MA in Art Therapy & Counseling Admissions Information

SAIC is accepting applications for the MA in Art Therapy and Counseling program for fall 2027 admission beginning September 1, 2026.

SAIC 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 fee.

Applications must be submitted prior to 11:00 p.m. (CT) 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).

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 formats. 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

Students admitted to a graduate program who have not received a high school diploma, GED or equivalent are not eligible for federal Title IV financial aid funds. 

In 500–700 words, describe the focus of your body of work, including the themes, questions, or materials that recur in it, and articulate the connection between your creative practice and its conceptual dimensions. We are interested in how you think about your work, not only in what you have made.

Explain what drew you to art therapy and why you wish to pursue it at the graduate level. This may include experiences, encounters with the field, or the concerns that have shaped your interest over time.

Describe the future directions or goals you envision for your work, both as an artist and as a developing practitioner, and discuss how the MA in Art Therapy and Counseling is particularly suited to those goals. Be specific about the aspects of the program, such as its coursework, clinical training, or approach, that align with what you hope to do.

A statement of intent is required for all graduate programs though the content varies by department. You will upload your statement of purpose directly into your application.

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.

A current résumé is required. A resume is required for all graduate programs. Upload your résumé as directed in your application.

Your Art Therapy portfolio should demonstrate sustained artistic practice, with emphasis on the applicant's ability to articulate the relationship between their studio practice and their interest in art therapy. For example, studio-based work accompanied by descriptions; creative or scholarly writing; or documentation of art education projects in schools, museums, or community-based settings. A visual portfolio should consist of up to 10 images or up to 10 minutes of time-based work, or a combination of the two. The images in your portfolio must meet the following specifications:

• It should be saved as a 72 dpi .jpg file
• The longest slide should be a maximum of 800 pixels
• The entire file should not exceed 2MB in size

Applicants are required to submit an E-Portfolio, though the content varies by department. Please visit your individual program of interest to find details.

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)

TOEFL IBT minimum 100 (for tests completed before January 21, 2026)
TOEFL IBT minimum 5 (for tests completed after January 21, 2026)

IELTS: 7

DUOLINGO: 120

International 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 US-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.

Human Service Statement

In 700-1000 words, describe your human service work and articulate a framework for how your efforts were supportive, therapeutic, and creative within the communities you served. Address the following:

The populations you supported. Be specific about who you worked with, for example adolescents in an after-school arts program, adults in a residential recovery facility, older adults in a memory care setting, or unhoused individuals at a drop-in center.

The nature of your service. Describe what you actually did and what the work asked of you, for example facilitating group art activities, providing one-on-one tutoring, coordinating meals and intake at a shelter, or assisting a case manager with client follow-up.

The systemic level of your engagement. Consider where your work sat within larger structures. Micro-level engagement involves direct interpersonal support, such as sitting with a client during a session. Mezzo-level engagement involves groups and organizations, such as designing programming for a community center. Macro-level engagement involves policy, advocacy, or systems change, such as organizing around housing legislation. Your experience may span more than one level.

Your framework. Explain how you understand the support you offered. What made it therapeutic or creative? What did you learn about the population, the setting, or your own capacities and limits? We are more interested in a thoughtful account of a few experiences than a complete inventory of everything you have done.

Human service is defined as sustained employment or volunteer experience working directly with participants outside your own family in one or more human services settings. Experience in counseling, social services, recreation, or education is considered valuable preparation for graduate study in art therapy.

Prerequisites: Applicants must demonstrate, through a transcript analysis, that they have completed 18 semester credit hours in a studio art course and 12 semester credits in psychology, including the following subjects: abnormal psychology, developmental psychology. An introductory art therapy course is strongly encouraged.

Select applicants may be invited for an interview, however an interview is not necessarily required for an admission decision.