If you’re interested in applying to programs at SFPC but are unsure about how to write your application, these are our considerations in our admissions process.
The main thing that we are trying to do in our selection process is to put together a cohort of people with diverse backgrounds and interests who will have a lot to offer to each other as peers. We center people from identities and backgrounds that are often marginalized and excluded from art, technology, and higher education spaces, and look for a cohort with a wide range of passions, skills, experiences, and technical abilities. Above all, we are selecting for openness to building a shared experience around learning, critical theory, art making, and technology.
Please email us at admissions@sfpc.study with any questions you may have.
Artistic merit and technical expertise
Artistic merit and technical expertise are both qualities we look for in applications, but they are not the central concern. If an applicant has a polished portfolio, or an active github page (for instance) it’s worthwhile to ask—what would this person like to learn from their peers? What would they be interested in offering? And if an applicant has less experience with code/tech, or does not identify as an artist, the same questions apply. A central belief is that people of varying levels of experience have a lot to learn and unlearn from each other in the fields of art and technology, so striking a balance of participants is the most important thing.
Access to art and tech education
We get many applications from current students, researchers, and teachers in academia. Many of these students get into SFPC programs! However, where we can, we look to give opportunities to people who may not have other access to art, technology and critical theory education.
Interest in each other
We really value hearing that applicants are interested in each other. We are trying to move towards future possibilities in education where the role of teacher is less and less entrenched. When an application gives the sense that a person is eager to participate in creating a horizontal learning environment, that means a lot to us.
Time and place in life
We love having a wide range of ages and geographies in classes, and having participants coming to class for all different reasons—connection, joy, personal interest, professional development and self-discovery to name a few.
History with SFPC
We want to provide pathways for alumni to come back to the school, and for new folks to join. In a class of 20, we look to reserve between 4-6 seats for alumni who apply. When making difficult decisions between applicants who the admissions team is roughly equally excited about, the team is encouraged to check applicants against a list of past applicants, giving priority first to folks who have been waitlisted in the past, and then to folks who have been rejected in the past.
Ability to pay
We do not look at applicants’ ability to pay any amount of tuition in the first round of reviewing applications. In the first round, we admit as many applicants as we can, regardless of their ability to pay, until we run out of scholarship funds. After we run out of scholarship funds, we begin a second round where ability to pay influences admissions decisions. Unfortunately we do not currently have the funding to fully disregard ability to pay in our application process, but we hope to move towards a system in which we make admissions decisions that are not based on an applicants’ ability to pay.
My experience with SFPC has set the bar for how I seek to learn and take up space in a learning environment with others. For anyone interested in the intersection of art, technology, design, and social practice, these programs will challenge you to consider new objectives for your own interests and introduce new tools and ideas into your repertoire. What you learn here doesn't just prompt you to churn out products, but it encourages you to explore why we make (and for the sake of play is a magnificent reason), what we're making, and how it can live on beyond the program.
Corey De'Juan Sherrard Jr
SFPC creates incredible courses and spaces through their thoughtfulness, curiosity, and creativity that I am still processing, even weeks after completing my first course. I couldn't recommend SFPC and its classes more.
Murphy Carter
SFPC has truly changed my life. I have never felt more seen and understood and pushed to continually learn and unlearn while being surrounded by a community that I felt represented by. I will continue to take classes, support the school as a friend and donor and would love to stay connected to share work, find folks to collaborate with and in the future even get involved with teaching or supporting programs.
Mykim Dang
SFPC puts into practice our aspirations for accessible education that nurtures critical perspectives in technology and art. The online classes made it possible for me to join SFPC. I was halfway around the world but the teachers and peers made it a warm and welcoming environment for learning. […] SFPC supported my participation with a full scholarship and I hope they continue to do the same for more students in the future.
Anonymous Fall 2022 Participant
The people I've met at SFPC have been very supportive. […] The teachers not only teach the classes, but also give me a lot of inspiration and ideas for my personal practice. I have highly recommend the class and SFPC to my designer and developer friends. And I hope I can take another class in SFPC in the future. […]
Anonymous Fall 2022 Participant
Regardless of the medium, the School For Poetic Computation beautifully coalesces both Art and Technology.
