Art Institute of Chicago (School of the Art Institute of Chicago, SAIC for short) is one of the top art education institutions in the United States. It consists of a museum and a school. It was founded in 1866. Columbia University is the most influential university. The Chicago Academy of Arts itself has no so-called campus, but because its geographical location is just on the shore of Lake Michigan, adjacent to Millennium Park and Grant Park, the surrounding environment of the school is elegant and comfortable. Its museum is famous for collecting a large number of impressionist works and American art works, such as Monet, Seurat, Van Gogh and Edward Hope and others. SAIC aims to cultivate visual arts talents, and Walter has studied there Disney, Georgia Oujifu et al.

The Chicago Academy of Arts (SAIC), founded in 1866, was a reformer in the art school at that time, and one of the most prestigious and highly valued art schools in the United States, enjoying high international honors. The school spirit of the Chicago Academy of Arts is free, so students who come here will not be restricted to major in specific subjects. SAIC believes that the focus of becoming an artist is how to look at the world, so vision is very important. The professors of the Chicago Institute of the Arts are highly qualified, focusing on students' thinking and creativity, and are very professional in giving and promoting students' conceptual and technical inspiration.

SAIC believes that the success of artists depends on creative vision and professional technical skills. Therefore, SAIC encourages undergraduate and graduate students to make outstanding and critical inquiries and experiments to improve students' progress in skills and concepts. SAIC University offers undergraduate and master professional courses, and the number of offers is limited. Students studying at the Chicago Academy of Arts can visit world-class exhibition venues such as museums and galleries around the downtown area of Chicago after school to broaden their knowledge and provide great help for graduates' future employment. Not far from the University of Chicago.

Chicago Academy of Arts World Ranking:

The Chicago Academy of Arts ranked 9th in the world and 4th in the United States in the 2019QS World University Professional Ranking (Art&Design). It was recognized as the most influential art school in the United States in the National Arts Journal survey of Columbia University.

The Chicago Academy of Arts ranked 9th in the QS World University Art and Design Discipline Ranking in 2022.

The Chicago Academy of Arts ranked 11th in the QS World University Art and Design Discipline Ranking in 2023.

Chicago Academy of Arts Scholarship Application:

The Chicago Academy of Arts (SAIC) provides outstanding student scholarships for outstanding students, who need to demonstrate outstanding thinking, skills, abstract ability, and a solid academic foundation. Scholarships do not need to be repaid by students. SAIC has a considerable number of undergraduate students receiving merit scholarships every year. SAIC will consider scholarships when students apply, and there is no separate application process. We will select the scholarship winners through their academic history, works and presentations.

Professional ranking:

The Chicago Academy of Arts ranked No. 1 in graduate fiber art; American graduate painting ranked second; Postgraduate photography ranked second; Printmaking ranked fourth, and the Chicago Academy of Arts ranked fourth and fifth in graduate sculpture and new media respectively. Its majors include film, oil painting, performance and animation. The Rhode Island School of Design and the New York School of Visual Arts have received great attention from Chinese students. Chicago City Related University Columbia College of Art, Chicago 。

Admission conditions:

Language condition: TOEFL 85; IELTS 6.5. Undergraduate SAT/ACT; Graduate GRE; GPA。

Accommodation fee: The deposit of 550 dollars is paid in advance. The dormitory fee varies according to the number of residents.

Undergraduate tuition: 28440 dollars/academic year; Application fee: 85 dollars; Living expenses: 12768-21600 dollars/school year

Master's tuition: 23130 dollars/academic year; Application fee: US $100; Living expenses: 12768-21600 dollars/school year

Recommended by overseas textile fabric universities ： Brimuda Fashion College ， Central Saint Martin College of Art and Design 。

Major setting of Chicago Academy of Arts:

Undergraduate major:

Architecture and interior architecture, art education, art history, costume design, vision and criticism, visual communication design;

Postgraduate major:

