Undergraduate Students
Welcome to SAIC!
Every semester, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) holds a New Student Orientation and Welcome Week for undergraduates entering the school. The programs are designed to introduce students to SAIC and prepare them for the semester ahead.
Undergraduate New Student Orientation and Welcome Week
New Student Orientation is an online course designed to introduce you to the resources, supports, and experiences you can expect at SAIC. With this course, you can expect to learn about many of the resources and supports available to you as a student at SAIC. Many of the topics covered in the course will be reviewed during in-person Welcome Week programming.
As an extension of New Student Orientation, Welcome Week is immersive programming where you will engage in small group discussions and social programming. You will continue this experience with your Orientation Leader and will also feature your first Research Studio class meeting with your faculty.
The online experience for New Student Orientation will launch in early August with the online Canvas course. Students and families will receive more information about how to access the online platform in July.
Welcome Week programming will be held August 27-29. All programming will follow recommended COVID-19 guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), as well as the SAIC Make Together team.
Residence Hall Move-In
Residence Hall Move-In for the Fall 2023 semester will begin on August 23 for New International Students. Domestic Students & Returning International students will sign up for a move in time on August 24th, August 25th or August 26th. Specific room and roommate assignments are sent to students via email around August 1st. Included with this information are specific details about the move-in process for each residence hall. Students have found a great time & energy savings by shipping belongings in advance. Information about shipping belongings via collegeboxes.com, the preferred method, can be found on the Residence Life Move-in Page.
We look forward to having you in our community this spring as we come together to live, learn, and make. Please do not hesitate to contact reslife@saic.edu if you have any questions.
ARTICard/U-Pass Pick-up
The ARTICard/U-Pass office is located in the Sharp Building, 37 South Wabash Avenue, room 254. It's open Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Students make an appointment to pick up their ARTICard and U-Pass in the ARTICard office. You must have a valid government issued ID (driver's license, state ID, or passport) for pick up.
You must be registered full-time to pick up the U-Pass. Transfer students with a U-Pass from another Chicago-area school will not need a new U-Pass. Instead, email articard@saic.edu with the card information so it can be transferred to SAIC.
