Fees are subject to change without prior notice)
Applying to the Certificate Program
Fall 2025 Application Deadlines:
- The Fall 2025 Semester begins September 2, 2025.
- Domestic 2-Year and 4-Year (non-F-1) Certificate Program candidates may submit the application by July 15, 2025.
- International students who must obtain the Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility and apply for the F-1 visa are advised to submit this application by May 15, 2025, to begin the program in Fall 2025.
- International students at other institutions who plan to transfer to the Art Students League or new students who will be applying for the F-1 visa should contact the International & Certificate Student Services office as soon as possible by email: tom@artstudentsleague.org
- The application for the Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility may be submitted concurrently with the Certificate Program application. Download the I-20 application here.
Certificate Program Advising
- All applicants are encouraged to make an appointment with the International & Certificate Student Services office to review entrance and enrollment requirements: https://calendly.com/asl-certificate-program/advising
Eligibility & Requirements
VA Certificate of Eligibility for education benefits. If you have not received your Certificate of Eligibility, you may apply for GI Bill Education Benefits through the Veterans Administration here.
Statement of Intent
A Statement of Intent describes your reason for pursuing a Certificate of Completion with the Art Students League. You are encouraged to include information about yourself, your objectives, and your interests that may not be immediately apparent from a review of your portfolio and application. A Curriculum Vitae or résumé details your art-related activities and accomplishments.
Artwork Portfolio
Online artwork submission of 10 jpeg images is required. It is advised that applicants select recent work relevant to their chosen area of concentration. Two optional submissions can be made for video or audio works.
Transcripts
- Minimum educational level completion: Secondary school diploma or equivalent. A post-secondary degree or diploma is not required.
- Applicants to the four-year Certificate Program must demonstrate a minimum of one academic year (two semesters, or equivalent) of previous fine arts study in studio classes for drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking or mixed media.
- An Official Transcript or equivalent is required to show your previous fine arts studies. A transcript from the Art Students League is acceptable. Transcripts from other institutions must be sent by mail to the Art Students League of New York, 215 W 57th Street, New York, NY 10019, Attn: Thomas Tacik; or by electronic service to: tom@artstudentsleague.org.
Recommendations
Provide two (2) to three (3) letters of recommendation from individuals who are familiar with your development as an artist. Recommenders should email tom@artstudentsleague.org or send letters by mail to the Art Students League of New York, 215 W 57th Street, New York, NY 10019, Attn: Thomas Tacik.
Other Program Fees in addition to tuition
- $300 Certificate Student Fee per semester (covered by GI Bill Education Benefits).
(Note: Fees are subject to change without prior notice)
Applying to the Certificate Program
Spring 2025 Application Deadline: January 15, 2025
- The Spring 2025 Semester begins January 21, 2025.
Fall 2025 Application Deadlines:
Fall 2025 Application Deadline: August 15, 2025
- The Fall 2025 Semester begins September 2, 2025.
Certificate Program Advising
- All applicants are encouraged to make an appointment with the International & Certificate Student Services office to review entrance and enrollment requirements: https://calendly.com/asl-certificate-program/advising
The Art Students League of New York is delighted to offer Scholarship opportunities through the annual Merit Competition. Scholarships are open to all current students and prospective new students, providing tuition for one full-time class for the next Regular Session (September 2025-May 2026). Partial tuition scholarships are also awarded.
MERIT SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY
- Open to students working in all genres of drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, or mixed media.
- One scholarship application per student and students may apply to only ONE of three categories: Realism, Abstract, or Semi-Abstract/Semi Objective.
- League Membership is not required.
- There are no minimum registration hours required.
- Previous Merit Scholarship recipients are not eligible.
- New students applying for a scholarship must create a League account to obtain an Art Students League ID Number by clicking here.
- Recipients of a tuition scholarship must enroll in classes for the 2025/26 Regular Session and fully use the scholarship by May 31, 2026.
- Scholarships may not be deferred.
- Scholarships may be used for both online and/or in-person classes.
