Study at AMPD
Realize your creative potential at York University’s School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD). With competitive degree programs and 300,000 square feet of premier facilities, AMPD students learn by doing from day one, engaging in career-focused activities with industry-leading professionals.
Creativity meets innovation
Conveniently located in Toronto, the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) at York University is one of Canada's most comprehensive arts, design and culture schools. With a range of BA and BFA degree programs, you can find your perfect fit as you follow your passion and prepare for a fulfilling career.
20,000+
Industry-leading alumni worldwide
300,000+
Square feet of premier facilities
$3.1 M
Worth of scholarships, bursaries, and awards available to AMPD students
Pursue Your Passion. Find Your Program
Cinema & Media Arts - (BA)
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Cinema & Media Arts - Media Arts (BFA)
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Cinema & Media Arts - Production (BFA)
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Cinema & Media Arts - Screenwriting (BFA)
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Creative Technologies (BFA) *
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Dance (BFA)
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Design (BDes)
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Digital Media (BA)
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Integrative Arts (BFA)
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Music (BFA)
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Theatre (BA | BFA)
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Visual Arts - History (BA)
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Visual Arts - Studio (BFA)
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Cinema & Media Studies (MA)
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Cinema & Media Studies (PhD)
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Design (MDes/MA)
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Film (MFA)
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Music (MA)
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Music (PhD)
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Theatre, Dance, and Performance (MA)
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Theatre, Dance, and Performance (PhD)
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Visual Art (MFA)
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Art History & Visual Culture (MA)
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Digital Media (MA) (MSc) (PhD)
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* Available exclusively at our Markham Campus
Get Ready To Apply
APPLY
Apply for undergraduate programs through OUAC or the York University. For more details on how to apply for graduate programs, visit the Faculty of Graduate Studies website.
COMPLETE YOUR SUPPLEMENTARY APPLICATION
In addition to submitting an application, some programs require a supplementary application to be considered for admission.
APPLICATION DEADLINES
Application deadline for guaranteed consideration.
| Applicant | Application Deadline | Supplementary Application Deadline |
| Ontario High School Students | January 15, 2025 | February 5, 2025 |
| All Other Applicants | February 5, 2025 | February 5, 2025 |
Student Resources
Scholarship, Awards & Bursaries
From entrance scholarships and awards for current students to on-campus employment, there are many opportunities to finance your studies at York. Explore the 200+ scholarships available to AMPD students.
On Campus Housing
Get all the details you need about your new home away from home, including meal plans, food services, maintenance requests and important deadlines.
International Students
We offer a wide variety of social and academic services and programs to support international students. York International helps international students with orientation, housing, immigration, employment, academic student services and counselling advice.
Get Involved
Connect with like-minded individuals and build your AMPD community through our 20+ AMPD-specific clubs. You’ll have access to over 100 additional clubs at York University. Don’t see something you like? You can start your own club and make it happen!
What Our Students Say
Learn more about why our students love AMPD.
One of the reasons I love studying Digital Media is because it's the perfect intersection between Computer Science and Art. I feel like I'm learning design and programming all in one degree. The Digital Media professors always encourage and inspire students to think outside the box.
Prachi S
3rd Year Student in the Digital Media Program
I chose the York MDes program because I saw the benefits of doing a Master's degree within a larger research institution with a multitude of different resources and supports. What I really enjoy about the program is that it is largely self-directed. It is a playground where you are allowed to ruminate on your ideas, explore possibilities, and shape your academic experience based on your interests. Your instructors provide you guidance to put you on the right path but that path is largely constructed by you.
Rupsha M
MDes Candidate in the Graduate Program in Design
I had a great experience during my time at AMPD and York University. I benefited greatly from the exposure to various texts and readings and the rich exchanges and critical discourse I engaged in with my peers and professors in the MFA program and wider department. Courses like Methods in Practice-Based Research and the Goldfarb Summer Institute (about engaging photography and archives), and the guidance I received while working on my thesis project helped me to reflect more deeply about my own practice and develop more rigour in my form-making.
Abraham O
Visual Arts Graduate (MFA 2022)
I chose AMPD because it has a diverse group of creatives who are like-minded to myself. What makes my program unique is the broad range of courses that allow Design students to branch off to different streams. The most valuable thing I have learned so far in my program is to not be afraid of experimentation. By taking leaps of faith and not being scared to try new things, I have received the chance to experience indulging in streams within my major that are offered outside of my comfort zone, including package design, motion design, and branding. These experiences and challenges have contributed to my academic and creative pursuits by allowing me to learn and grow as an aspiring artist and designer in Toronto.
Kesha U
4th Year Student in the Design Program
Tour AMPD
Discover the spaces that make AMPD the perfect place for your creative journey. Schedule a personalized tour to experience firsthand where you'll innovate, collaborate and become part of our vibrant community.
Why AMPD
5 ways we prepare you for success.
Creative community, not competition.
AMPD's core is its community, a network of collaboration-minded contemporaries excited to create beyond their imagination. You'll be pushed by professors and classmates alike to create bigger and bolder. Still, you'll never be alone in your pursuit of authentic expression.
Creativity as a communal activity is a founding principle of AMPD - artists don't exist in vacuums, so neither should their work. At AMPD, you'll be encouraged to connect with peers inside and outside the classroom with the next generation of arts.
Interdisciplinary learning in the arts.
At AMPD, you're encouraged to explore across styles, art forms and industries. Take lessons in acting or music composition while pursuing a film degree. Minor in gender studies or philosophy while majoring in design. Collaborate with visual artists on your virtual reality video game.
You'll be prepared to enter any industry as a complex problem solver who understands the unique intersections of industry and art.
Space to create, whenever the feeling strikes.
Clustered in a 457-acre campus, a short subway ride from the heart of Canada's art community, enjoy an artist's refuge with space to leap farther, build higher, and imagine greater.
Make, move and mould without limits in:
- Canada's largest sculpture studio
- 35,000 sq ft of sprung floors
- 4,000 sq ft sound stage
- 2,000 sq ft of carpentry studio
- 300+ seat theatres
Industry experience starting day one.
What you create outside the classroom is just as important as what you learn inside it. Students who take on experiential education opportunities - placements, creative projects, and networking - start building their careers before graduation.
With a global reputation for success, an extensive network of alumni and an AMPD-dedicated experiential education coordinator, you'll build your network, polish your portfolio, and gain valuable job skills.
Tailored academic advising.
Academic advising encompasses degree-related support tailored to your AMPD journey with specialized academic advisors offering guidance ranging from degree progress and program changes to academic growth. At AMPD, You'll never feel rushed with the most extensive advising appointments on campus at 45 minutes each.