Career outcomes for Master of Fine Arts graduates

The information on this page was extracted from raw data collected from LinkedIn in early 2022 by the University of Waterloo’s Alumni Relations office. The visualizations and lists represent the careers of alumni who graduated between 2002 and 2021. The salary amounts have been extrapolated based on relevant submissions to Glassdoor.

Roles held by Master of Fine Arts (MFA) graduates: 

  • Artist 

  • Arts Instructor 

  • Carpenter  

  • Professor (in fine arts) 

  • Recreation Aid 

  • Website Operator 

 

Employers of MFA graduates: 

  • Draw to Perform 

  • Post-secondary institutions (Brock University, Conestoga College, Lakehead University, Northern College of Applied Arts and Technology, McGill University, Sheridan College, University of Waterloo  

  • Self-employed 

Employment location for MFA graduates

master of fine arts graph by employment location

 
 
dark purple Outside the Greater Toronto Area - Ontario, 86.9%
dark green Quebec, 4.3%
light orange Inside the Greater Toronto Area - Ontario, 4.3%
light blue New Brunswick, 4.3%
 

Career outcomes for MFA graduates by industry 

career outcomes for MFA graduates by industry pie graph

dark purple Self-employed (artist, president, director/curator), 43.5%

dark green Trades (carpentry), 4.3%

light orange Educational Services (professor of fine arts and visual arts, art instructor, fine arts studio technician), 43.5%

light blue Private Sector (long term care and retirement aid, program manager), 8.7%

 

Mean salary by industry for MFA graduates

Mean salary by industry for MFA graduates

light orange Educational Services, $74,100

light blue Private Sector, $62,200 

dark purple Self-employed, $62,700

dark green Trades, $64,600




 
 
View larger image.
 

 Median salary by industry for MFA graduates

Median salary by industry for MFA graduates

light orange Educational Services, $62,400

light blue Private Sector, $62,200

dark purple Self-employed, $61,600

dark green Trades, $64,600


 

View larger image.

Relation between career and field of study for MFA graduates

Relation between career and field of study bar graph

dark purple Not related at all, 2 MFA graduates

light blue Somewhat related, 3 MFA graduates

light orange Closely related, 18 MFA graduates

View larger image.