- For in-person study, international students must have a visa status permitting full-time study at time of application and for the 2025/26 Regular Session.
- Temporary international visitors to the United States are not eligible for merit scholarships.
- Merit scholarships are awarded from named funds following the competition. Review a list of available scholarship funds here.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
APPLICATION DUE DATE: Sunday, April 27, 2025
- Required fields are marked with a red asterisk (*)
- Email Address Validation is required. You will receive an email from Submittable asking you to confirm your email address.
- Completed and signed application form
- Art Students League ID number is required; jurors will only be able to identify entrants by ID number
- New students must create a League account to obtain a Student ID Number by clicking here.
- One Merit Scholarship application per student in only ONE category: Realism, Semi-Objective/Semi-Abstract, or Abstract
- Optional Information: The Art Students League is able to designate certain scholarships based on donor intent. Providing the information in this section is voluntary, but can help the Art Students League distribute awards more effectively. This information has no bearing on the competition itself, which is judged solely on the basis of presented artwork.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
- Submit three (3) digital images of artwork to be judged
- Artworks in multiple panels (diptych, triptych) must be submitted as single image files
- Sculpture may be photographed from multiple angles, but must be submitted as a single image file.
- Save each file in JPEG format, no larger than 2 MB (megabytes).
The Art Students League of New York is delighted to offer Grant opportunities through the annual Merit Competition. Unless otherwise stated, Grants include a cash award plus tuition for one full-time class for the next Regular Session (September 2025-May 2026) and are open only to League members.
GRANTS ELIGIBILITY
- League membership in good standing at time of application (member status may not be Lapsed or Dropped). The Annual Registration Fee paid by all League students who take classes is not a membership fee and does not constitute League membership. For further information regarding membership, please click here. For further information regarding membership status, please click here.
- Candidates must be enrolled in class(es) at the time of application and competition.
- Eligibility for grants is keyed to registration hours AND areas of concentration. For example, students who have been registered full-time in only a sculpture class will not be eligible for painting grants. Please see Available Grants listing for complete details.
- At the time of application candidates must have completed a minimum of 1,120 cumulative class hours (full-time and/or part-time, excluding workshops), of which 420 class hours must be in the current Regular Session (September 2024 – May 2025). Read more about this requirement here under the Grants Eligibility and Class Hours heading.
- Past recipients of an individual grant may not reapply for the same grant (exception: Nessa Cohen Grant) but may apply for other grants (based on eligibility).
- International students must have the appropriate visa status allowing full-time study at the time of application and for the 2025/26 Regular Session.
- Temporary international visitors to the United States, regardless of membership status, are not eligible for the grant competition.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
APPLICATION DUE DATE: Sunday, April 27, 2025
- Required fields are marked with a red asterisk (*)
- Email Address Validation is required. You will receive an email from Submittable asking you to confirm your email address.
- Completed and signed application form. (Note: applicants to the McDowell Travel Grant will be asked to submit a notarized affidavit.)
- Eligible students may submit multiple applications for different grant categories (see below), each with different artworks. NOTE: Eligibility is based on the types of classes taken and the number of hours in each category.
GRANT APPLICATION CATEGORIES
- Gonzalez-Edwards Travel Grant; Kuniyoshi Award for Painting
- McDowell Travel Grant (open to all categories)
- Figure Painting Grants (Lysun, Mason)
- Abstract Painting/Mixed Media Grant (Sherwood); Bruce Dorfman Grant for Assemblage & Mixed Media
- Nessa Cohen Grant for Sculpture; Bassen Grant for figure sculpture in clay
- Nessa Cohen Grant for Works on Paper [printmaking, drawing, watercolor], Kuniyoshi Award for Printmaking
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
- Submit three (3) digital images of artwork to be judged
- Artworks in multiple panels (diptych, triptych) must be submitted as single image files
- Sculpture may be photographed from multiple angles, but must be submitted as a single image file.
- Save each file in JPEG format, no larger than 2 MB (megabytes).