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SAIC Graduate Programs Brochure 2026/27

Page 1

APPLICATION PROCESS

APPLICATION DEADLINES

Application materials and requirements vary by department.

DECEMBER 1

Prospective students should visit their program page for details.

Reduced Application Fee Deadline for all programs

• Letters of Reference • Portfolio/Critical Writing Sample • Résumé Start your application at saic.edu/gradapp

FINANCING YOUR EDUCATION Nakiyah T.M. Jordan performing a reading of a prose poem at the show she curated titled PENDULUM

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.

MEET WITH US

To view detailed information on tuition and financial aid, please visit saic.edu/financialaid.

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

One of the best ways to prepare your application for graduate studies is to

Master of Arts in Visual & Critical Studies

meet with us prior to submitting your materials. We are available in-person and

Master of Design in Designed Objects

virtually to help you through the process at every step. Some ways to connect:

Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts

CAMPUS TOURS Journie Nikala Kirdain Seattle, Salem, Chicago

Master of Arts in Art Therapy & Counseling

Master of Fine Arts in Fashion, Body & Garment

Join graduate admissions staff year-round for a tour of SAIC’s downtown Chicago campus. Current graduate students will be your guides, highlighting

Master of Fine Arts in Writing

departments, studios, facilities, and special collections across campus and

Master of Science in Historic Preservation

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 Teresa Fleming

Miiko Shan He

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

Shea Burke, Body Vessel

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 • Painting and Drawing • Performance • Printmedia • Visual Communication Design Historic Preservation Certificate

Estefania Arriaza Cloud I

• Statement of Purpose

Master of Architecture • Architecture Track • Interior Architecture Track

saic.edu | gradmiss@saic.edu

• Transcripts

36 South Wabash Avenue | Suite 1201 Chicago, IL 60603 800.232.7242 | 312.629.6100

• Online Application

JANUARY 10

SCHOOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO GRADUATE ADMISSIONS

BASIC APPLICATION PROCEDURE

GRADUATE PROGRAMS


Yiting Liu, Leaving-home dumplings, coming-back noodles

POSSIBILITIES

INSPIRATION

At the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, we recognize

GRADUATE PROGRAMS

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

As a graduate student at the School of the Art

students are inventors, explorers, and thinkers.

Institute of Chicago (SAIC), you will focus, study

As a student, you will develop a deep understanding of historical contexts while imagining new frameworks, ideas

Low-Residency MFA

CREATING CONNECTIONS

Master of Fine Arts in Studio Architecture

intensively, and learn from some of the most renowned faculty artists, designers, scholars,

Master of Architecture Architecture Track Interior Architecture Track

Art & Technology / Sound Practices

Master of Design

Ceramics

Designed Objects

influencers, and innovators in the world. They

Comics

and forms. Above all, you will be encouraged to cross

are mentors and educators, but equally, peers

Design for Emerging Technologies

disciplines and explore concepts unbound to any one

and collaborators, offering real-world insight

Designed Objects

because they are experienced practitioners

Fiber & Material Studies

Master of Arts

who have been in your position before. They

Film, Video, New Media, & Animation

Art Education

know what it’s like to re-evaluate their work

Painting & Drawing

Teaching

Performance

Art Therapy & Counseling

Photography

Arts Administration & Policy

Printmedia

Modern & Contemporary Art History

Sculpture

Dual Degree Arts Administration & Policy and Modern & Contemporary Art History Visual & Critical Studies

medium or academic department.

and they are passionate about informing the process from conception to execution through unabashed discourse and critique.

Visual Communication Design

INTERDISCIPLINARY PRACTICE

Master of Fine Arts in Fashion, Body and Garment

You will have the opportunity to cross

CHICAGO

boundaries between disciplines. A course in photography could help you to see

A VIBRANT CITY

architecture more clearly. Or an art history seminar could expose you to the alternative

spaces, provides an ideal backdrop for young artists. There are

awareness, and understanding much greater

key international venues for contemporary art and design,

than any single-discipline approach could

including the Art Institute of Chicago’s Modern Wing; Museum of

provide, your work will grow, your ability

Contemporary Art, Chicago; Renaissance Society; and the Museum

to adapt will strengthen and your path to

of Contemporary Photography. And with our Visiting Artists

success in today’s world will be confirmed.

Lectures, the Siskel Film Center, and our SAIC Galleries, SAIC holds a prominent position in the Chicago art and design community, which Zirou Zhang

helps our students gain access to many areas of the professional art world locally and beyond.

For details on individual programs, visit saic.edu/gradapp

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RANKINGS:

blue-chip galleries as well as younger galleries and alternative

therapist. By providing you with a context,

Historic Preservation

Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Studio Historic Preservation Certificate

Chicago’s active art and design scene, which includes established

peer perspectives of an artist, curator, or

Eugenia Macchia & Veronica Perez Untitled

Master of Fine Arts in Writing

Master of Science

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 B est Fine Arts Program Among Independent Art and Design Colleges #2 in Painting & Drawing #3 in Photography #4 in Sculpture #5 in Time-Based Media / New Media #6 in Printmaking

QS World University Rankings #11 Art and Design

Zhecong Huang Dear Mom

Robert Narciso, Untitled


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