MFAPrizes

Overview

Prizes
for MFAs in studio art

General information

Letters and Science Prize for Excellence

Gracianne Kirsch

Created by Estella Atekwana, Dean of the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis, the $2,500 prize is given annually to a graduating M.F.A. student in studio art. The prize was established to help further the career of an art studio M.F.A. graduate from UC Davis, and to encourage, recognize and celebrate creative and original contributions of the recipient. 

2026: Sean Olmstead

General information

LeShelle & Gary May Art Purchase Prize

Made possible through the generosity of Suzanne Hellmuth and Jock M. Reynolds (art studio, M.F.A. ‘72), the LeShelle and Gary May Art Purchase Prize art purchase prize enables the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art to continue the tradition of purchasing graduate student work for the university’s Fine Arts Collection.

2026: Levi Keatts

General information

Keister & Allen Art Purchase Prize

The Keister & Allen Art Purchase Prize is awarded annually to a graduating Master of Fine Arts student. The award, started in 2017, provides for the purchase of artwork created by the recipient for the university’s Fine Arts Collection. The purchase prize is made through an endowment fund established by Shaun Keister, vice chancellor of the UC Davis Office of Development and Alumni Relations, and Walter Allen, a business analyst in the client services unit of UC Davis Information and Educational Technology. 

2026: Tara K. Daly