Low-Res MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts at UNR

Low-Res MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts at UNR A low-residency MFA Interdisciplinary Arts program at University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe

The University of Nevada, Reno began operations at the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe on July 1, 2022, after entering into an agreement to acquire Sierra Nevada University in Incline Village, Nevada. Through an interdisciplinary approach to artmaking, the program considers how we engage the material and social worlds of our respective environments—from personal, to political, to planetar

y. This experience and exploration of embodied place is central, encouraging students’ intricate relationship with their environment both here in the Tahoe Basin and within their home communities. The low-res MFA-IA program offers an alternative to a traditional MFA program, in both structure and philosophy. While we are a full-time program, we consciously designed the ten-day residencies knowing not everyone can take off for an entire summer or multiple weeks at a time. We know that dedicated, talented, driven artists, and thinkers have children, jobs, or other responsibilities that make it difficult for them to commit to a conventional on-ground MFA program.

Join our creative community!Applications close May 1 for the Low Residency MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts at the Universi...
04/24/2026

Join our creative community!

Applications close May 1 for the Low Residency MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts at the University of Nevada, Reno — Lake Tahoe campus.

Over 2.5 years and five 10‑day residency intensives, students immerse themselves in rigorous, interdisciplinary studio practice while maintaining full‑time work in their home studios: allowing flexibility to attend to family, work, and life beyond the program.

Our program pushes creative boundaries and explores how visual language shapes, and responds to, the world around us.

Photo 1 by Scott Hinton
Photos 2-4 by Lily Somerfeldt

Link in bio • Fall 2026 entry





On campus exhibition Desert Reflections from  🤍Originally from the high desert, Megan Berner is a visual artist living a...
04/10/2026

On campus exhibition Desert Reflections from 🤍

Originally from the high desert, Megan Berner is a visual artist living and working in Reno, Nevada. She graduated with her MFA in Intermedia from the University of Iowa in 2008 with a minor in drawing. Megan works with digital and experimental techniques such as instant film, digital transfers, and cyanotypes.

“In my work, I explore the ways we interact with our environment—how we form relationships with it and how those connections influence our interpretation of the world around us—what marks we leave behind, the experiences—intangible and manifest, and the action of moving through or being in a place. All of us have different places that we can claim to be our own because of our unique experiences there. The idea of place becomes much more internalized and individual. Memories and experiences, those things we carry with us, are projected onto the present landscape, our own personal maps and reference points.“

We keep coming back to visit this installation! Thank you and for this fantastic exhibition!





04/09/2026

Good morning from Lake Tahoe!





A little over a month away to submit your application! We’re now accepting applications for the 2026/27 academic year. C...
03/26/2026

A little over a month away to submit your application!

We’re now accepting applications for the 2026/27 academic year. Come experience our masters program at the amazing Lake Tahoe campus.

Link in bio!



Thank you Jenny Luna for writing this article for our Low Residency MFA programs! Link in bio to read about current and ...
03/17/2026

Thank you Jenny Luna for writing this article for our Low Residency MFA programs!

Link in bio to read about current and alumni students and the transformative path of a low residency graduate program.





Thank you Las Vegas! We had a great trip last week to meet with current MFA-IA students. *Melissa Russell at her home sh...
03/16/2026

Thank you Las Vegas!

We had a great trip last week to meet with current MFA-IA students.

*Melissa Russell at her home show (closing reception next week!)
*Manny Perez at his studio working on final exhibition works
*Nick Giordano at his gallery space with a curated selection of LV artists

We were welcomed by Darren Johnson, Gallery Manager of the fabulous Library District and saw some great work using polarized light art at the Sahara West Library. That evening we went to Civic Center and saw artist Iyana Esters showing work!

We had a great visit with the BFA class at UNLV, thank you MJ for inviting us to share about our program - their BFA class has an opening on May 1st - don’t miss it!

Thank you to Suzy Newbury and Hikmet Loe for lunch visits and great conversations and to our host Kristin Hough, we will be back for more later this year!





Las Vegas! Make sure you check out MFA-IA candidate Melissa Russell’s exhibition, closing reception 3/26!We’re so excite...
03/13/2026

Las Vegas! Make sure you check out MFA-IA candidate Melissa Russell’s exhibition, closing reception 3/26!

We’re so excited that Melissa chose our program, we can’t wait to see what you do next.

“My art practice is a way of searching out the hidden through material, touch, and close
attention,” says Russell. “I’m looking for that moment when something reveals its inner
layer—the space beneath its surface where memory and spirit converge.”





We are excited to share that our student, Agnieszka Wszolkowska, is presenting their final iteration of work that culmin...
03/05/2026

We are excited to share that our student, Agnieszka Wszolkowska, is presenting their final iteration of work that culminates their MFA-IA degree!

“My work explores the tension between natural healing and synthetic intervention. In
today’s health systems often prioritize speed and suppression over slowness and
listening. Pharmaceuticals especially for anxiety, pain, and respiratory illness—are too
often dispensed in place of deeper inquiry. This reflects a culture increasingly
disconnected from the body’s innate capacity to restore itself, from the air we breathe,
and from nature as a site of transformation.“

This home show is presented in Montclair, NJ and there is an opening reception March 13th 6:00-7:30

Congratulations ❤️ we’re so proud of you!!





Manifest your next education chapter!arch 1st is our priority deadline to apply for our Low Residency MFA-IA program.   ...
02/23/2026

Manifest your next education chapter!arch 1st is our priority deadline to apply for our Low Residency MFA-IA program.







Pictured here are graduate students writing about their own manifestos from Amy Rose Khoshbin’s Graduate Studio Practice class from January 2026 residnecy. Photo by Kristin Hough.

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999 Tahoe Boulevard
Incline Village, NV
89451

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