Roberto Sosa
I am so inspired by you all, thank you for the important work you are doing!
Daniel Shiffman
SFPC is about digging deep, and at your core finding a space for who you are; all of yourself! […] As someone who has flip-flopped between the creative and technical my entire life, I loved every minute of it! […] This year, I felt unparalleled joy for the first time in grad school; […] I couldn't have done it without the love, courage and support I found in SFPC!
Krystal Maughan
SFPC has been an incredible source of knowledge, growth and inspiration to me since I discovered them years ago. Knowing that a group of such smart, thoughtful and curious humans are leading this school forward makes me excited to see what type of courses they'll be offering every season and how the school's content will continue to be shaped in the future.
Samantha Seurynck Griffith
Tiny Tech Zines would not exist without the teachings offered by SFPC and the connections that have grown from the seeds there.
Jules Kris, Rachel Simanjuntak, Tristan Espinoza, and Tyler Yin of Tiny Tech Zines
SFPC is a community of people who share their wisdom with a level of generosity that I cherish and continue to learn from. Each class is a gift that I carry with me to new places and possibilities.
Shiraz Gallab
As a guest lecturer at SFPC, I deeply enjoyed the sociality and conversation from such a generative space. Very thankful.
Ryan C. Clarke
SFPC is lighting in a bottle. It's the tender, critical, intentional learning community you've wanted for so long.
Meghna Dholakia
The human experience at SFPC is unparalleled. Being part of the Spring 2019 cohort was transformative.
Juan Miguel Marin
The School for Poetic Computation makes you relearn what a computer is. You dissect and study the functions that make up our whole society. It is a great place to learn and unlearn together and I am so grateful to have been a part.
Char Stiles
SFPC is a dream org run by a very special group of people <3 It's the tech education I wish I had in school <3
Maya Man
We feel incredibly grateful for being part of the SFPC community, the students that join are always profound and push the classes into unexplored territories. The community at large constantly makes us feel proud and excited to build educational spaces that challenge the ways of so many academic institutions.
Tiri Kananuruk, Sebastián Morales Prado
I continue to be in awe of SFPC's community and educational mission! I was so lucky to have the opportunity to take an SFPC course this past summer. The class had a profound impact on me and I am so inspired and excited to take what I learned into my own teaching and educational work.
Dan Shiffman
Grateful to SFPC for modeling ways of being a student, ways of being a teacher, and ways of using technology to foster connection, pleasure, and critique (among many other things).
Shannon Finnegan
SPFC is making high-quality education accessible. Each course is a gift, featuring cutting-edge curricula, engaged teachers and a bunch of new people to meet. The best part of SPFC is the smart pedagogy — it's not the same-as-always traditional fascistic approach that churned many of us away from education in the first place.
Anonymous Participant
SPFC feels like a compost heap of texts, scripts, sensibilities, screen shares, snippets and exchanges, lovingly arranged to foment computational waywardness.
Jonathan Gray
Thoughtful and generative discussions about art-making and activism. Inspiring projects ranging from Twine games and generative poetry to psychedelic live performances of someone's computer desktop. I learned a lot and felt like I was part of an interested, engaged, creative community.
Anonymous Participant
SFPC's classes provided exactly the kind of learning experience at the intersection of art and coding that I was looking for. It was a fantastic and enriching experience, with knowledgeable teachers who create a supportive and stimulating environment for everyone.
Anonymous Participant
A space for creative revolution and a recognition of machines as creative tools and sensorial experiences.
Sara Martinez
A new approach to being human in an increasingly digital world.
Andrew R. Calderon
Much gratitude to the organizers, teachers, and community members who have put in countless hours of physical and emotional labor to reimagine and rebirth the vision they see possible for SFPC.
Natalie Rothfels
The SFPC community has given so much to me.
