MFA in Fashion, Body and Garment Admissions Information

Reduced Application Fee Deadline: December 1—$45 Application Fee
Application Deadline: January 10—$90 Application Fee
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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 application and fee.

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, there will be a waiting period until you are able to see the program-specific application(s) in your portal.  

Once your program-specific applications are available, for each program you will be able to submit your program-specific application requirements (writing sample or portfolio), request the required recommendations, and see any additional checklist items.

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

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. 

Write a 500- to 700-word statement that describes your work. Discuss how you came to focus on the body of work that you wish to pursue at the graduate level. Also, discuss future directions or goals for your work, and finally describe how the SAIC program(s) to which you are applying is/are suited to your professional goals.

Save your statement of purpose as a PDF and upload it as an attachment. You will upload your statement of purpose in your application portal.

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 Letters of Recommendation section in each program-specific application. In the Recommendations section click Add Recommender, where you will be asked to provide an email address and other details for each of your references. Once you click "Send To Recommender" an email will be sent from your application portal to your references, with instructions on how to submit their recommendations securely through our online portal.

If your references are unable to provide an online recommendation please contact the Graduate Admissions office at gradmiss@saic.edu.

A résumé is required for all graduate programs. Upload your résumé in the Résumé or Curriculum Vitae (CV) section of your application form.

Your portfolio should include a minimum of five different projects documented in up to 20 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.

Applicants are required to submit an E-Portfolio. Once you pay the application fee, submit the application form, and the waiting period has passed, your application portal will direct you to create a SlideRoom portfolio for any program you selected in the application form that requires a portfolio of visual or multimedia work.

IMPORTANT: you will be prompted to create a SlideRoom profile and must use the same name, email, and other credentials EXACTLY as they appear in your application form. 

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: 85 

IELTS: 6.5

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 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.

The department conducts interviews by invitation only. Applicants who pass the preliminary review will be invited to schedule an interview in mid-February. Notification will be sent by late January. For students at a distance or unable to travel, interviews may be conducted remotely.

Degree requirements and specifications

Completion schedule: Students have a maximum of four years to complete the degree. This includes time off for approved leaves of absence.

Transfer credits: A minimum of 45 credit hours must be completed in residence at SAIC. Up to 15 transfer credits may be requested at the time of application for admission and are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credit will be permitted after a student is admitted.

Design Studio: Each design studio must be successfully completed prior to participation in the consecutive design studio.

Advanced Fabrication Lab: FASH 5311 Advanced Fabrication Lab must be taken in the first fall semester.

Full-Time Status Minimum Requirement: 12 credit hours

Degree requirements and specifications

Completion schedule: Students have a maximum of four years to complete the degree. This includes time off for approved leaves of absence.

Transfer credits: A minimum of 45 credit hours must be completed in residence at SAIC. Up to 15 transfer credits may be requested at the time of application for admission and are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credit will be permitted after a student is admitted.

Design Studio: Each design studio must be successfully completed prior to participation in the consecutive design studio.

Advanced Fabrication Lab: FASH 5311 Advanced Fabrication Lab must be taken in the fall semester of the second year of the MFA 3-yr.

Full-Time Status Minimum Requirement: 12 credit hours

Fashion, Body and Garment graduate students have a dedicated large shared studio space where they can create their work and hold critiques, class discussions, and more. Within the shared studio space, each student has their own individual and dedicated work space. In addition, students have access to industrial sewing equipment, cutting tables, and specialized sewing machines.

Students in the MFA in Fashion, Body and Garment program participate in the SAIC thesis show alongside graduate students from across the School, presented in the SAIC Galleries at 33 East Washington St. Working alongside faculty advisors, curators, and gallery staff, students create individual exhibition plans. 

The two-year MFA is suitable for students who bring a strong foundation in their making and a readiness to embark on a self-directed course of study.

The three-year MFA provides a foundation year to learn grad-level studio techniques in fashion construction and design for applicants who need to brush up on their skill sets.
 

This depends on each individual and their practice. This may be a good question to discuss with the Fashion department graduate coordinator, who is here to help you navigate the options and questions you may have. 

We are committed to a small and intimate cohort size, although the exact number varies from year to year.

Scholarships are very competitive and decided by faculty among all applicants offered admission. There is no separate application to be considered for scholarships. The number of available scholarships and the value of each scholarship varies every year. Scholarships can range from 20 percent to up to 100 percent of tuition. Scholarship recipients will be notified at the same time of a final admission decision. For admissions and financial FAQs, please visit the Graduate Admissions FAQs.

SAIC prides itself on being an interdisciplinary school, and collaborations are welcome across multiple disciplines.

Yes, you have a number of studio electives which you can tailor toward your practices’ needs. For example, to augment their practices, our students frequently take classes in the Fiber and Material Studies, Performance, and Photography departments.

We are interested in originality, expressiveness, execution, personal style, and presentation, all of which give us a sense of the awareness and clarity of direction the artist/designer brings to the program. The best advice we have is: show the work that you are most invested in.

Many of our alumni find work in the fashion industry as designers. They also find work as faculty, artists, curators, and gallerists.

The main fashion studio courses that form the foundation of our curriculum incorporates graduate advising with two dedicated Fashion Design faculty members per semester. However, you may opt to take grad advising outside of the Fashion Department as an elective option during your studies. All Graduate Projects Advising requires students to complete self-guided work, with bi-monthly studio visits by a faculty mentor to support your practice. 

Take the first semester to soak everything up and learn as much as you can about the School, including the opportunities in Chicago. This will give you the opportunity to fully utilize what you’ve found in your thesis work.

Please check out the Fashion Design facilities and resources page for info on the department’s available tools and equipment, and saic.edu/museum-facilities for additional school-wide resources, shops and facilities. 

Yes, within the curriculum we have a number of studio electives, some of which you can take as a specific class or as graduate advising with faculty from other departments.