School of the Art Institute of Chicago

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School Says - General Information
Since 1866, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been providing a leading global vision for the education of artists, designers and others who shape contemporary practice. SAIC fosters the conceptual and technical education of artists, designers and scholars in a highly professional, studio-oriented and academically rigorous environment. SAIC encourages excellence, critical inquiry, and experimentation. In 2002, SAIC was recognized as "the most influential art school in the nation" in a poll of national art critics conducted by Columbia University. SAIC's Master of Fine Arts program has been consistently ranked as one of the top three graduate fine arts programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. 2,359 undergraduate and 631 graduate students work in an environment that facilitates the exchange of ideas, resource sharing and the refinement of technical abilities and conceptual concerns. SAIC students have access to a wide variety of unique resources, beginning with the premiere collection of the Art Institute of Chicago and its Ryerson Library and Burnham Library of Architecture, the largest art and architecture research libraries in the country. The Gene Siskel Film Center, located in the same building as our 162 North State Street residence, presents significant programs of world cinema and video presentations by an international array of film and video artists. The Video Data Bank houses more than 1,800 titles and is the leading resource in the United States for videotapes by and about contemporary artists. The Poetry Center brings renowned poets and writers to Chicago to share their work with the public. SAIC is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.

School Says - Student Body
SAIC builds a strong sense of community on campus with special activities and programs. The Visiting Artist Program hosts approximately 50 public presentations by artists each year in lectures, symposia, performances and screenings. It showcases artists working in all media including sound, video, performance, poetry, painting, and independent film, in addition to curators, critics, and art historians.

The Student Union Galleries (SUGs) program provides a professional student exhibition space that is operated by students. Students are involved in every facet of the gallery's operation--from administration and program design to the selection of exhibitions, curating, advertising, installation and de-installation.

Student Government is responsible for funding and co-sponsoring events such as a Welcome Back to School Party, All-School Barbecues, Holiday and Spring Art Sales, and the First Thursdays events. In recent history they've implemented a School TV station (EXTV), improved recycling efforts on campus, and developed new programs to improve the sense of community at SAIC. Students may also participate in SAIC's award-winning newspaper, "F Newsmagazine," or Free Radio SAIC, a student-run Internet radio station airing approximately 40 hours of original programming per week.

School Says - Academics
Completion of 132 hours is required for the B.A., B.F.A. and B.I.A. degrees, approximately two thirds being in studio areas and one third in academic course work. All entering students who have completed fewer than 15 credit hours of college-level studio art must enroll in the First Year Experience, an intense, interdisciplinary studio concentration that emphasizes simultaneous development of technical skills and conceptual thinking. After the first-year English requirements are completed, students take liberal arts courses in the humanities, natural science and mathematics and social sciences. Students are also required to complete an art history requirement. Our credit/no-credit grading system encourages students to investigate, develop or resolve a creative problem or theme by exploring new approaches or different media, and to develop the self-motivation and discipline necessary for life as a practicing artist, designer and scholar in the 21st century. Students are required to complete 6 semester hours of off-campus study.

School Says - Admissions
Undergraduate applicants are required to submit the admissions application; a nonrefundable application fee of $65 for domestic students and a fee of $85 for international students; a portfolio usually consisting of ten to fifteen examples of recent work, a minimum of five minutes of time-based work, or an alternative portfolio submission that demonstrates the applicant's creative intent; a statement of purpose; transcript(s) from high school(s) or an official copy of the high school equivalency certificate; transcripts from any college previously attended; one letter of recommendation. Domestic applicants must submit either scores from the SAT or the ACT test. Any transfer applicant who has successfully completed SAIC English requirements and/or other Liberal Arts coursework at another accredited college may be exempt from standardized test requirements for admission. All international undergraduate students who are not U.S. citizens, permanent residents or are not native English speakers are required to take either the TOEFL or IELTS.

Prospective students may apply to SAIC through the Immediate Decision Option (IDO) or the traditional admission procedure. IDO Days allow prospective students who have submitted all their application materials an opportunity to receive an admissions decision by the end of the IDO day while on the SAIC campus. All students are required to submit their applications electronically by applying online at http://www.saic.edu/ugapp. Students are admitted on a rolling basis and are informed of the committee's decision by mail. Students must be admitted to SAIC by February 15 for the fall semester and November 15 for the spring semester to be considered for merit scholarship. Application deadline for first-time freshmen is June 30. Transfer students have no application deadline.

Admissions Office
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
36 South Wabash
Chicago, Illinois 60603

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