MEET WITH US
One of the best ways to prepare your application for graduate studies is to meet with us prior to submitting your materials. We are available in-person and virtually to help you through the process at every step. Some ways to connect:
CAMPUS TOURS
Join graduate admissions staff year-round for a tour of SAIC’s downtown Chicago campus. Current graduate students will be your guides, highlighting departments, studios, facilities, and special collections across campus and answering any questions you may have.
IN-PERSON EVENTS
Join us on-campus and at events around the country, including National Portfolio Days for prospective students who would like to get feedback on their portfolio.
VIRTUAL EVENTS
We offer a variety of virtual events including an application preparation series, program deep-dives, and Student Financial Services online information sessions.
For more information: saic.edu/grevents
APPLICATION PROCESS
Application materials and requirements vary by department.
Prospective students should visit their program page for details.
BASIC APPLICATION PROCEDURE
• Online Application
• Transcripts
• Statement of Purpose
• Letters of Reference
• Portfolio/Critical Writing Sample
• Résumé
Start your application at saic.edu/gradapp
FINANCING YOUR EDUCATION
SAIC strives to attract qualified students from diverse economic backgrounds through funding partnerships between the institution, students, private organizations, and both state and federal governments.
APPLICATION DEADLINES
DECEMBER
1
Priority Application Deadline for all programs
JANUARY
10
Master of Architecture
Architecture Track
Interior Architecture Track
Master of Arts in Art Therapy & Counseling
Master of Arts in Arts
Administration & Policy
Master of Arts in Art Education
Master of Arts in Modern & Contemporary Art History
Dual Degree: MA in Arts Administration & Policy and MA in Modern & Contemporary Art History
Master of Arts in Teaching
Master of Arts in Visual & Critical Studies
Master of Design in Designed Objects
Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts in Fashion, Body & Garment
Master of Fine Arts in Writing
Master of Science in Historic
Preservation
Master of Fine Arts in Studio
Architecture
Art and Technology / Sound Practices
Ceramics
Comics
Design for Emerging Technologies
Designed Objects
Fiber and Material Studies
Film, Video, New Media, & Animation
Painting and Drawing
Performance
Photography
Printmedia
Sculpture
Visual Communication Design
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Studio
Art & Technology / Sound Practices
Ceramics
Fiber & Material Studies
Film, Video, New Media, & Animation
Painting and Drawing
Performance
Printmedia
Visual Communication Design
Historic Preservation Certificate
POSSIBILITIES
At the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, we recognize that today’s artists are not only makers of images, objects, and events, but designers of cities, public spaces, scholars of visual languages, and producers of global culture. Our students are inventors, explorers, and thinkers.
As a student, you will develop a deep understanding of historical contexts while imagining new frameworks, ideas and forms. Above all, you will be encouraged to cross disciplines and explore concepts unbound to any one medium or academic department.
CREATING CONNECTIONS
As a graduate student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), you will focus, study intensively, and learn from some of the most renowned faculty artists, designers, scholars, influencers, and innovators in the world. They are mentors and educators, but equally, peers and collaborators, offering real-world insight because they are experienced practitioners who have been in your position before. They know what it’s like to re-evaluate their work and they are passionate about informing the process from conception to execution through unabashed discourse and critique.
INTERDISCIPLINARY PRACTICE
You will have the opportunity to cross boundaries between disciplines. A course in photography could help you to see architecture more clearly. Or an art history seminar could expose you to the alternative peer perspectives of an artist, curator, or therapist. By providing you with a context, awareness, and understanding much greater than any single-discipline approach could provide, your work will grow, your ability to adapt will strengthen and your path to success in today’s world will be confirmed.
CHICAGO
A VIBRANT CITY
Chicago’s active art and design scene, which includes established blue-chip galleries as well as younger galleries and alternative spaces, provides an ideal backdrop for young artists. There are key international venues for contemporary art and design, including the Art Institute of Chicago’s Modern Wing; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Renaissance Society; and the Museum of Contemporary Photography. And with our Visiting Artists Lectures, the Gene Siskel Film Center, and our SAIC Galleries, SAIC holds a prominent position in the Chicago art and design community, which helps our students gain access to many areas of the professional art world locally and beyond.
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RANKINGS:
SAIC is proud to be considered “The most influential art school in the United States” by Columbia University’s Art Critics National Arts Journalism Survey.
US News and World Report
#2 Best Fine Arts Program
#2 in Painting & Drawing
#3 in Photography
#4 in Sculpture
#5 in Time-Based Media / New Media
#6 in Printmaking
QS World University Rankings
#10 Art and Design
INSPIRATION GRADUATE PROGRAMS
