Study Abroad + Off-Campus Opportunities

Students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago are expected to think beyond the classroom, and to consider their creative work in the context of communities outside of the School itself. SAIC offers international and domestic opportunities for students to experience a broader sense of society and the world. STUDY ABROAD + OFF-CAMPUS OPPORTUITIES OVERVIEW Undergraduate Off-Campus Study Requirement All undergraduate degree students are required to complete 6 credit hours of off-campus study toward their degree. SAIC Study Trips and Semester Exchange and Mobility Programs satisfy this requirement. Classes offered by other departments also meet this requirement. These include: Cooperative Education Internship Program Ox-bow School of Art find out more: Winter 2011 Program and specific on-campus classes are offered that are designed to bring a student into direct dialogue with other communities and contexts. Contact Academic Advising or the Registrar for an up-to-date list. Study Trips Study trips are offered in the Winter and Summer interims. Students must be at least sophomore standing or have completed 15 credits or more at SAIC if a transfer student. Other academic eligibility rules apply. Registration for summer study trips usually begins in early march; winter trips register in early October. Information sessions for each study trip are held prior to registration. more info Semester Exchange and Mobility Programs SAIC participates in exchange partnerships and study abroad programs with art schools within North America and internationally. It is highly recommended that students be at junior level or higher when undertaking a semester abroad. Applications for Semester Study Abroad are due at the Study Abroad office by September 1 for the following Spring semester or March 1 for the following Fall semester.  A faculty committee reviews all undergraduate Study Abroad and Mobility applications.  Schedule an appointment with a Study Abroad Advisor prior to the application deadline to review the process.  Before the appointment, make a rough draft of your ideas and narrow down the schools where you would like to study.  Consider your reasons for wanting to go to a particular country or school and think how your work may relate to the place you want to visit and what you can accomplish artistically by doing so.  Be sure to also consider your fluency in other languages, if necessary. more info

Graduate Sudent Study Abroad
Graduate students should first discuss any plans for semester-length study abroad with their department chairs. If approved, application forms are available at the Study Abroad  Office, Sullivan Center, suite 1203.


Independent Study Abroad / Other Programs
Students wishing to undertake semester or study programs not affiliated with SAIC during the fall / spring semesters or winter/summer interims should discuss their plans with the Office of Academic Advising.

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Awards and Scholarships Programs

JOHN W. KURTICH FOUNDATION TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP

The John W. Kurtich Foundation Travel Scholarships have been created for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) through a generous gift by the Kurtich Foundation. The purpose of the scholarships is to advance student opportunities to participate in international study programs. The John W. Kurtich Foundation Travel Scholarships offer $5,000 scholarships to up to 18 students each year to assist with tuition and travel expenses for approved international study trips.

Application Process
Students from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) may apply for a Kurtich Scholarship for approved international winter or summer study trips only. Kurtich Scholarships do not cover exchange programs or any other off-campus classes.

Scholarships are open to all graduate students, and undergraduate students who have completed a minimum of 30 credit hours at the time of their application. All applicants must be degree-seeking students in good academic standing. Preference will be given to AIADO and HPRES students.

Applications require:

1) an online portfolio
2) 500-word travel proposal, and
3) online application form

Scholarship recipients will be chosen solely based upon the merits of their application.

Submit your online application HERE.

Special note to non-studio applicants:
The online portfolio requirement is a minimum of 10 files. Non-studio degree applicants submitting a pdf writing sample or samples may upload additional blank pages to fulfill the minimum file submission requirement.

Following the deadlines, a faculty committee will review the applications and select up to 18 finalists from among the applicants. All finalists will be presented to the Kurtich Foundation for final approval.

Scholarship Application Deadline:
September 22, 2011 for Winter 2012 Study Trips
February 17, 2012 for Summer 2012 Study Trips

For more details visit the Frequently Asked Questions webspage.

About the Award Recipients
As the award recipients are in essence the embodiment of Professor Kurtich’s legacy, each recipient of a Kurtich Scholarship will be designated as a John W. Kurtich Scholar. Before each study trip sequence, the identified Kurtich Scholars will be asked to attend an event where family, friends, and colleagues of Professor Kurtich will speak to the Kurtich persona and sensibilities as a source of inspiration. The Kurtich Scholars will be expected to document their work for a commemorative compilation, and during the following fall semester each award recipient may have the opportunity to give a short presentation to members of the Kurtich family at a second event.

About John W. Kurtich
Born in Salinas, California, in 1935, John W. Kurtich joined the faculty of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1968 after completing his master’s degree in architecture at Columbia University. Trained as a licensed architect, his artistic practice also extended to writing and filmmaking. At SAIC, Professor Kurtich made an impact on everyone who knew him—as a mentor, a master teacher, and a multifaceted artist. His work, travels, and eagerness to learn and live touched his colleagues, friends, and three decades of students, many of whom describe him as their intellectual inspiration.

