Kwame Gomez
Post-Baccalaureate Overview
Application and Admissions Information
The Post-Baccalaureate (Post-Bacc) Certificate in Studio program provides students who have an undergraduate degree with an opportunity to expand their work in a large professional fine arts school environment. The two-semester program is designed to help students develop their artistic vision and technical proficiency and produce a strong body of work for the purpose of graduate admissions. Applicants to the program may be:
- Individuals with a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science who need an additional year of studio experience to prepare a portfolio
- Individuals with a degree in art who wish to pursue work in a medium different from their undergraduate major
- International students requiring a year of intensive studio work typical of the United States educational system before beginning a master of fine arts (MFA) program.
The curriculum combines the tutorial aspects of graduate school with the formal coursework of an advanced undergraduate program. Students supplement their studio work with two art history classes, a one-semester post-baccalaureate seminar (or equivalent studio work), and an optional studio seminar. Completion of the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Studio does not guarantee admission to SAIC's MFA in Studio program. Credits taken while a post-baccalaureate student cannot be counted toward an MFA in Studio degree at SAIC should you later be accepted into that program.
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Application Deadline: January 10 - $90 Application Fee
Priority Deadline: December 1 - $45 Application Fee
Apply online via SlideroomSAIC requires applicants to apply online. Filing an online application requires a valid credit card and a current email address. You may apply to up to three programs with one application and fee. If you are applying to either the MFA in Studio or the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Studio you may select up to three departments of entry.
Applications must be submitted prior to 11:00 p.m. (CST) on the appropriate deadline. When you click the "submit" button on the Graduate Application form, you will be prompted to enter credit card information to pay the application fee. Your application form is not fully submitted until you have entered your credit card information.
Under no circumstances will an application fee be refunded. After you submit the application form you will be directed to a dashboard where you can begin working on your E-Portfolio(s).
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A conferred four-year baccalaureate degree or its equivalent is required for admission to all graduate programs at SAIC. Transcripts are records of your studies that list the courses you completed, the grades received, and provide evidence of degree conferral. They may include grade sheets, exam results, final diplomas, degrees, or graduation certificates. Official copies are issued in the original language directly by your university. Copies must bear the official stamp or seal of the institution, as well as the signature of the appropriate official such as the dean, rector, registrar, controller of examinations, or office of teaching affairs. Photos, notarized copies, facsimiles, or email transmissions are not acceptable.
Official translations are expected for all educational documents issued in a language other than English. A translation agency or university language department should issue official translations typed on official stationary and the translator must attest proficiency in the original language and indicate their translations are accurate word-for-word.
During the application process an unofficial transcript is acceptable for review pending an Admissions decision. Official transcripts are required upon admission. Include transcripts both official and unofficial from all universities/colleges from which a degree was obtained or prerequisites were fulfilled. You can attach unofficial transcripts as .pdf or .jpg files in the Educational History section of the application form. If you are in the process of completing a bachelor's degree when you apply, a transcript showing your first three years of study is acceptable.
Transcripts are considered official if sent directly from the degree- or credit-granting institution to the SAIC Graduate Admissions Office. Hard copy transcripts are considered official if the documents remain in the registrar's original signed and sealed envelopes. Official transcripts can be sent both in digital and hard-copy format. Digital transcripts can be sent from the degree- or credit-granting institution to gradmiss@saic.edu. Hard copy transcripts can be mailed to:
SAIC Graduate
36 S. Wabash Ave., Suite 1201
Chicago, IL 60603 -
Write a 500- to 700-word statement of purpose that describes the history of your interests and experience in your program of choice. Include your personal and professional motivations and goals, and your reasons for pursuing graduate study at SAIC, as well as any potential goals for the future.
A statement of intent is required for all graduate programs though the content varies by department. You will upload your statement of purpose to the Attachments section of your E-Portfolio.
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Two Letters of Reference are required. You are responsible for securing letters of recommendation from persons who are qualified to write about your potential for success at SAIC. If you are currently a student or are a recent graduate, we recommend you request letters of recommendation from current or former instructors.
Letters of recommendation should be submitted electronically via the References section of the application form. In this section you will be asked to provide an email address for each of your references. Once you click "send request," an email will be sent from SlideRoom to your references with instructions on how to submit their recommendations online.
If your references are unable to provide an online recommendation please contact the Graduate Admissions office at gradmiss@saic.edu.
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A current résumé is required. A resume is required for all graduate programs. Upload your résumé to the Attachments section in your E-Portfolio.
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Your portfolio should include samples of your recent work documented in 15-20 still images, or up to 10 minutes of time-based work, or a combination of the two in which one image is equivalent to approximately 30 seconds of time-based work. Please be sure to include media used and scale (dimensions) of each work in the description section available.
Applicants are required to submit an E-Portfolio, though the content varies by department. Please visit your individual program of interest to find details. You must submit a separate E-Portfolio for each program or studio department to which you apply. After you pay the application fee and submit the application form, an E-Portfolio for each of the programs you selected in the application form will automatically appear in your SlideRoom dashboard.
Submission specifications:
- Images: .jpg, .gif, .pdf (up to 5 MB each)
- Videos: .flv, .wv, .mov (up to 60 MB each)
- Audio: .mp3 (up to 10 MB each)
- Text documents: MUST be in .pdf format (up to 10 MB each)
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TOEFL: 85
IELTS: 6.5
DUOLINGO: 120International applicants are required to submit evidence of English language proficiency. You are waived from this requirement if you meet any of the following conditions:
- Your native language is English
- You have an undergraduate degree conferred by a U.S. accredited university
- You have an undergraduate degree conferred by a university whose primary language of instruction is English
If you do not meet one of these conditions, you must submit official English language proficiency test scores. You are strongly encouraged to schedule a language proficiency test appointment as early as possible in order to receive official test scores prior to the application deadline.
SAIC accepts official scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), and Duolingo. The TOEFL Institution Code for SAIC is 1713. Please upload an unofficial copy of your test score results to the International Requirements section of the application form.
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A phone or in-person interview is required. Please contact the Admissions office at 312.629.6100 or gradmiss@saic.edu to schedule an interview to take place between February 25 and April 5, 2020.