MFAComics
Overview
Time and space for your creative voice
Study and live in the Bay Area year-round
All domestic MFA in Comics students are eligible to apply for graduate housing on our San Francisco campus for the duration of their studies. Comics students who enroll in an additional 3 units (for a total of 9 units) in the fall and spring semesters of each year are considered full-time and are automatically enrolled in the college’s health insurance plan. By enrolling in 9 units, our international students can also stay in San Francisco year-round while maintaining a valid F1 visa status.
Studios & Shops
One-on-one craft instruction
Our program focuses on three aspects of the creative process: the history and culture of the medium, the craft of making comics, and the critical analysis of our work. Whether we’re creating literary graphic novels or web-based comics, process is as important as the final product. You’ll work with faculty mentors, from start to finish, as you capitalize on your individual strengths and build toward a long-form comics project for graduation.
Connecting with a global audience
In addition to supporting your creative process, we also help you connect with an ever-growing audience for new comics. We take a deep dive into digital comics, connect with agents and editors, study comics pedagogy, and look at various crowdsourcing platforms like Kickstarter and Patreon.
During the third and final summer session in San Francisco, you’ll explore digital distribution channels, as well as self-publishing strategies, with the goal of sharing your original art with a global audience. We travel to comics conventions around the U.S., giving you the opportunity to interact face-to-face with comics fans and industry professionals. We also bring accomplished creators to campus during the summer intensives with our renowned Comics in the City speaker series.
Recent Comics in the City speakers
- Marguerite Abouet (Aya: Life in Yop City)
- Alison Bechdel (Fun Home)
- Emil Ferris (My Favorite Thing Is Monsters)
- Ebony Flowers (Hot Comb)
- Gilbert Hernandez (Love and Rockets)
- Akira Himekawa (The Legend of Zelda)
- Keith Knight (Woke, K Chronicles)
- MariNaomi (Life on Earth trilogy)
- Mike Mignola (Hellboy)
- Jason Shiga (Demon, Meanwhile)
- Steenz (Heart of the City)
- Mariko Tamaki (This One Summer)
- Raina Telgemeier (Smile, Drama)
- J.H. Williams III (Promethea, Sandman: Overture)
- Gene Luen Yang (Dragon Hoops)
Faculty
Get expert mentoring
Our faculty are practicing cartoonists who are dedicated to eliminating any barriers between you and your dream projects. Imagine working with a critically acclaimed graphic novelist, or an Eisner-nominated writer. Our all-star faculty serve as your professional guides in everything from comics theory to publication design.
You’ll also study with faculty from related programs, such as Illustration and Writing and Literature, to help you discover new ways to bring your story to life on the page or screen.
Mel Gillman, chair of Comics (BFA and MFA)
Mel Gillman, chair of undergraduate and graduate Comics programs, is a cartoonist, colored pencil artist, and graphic novelist. They hold an MFA in Comics from the Center for Cartoon Studies and have been teaching in the graduate Comics program at CCA since 2015. They have created several graphic novels, including As the Crow Flies (Iron Circus Comics, 2017), Stage Dreams (Lerner/Graphic Universe, 2019), Other Ever Afters (Random House Graphic, 2022), and The Goblin Throne (Iron Circus Comics, 2027). They have also written two nonfiction graphic novel biographies for Penguin Workshop’s Who HQ series: Who Was a Daring Pioneer of the Skies? Amelia Earhart (2022), and Who Circled the Globe in Seventy-Two Days? Nellie Bly (2026).
Their work has won several awards, including a Stonewall Honor Book Award, an Excellence in Graphic Literature Award, and a Society of Illustrators Gold Medal. They've also been awarded a number of artist grants, residencies, and fellowships. In addition to their original comics work, they've also written and illustrated comics for a wide range of officially licensed comics series, including Steven Universe, Adventure Time, Care Bears, and Peanuts. They are currently working on a graphic memoir.
Faculty stories
CCA faculty member revives the legacy of the world's fastest man on the bike
Comics professor Frederick Nolan authored a graphic biography of the cycling legend Major Taylor.
MFA in Comics adjunct professor Melanie Gillman releases Other Ever Afters
Other Ever Afters is a new graphic novel by MFA in Comics adjunct professor Melanie Gillman is a collection of feminist, queer original fairy tales.
Q&A: Comics professor Justin Hall on nurturing community in queer comics
Interim MFA Comics Chair Justin Hall on his documentary, No Straight Lines, and the importance of finding (and sharing) your own voice.
Curriculum
Our low-residency structure
Students spend five weeks in San Francisco each summer for three consecutive years, collaborating with peers and taking advantage of our many spaces for artmaking on campus. In between these intensive summer sessions, students complete thesis projects and coursework either on campus or at a distance, working one-on-one with faculty and taking part in online group critiques with the entire cohort. View sample courses.
MFA Comics
Year 1: Summer Semester
- Intro to Comics Theory
- 3.0 units
- Tools and Techniques Studio
- 3.0 units
- History and Cultural Impact Seminar
- 3.0 units
- Comics Workshop
- 3.0 units
Year 1: Fall Semester
- Mentored Study
- 3.0 units
- Comics Studio
- 3.0 units
Year 1: Spring Semester
- Mentored Study
- 3.0 units
- Comics Studio
- 3.0 units
Year 2: Summer Semester
- Narrative Arts
- 3.0 units
- Digital Tools
- 3.0 units
- Diversity Comics Seminar
- 3.0 units
- Comics Workshop
- 3.0 units
Year 2: Fall Semester
- Mentored Study
- 3.0 units
- Comics Studio
- 3.0 units
Year 2: Spring Semester
- Mentored Study
- 3.0 units
- Comics Studio
- 3.0 units
Year 3: Summer Semester
- Production and Publication Design
- 3.0 units
- Digital Comics
- 3.0 units
- Comics Pedagogy
- 3.0 units
- Professional Practice
- 3.0 units
Total 60.0 units
Careers
Bringing stories to life
Our graduate cartoonists emerge from the program with a toolbox of practical techniques and a strong sense of artistic identity. Their exposure to interdisciplinary work and knowledge of grassroots self-publishing helps them hit the ground running. From graphic memoir to genre fiction and comics journalism, our alumni approach creative opportunities with a passion for powerful storytelling.
Career success in comic art
Maia Kobabe (MFA Comics 2015)
Maia Kobabe (MFA Comics 2015)
Graduating from CCA with a MFA in Comics in 2015, Maia Kobabe has won a Stonewall Honor and an Alex Award for their book Gender Queer: A Memoir.
Will Betke-Brunswick (MFA Comics 2020)
Will Betke-Brunswick (MFA Comics 2020)
Will Betke-Brunswick (MFA Comics 2020) uses their illustrations to unpack topics like their mother's terminal cancer and coming out as genderqueer in their debut memoir, A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings.
Breena Nuñez (MFA Comics 2019)
Breena Nuñez (MFA Comics 2019)
CCA alum and faculty member Breena Nuñez’s comic detailing how daily life has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic was featured in the New Yorker's “Daily Shouts” column.