Professor Kurtich received numerous awards, including a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Graham Foundation award, a William Kinne Fellows Traveling Fellowship, and several Fulbright-Hays Mutual Education Exchange Grants. His scholarship of nearly every filed—classical architecture, environmental design, filmmaking, theater, performance, music, photography, archaeology, art history, and cooking—influenced the spirit of interdisciplinary study that serves as the foundation for SAIC curriculum.

Professor Kurtich had a love of travel. He stressed to all of his students and colleagues how valuable seeing other parts of the world was to their development as scholars and human beings. His legacy for scholarship, aesthetics, connoisseurship, and spirited living will endure through his Scholars.

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ODYSSEY TRAVEL GRANTS
Each spring semester SAIC awards $1,500 to 20 degree-seeking students for the sole purpose of education through personal travel. These awards are given through the generosity of a donor and are granted on a non-competitive basis. Twenty names are drawn at random from submitted applications during an award ceremony each spring. The grants must be used for travel before the following January. Applications are accepted on-line.

Learn more

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WORLD LESS TRAVELED GRANT Application for Fall 2011 DUE: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 by 5:00 p.m. HOW TO APPLY Degree students in good academic standing may apply for this grant by submitting the following materials via the online application process at saicscholarships.slideroom.com:

• Project Description of no more than 450 words (pasted into Slideroom)

• Artist Statement of no more than 450 words (pasted into Slideroom)

• Artist Résumé of no more than one page (pasted into Slideroom)

• Itemized Budget of anticipated expenses up to $1,500 (pasted into Slideroom)

• Digital Portfolio of Work (Still Images: upload five images in jpeg format only; time-based work: upload no more than a total of five minutes of video; writing samples: upload no more than tive pages of written work in pdf format only)

PLEASE NOTE WHEN SUBMITTING YOUR ONLINE APPLICATION:

1. If you have submitted an online application through Slideroom for the Delta Faucet Competition, Kurtich Traveling Scholarships, etc., you will not need to create a new online account. Login to saicscholarships.slideroom.com and select the "World Less Traveled Grant Fall 2011," then complete the application.
2. If you have never used Slideroom before, go to saicscholarships.slideroom.com to create an account. Please note that you will receive a confirmation e-mail that you will need to acknowledge before you can login for the first time.
3. You will be able to save your application in progress. However, once you click the submit button, you will NOT be able to make any changes to your application.
4. Please give yourself time to problem-solve technical errors that may occur. There will be no exceptions to the deadline.

SELECTION PROCESS:
A committee comprised of the Dean of Graduate Studies, Dean of Undergraduate Studies, the Graduate Division Chair, and the Undergraduate Division Chair will review applications. Notifications will be made in November.

QUESTIONS:
Contact Becky Alprin: balpri@saic.edu 312.629.6523 or Kellie Romany: kroman3@saic.edu 312.759.1494.

ABOUT THE WORLD LESS TRAVELED GRANT:
Marion Parry, a friend of SAIC, has endowed a travel and research grant named The World Less Traveled to provide funds for thesis research, conference attendance, travel for exhibitions, and self-initiated study trips (not SAIC Study Trips) available to both undergraduate and graduate students. The Office of the Deans and Division Chairs is pleased to announce that this fund will be made available during both the fall and spring semesters of each year for use in the subsequent semester. Grants are awarded with a maximum amount of $1,500.

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FULBRIGHT GRANTS

Fulbright Fellowship grants are awarded by the U.S. Department of State for one year of study or research abroad. Seniors and graduate students, who are U.S. citizens, are eligible to apply. The application is extensive and takes several months to complete. Applications are available in the Career Development office in May of each year and are due at the end of September. The Fulbright Program Advisor, Nancy Gildart (ngildart@saic.edu) manages all aspects of the process: advises applicants on their proposals, collects all application materials and coordinates the campus review.

For up-to-date information on the U.S. Department of State funded Fulbright Fellowships visit their website at www.iie.org.

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SKOWHEGAN FELLOWSHIPS

The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture is an intensive nine-week summer residency for upper level visual artists. It is set on 300 acres in the lake district of Central Maine. SAIC matches funds with Skowhegan to provide 2 SAIC graduate or advanced senior students full scholarships each summer, covering tuition, room and board. Applications should be submitted on-line at www.skowheganart.org by February 1. Skowhegan selects the scholarship recipients.

SAIC students applying for the matching scholarship should write the following contact information in the financial aid section (Step 4) of the application.

Name of School Contact: Norman Miller
Telephone: 312.629.6830
Email: nmiller2@saic.edu

Skowhegan also encourages all applicants who qualify for matching funds to complete the financial aid section in full in case more than 2 applicants are accepted. Other funding is available.

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