Omayeli Arenyeka
Many thanks to the group putting so much love and intention into restructirng SFPC! You are all very appreciated <3
Samantha Griffith
A trans borders organisation dedicated to the essence of our being. The language and the processes that create our thought is essential to a society that I would love to live in. The school’s approach is exceptional.
Tilman Porschuetz
SFPC does incredible (and necessary) work. We need SFPC! Even though I'm not based in NY, I love seeing the writing, projects, work, and research that come out of their public program and residency.
Dorothy Santos
This is an amazing program and community. I hope it continues to inspire and support artists for a long time to come.
Georgia Guthrie
SFPC is a critical beacon in the capital-dominated tech landscape and will be an utterly necessary salve in the post-pandemic order.
william strew
It is a very therapeutic and rare experience to find a place where you’re able to re-examine your technical knowledge and how it relates to your place in the world and the future you want to make.
Danny Garfield
The whole SFPC experience was surreal. It felt unlike anything I’ve ever done. It was a magical space that let me explore concepts that I otherwise would not have had the time to think about. It makes a strong case for a more radically community-oriented model of pedagogy and living life that feels more complete, enriching, sustainable, and ultimately more hopeful.
Francisco Rojo
After SFPC, I now have a stronger art practice with new technologies and tools to continue experimenting with. I’m a part of a greater community of folks working with art and technology who I can collaborate with, get inspired by, and meet across the world and for years to come.
Mathilde Mouw-Rao
SFPC is the purest, most honest exchange of knowledge and experience among peers I have ever experienced. It is a supportive space where everyone learns from everyone, and bridges are built that continue to be strengthened for years to come. You won’t get a certificate or a title at the end of it, but I would be amazed if you ever looked at your world the same again. I haven’t.
Ramsey Nasser
My takeaway from SFPC: Never settle for code that isn't at least a little bit magic
Nathan Rosenberg
Attending SFPC is like walking into an all day buffet supplied with food from hyper-talented chefs. There's more than you could ever consume, naturally, and you will most likely find yourself requiring a digestion period, but holy crap is it tasty.
Daniel Wilson
School For Poetic Computation is equal parts The Factory, childhood blanket fort, and mad scientist's lab. I learned a ton from the teachers and the whole SFPC community in a huge collaborative and exploratory environment.
Lee Tusman
If you think SFPC is what you think, that will be wrong. SFPC is a space for a group of people who badly want to try something new. SFPC will become a spirit embedded in your blood which makes you think things with a different angle, just like its motto: more poetry, less demo.
Paul Cheng
SFPC was amazing — life-changing even — i want to do all this stuff for the rest of my life!
Rachel Uwa
I learned a lot at SFPC. It was only a 2 week program last time, but I learned many things from other participants and got the chance to explore and fail freely. SFPC helped me to reshape the way I think. It's your turn.
Hyojung Seo
I've never been consistently surprised and inspired as much as at SFPC.
Jonathan Dahan
SFPC is not really a school or a course — it is more like a door into an extraordinary world. It is driven by passion, kindness and the thrill of teaching and learning. I would love to live those inspiring weeks all over again.
Jesse Wolpert
SFPC is the best place you can explore your interest as much as you want and the place you start to write your own poem.
Yosuke Sakai
I'm half way through the program and I'm already missing being here. SFPC was a much needed breath of fresh air in my hectic creative existence, an unlikely place to stop and remind myself what was it I was into in the first place.
Fern Ramallo
SFPC messed up my life a little bit. Actually, I think it's going to mess it up a lot. Before this program I thought I knew what I was doing and what the shape of my life was going to look like. Now I don't and each day I wake up scared I won't get to be a part of a community like this again. Everyday also now brings a fresh but welcome creative terror to overcome. Also I think I may have ended up moving to New York accidentally.
Amit Runchal
SFPC is filled with amazing people and an open mindset to learning, and doing. It has taught me different ways of thinking, ones that I would be sure to bring back to my endeavors outside of the art world.
Ying Quan Tan
You are viewing photos from past sessions. Read participant testimonials.You are viewing participant testimonials. View photos from past sessions.
