Vermont College of Fine Arts

Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level art school in Montpelier, Vermont. It offers Master's degrees in a low-residency format. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award winners, Newbery Medal honorees, Guggenheim Fellowship and Fulbright Program fellows, and Ford Foundation grant recipients. The literary magazine Hunger Mountain is operated by VCFA writing faculty and students. History The focus of Vermont College has changed since its beginnings as Newbury Seminary in 1831. After existing in several forms including a Wesleyan Seminary and a Methodist Seminary, using the name Montpelier Seminary, it became Vermont Junior College in 1941. In 1958, it became Vermont College. In 1972, Vermont College merged with Norwich University; the two schools became fully integrated in 1993. Union Institute & University acquired Vermont College in 2001. In 2008, the MFA programs separated from Union Institute & University, and Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) was formed. The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Writing program was established in 1981 and the MFA in Visual Art in 1991. The MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults, the first "MFA program in writing for young readers," began in January 1997. In 2008, Vermont College of Fine Arts became an independent institution. In 2011, it launched an MFA in Music Composition program and an MFA in Graphic Design program The MFA in Film program was established in 2013. In 2014, the residential MFA in Writing and Publishing began, and the Graduate Studies in Art & Design Education Program was established in 2015. The newest program is the International MFA in Creative Writing & Literary Translation, which enrolled its first students in 2018. College Hall, the central building on campus, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was completed in 1872 and includes a two-story high chapel and a pipe organ from 1884.