SAIC Recognized again for Excellence in Diversity
Learn about our efforts toward supporting and building a diverse community.
SAIC’s new faculty members represent a diverse range of practices, media, and methodologies and exemplify SAIC’s focus on interdisciplinary studies. Read more.
SAIC's suggested FAFSA priority deadline for each upcoming academic year is December 1 for Undergraduate Illinois Residents, January 1 for All Others. More info.
Students have many options when it comes to getting involved in the SAIC community. Learn more.
Youth and Adult Summer Registration Now Open!
Join us this year for an exciting lineup of exhibitions, lectures, screenings, and special events.
AIADO is a place where students can explore design and experiment across boundaries.
Learn about the transfer process, get portfolio advice, calculate your transfer credit & take a campus tour!
RSVP
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio (BFA) is an interdisciplinary curriculum designed to prepare students for life as a 21st-century artist and designer. Students are encouraged to take courses in any medium of field of study relevant to their practice. Small class sizes, a commitment to personal attention, and support for free expression define the undergraduate experience.
AIADO offers pathways through the BFA that combine sequenced, project-based design studios with electives that build skills and expand knowledge in design. As a BFA student, Pathways offer you a guide to the prerequisites for advanced studios in the BFA, preparation for further graduate study, and support developing your own design portfolio.
AIADO offers combined coursework with Departments including Fashion Design, Fiber and Material Studies, Sculpture, and Ceramics; allowing students to build strong connections to other areas of the School. BFA students are encouraged to apply to the Department’s External Partnership courses with collaborators in industry and culture. Students participate in the undergraduate spine, including the Sophomore Seminar, Junior Professional Practice Seminar, and Capstone experience in their final year. BFA Students work in the School’s workshops, libraries, and museum collection, making the most of the resources of the School and the city.
With courses on architectural design, representation skills, and architectural history and theory, the Architecture Pathway focuses on architecture and its impacts on public life while allowing students to experiment in areas such as technology and building performance, urbanism and social practice, and the visualization and communication of information.
The Architecture Pathway is an excellent preparation for graduate study in Architecture.
The Interior Architecture pathway focuses on the experimental design of interior spaces at various scales. Students work across disciplinary boundaries in developing design ideas that are future oriented and addresses the role and impact of interior spaces in the 21st century. The Interior Architecture courses equip students with a progressively broad range of knowledge and skills to become spatial innovators in an exciting field that bridges architecture, object and service design. The pathway is also an excellent preparation for graduate study.
Students who complete the Interior Architecture pathway meet criteria for the NCIDQ examination given by the Council for Interior Design Qualification. For the most up-to-date criteria, go to the CIDQ website.
Borrowing critically from product design, systems design, furniture design, and interaction design, the Designed Objects Pathway focuses on the critical and creative rethinking of the systems, tools, furnishings, and products that we use or interact with in our everyday lives.
Investigations into how objects extend human potential and inspire imagination are balanced with studies in the responsible and imaginative use of new technologies, materials, and production processes. A concern for sustainability provides an opportunity to explore alternative visions of how we live, work, communicate, and play.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree provides you a broad education that balances thinking and making, academic rigor, and experimental play. The BFA curriculum integrates academic and studio education--the classroom and the studio inform and enhance each other.
| Studio | 69 |
|---|---|
PROFPRAC and CAPSTONE are now required for new incoming students beginning in the 2015-16 academic year. |
|
| Art History | 15 |
|
|
| Liberal Arts | 30 |
|
|
| General Electives | 6 |
|
|
| Total Credit Hours | 120 |
* BFA students must complete at least 6 credit hours in a class designated as "off campus study." These credits can also fulfill any of the requirements listed above and be from any of the divisions (Art History, Studio, Liberal Arts, or General Electives).
BFA With Distinction—SAIC Scholars Program: The SAIC Scholars program is a learning community of BFA students pursuing rigorous study in both their academic coursework and their studio pathways. There are two opportunities for interested students to apply to the SAIC Scholars Program: at the time of admission to the school, and after they have completed 30 credits of study at SAIC. Students pursuing the latter option are required to formally submit an application to the Undergraduate Division. Once admitted to the SAIC Scholars Program, students are required to successfully complete a minimum of six designated scholars courses. Students who complete the program will graduate with distinction.
BFA requirements including 9 credits of specific Liberal Arts electives as follows:
Total credits required for minimum residency:60
Minimum Studio credit: 42
For more than 155 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers, and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program ranked number two in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago museum, on-campus galleries, and state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC’s undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world, and adults, teens, and kids in our Continuing Studies classes have the opportunity to explore their creative sides, build portfolios, and advance their skills. Notable alumni and faculty include Georgia O’Keeffe, Nick Cave, David Sedaris, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Cynthia Rowley, Michelle Grabner, Richard Hunt, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Jeff Koons.