Architectural design, interior architecture, photography, art education, art therapy, costume design, ceramics, painting, graphic design, sculpture, fiber and materials, performance and animation, vision and criticism, visual communication design;

Architecture and interior architecture

There are four years of undergraduate courses in architecture and interior architecture, and the advanced design studio in the second year is the core course. Each credit must be obtained in SAIC or the course with the same content in other schools, and cannot be transferred. Combining advanced theories and a large number of practical operations, students can master the core of architectural design, integrate social and cultural considerations into the design, integrate humanistic care into architectural practice, and cultivate architects with creativity and responsibility.

art education

The College of Art Education has three types of degrees: art education graduate students, art teaching graduate students, and pure art undergraduate students who focus on art education. On the basis of the strong correlation between the contents of SAIC's various disciplines, art education has also made new progress in theoretical knowledge, daily practice, social criticism, and entrepreneurial presentation. Students learn a series of ways to create, show, interpret and teach visual arts. SAIC's College of Art Education focuses on cultivating critical thinking of art by educating students at different levels. Postgraduates help to train artists, cultural educators and other art experts in museums and community institutions, which is also applicable to art teachers who apply for professional qualifications for higher academic studies.

Art History

The College of Art History, including art history, art theory and art criticism, is the most comprehensive and detailed art college in the United States. The College of Art History is committed to conducting detailed art research in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries from the perspective of art, and conducting multicultural and interdisciplinary exploration. Through group and individual art practice, they study culture, philosophy and politics, and also arrange art, history and sociology courses for students. Influenced by current theories and practices, the Department of Art History, Theory and Criticism of the Chicago Institute of the Arts involves the history of global art and design.

clothing design

Students from the Fashion Design School of the Chicago Academy of Arts can assume the role of painter, sculptor, designer, architect and artist, gain unique and interdisciplinary educational experience, and get more challenges in art and theory. Students applying for fashion design will receive strict training in artistic literacy and career; All teachers have international and national professional experience, providing students with unique opportunities. SIAC Fashion Design Institute is located in Sage Studio, which has a long history and is designed by Louis Sullivan; The college has the most concentrated and extensive programs in Chicago. Here, you are not only a high-level designer, but also can increase your understanding of society, politics and science.

Vision and criticism

The major of vision and criticism was established in 2000 to provide direction for the interdisciplinary research of SAIC. The vision and criticism research project not only focuses on the research of visual media in different disciplines, but also focuses on mixed research, especially the overlapping development of studios and academia. The program is an evolving example that emphasizes the complex visual and critical practices of the 21st century and provides an interdisciplinary environment for students committed to design, writing and creation. The core of vision and criticism is key feedback. The courses for undergraduate and graduate students include one-on-one coaching. In addition, the department will hold formal critical discussions every semester, including studio work and key academic research.

Visual communication design

Visual Communication Design Encourage students to actively participate in the world and define themselves as designers through critical analysis skills, personal voice and visual language. This major cultivates a sense of social responsibility and enables students to become designers at the junction of art, design and popular culture.

Architectural design

Category I: 3.5 years. Such master students should have a certain standard of architectural theory, architectural design history, engineering design skills and knowledge base. The school will arrange students to carry out hands-on practice. The analysis and introduction of projects, functions, emerging technologies and inventions will be combined with the construction engineering and design schools around the world. This type of master's enrollment requires students to have a bachelor's degree in architectural design, with priority given to those with architectural experience, interior design or related industries.

Class II: Students with a 2.5 year undergraduate degree in non architecture can apply for such postgraduate programs. The application for such graduate programs is applicable to undergraduate students who have studied architecture and interior design in advance. The applicant must be a graduate student of SAIC architectural design. The project sends an application letter, and the admission of this 2.5 year second category project is conducted after the first category admission to fill the vacancy of master of architecture.

Interior building

Interior architecture is a professional field with rapid development. In the interior field, the influence of architecture is increasing day by day. In this major, we develop the skills and experience required by professional practice and cultivate critical thinking ability to discover new concepts and make new inventions in the form of hands-on investigation, experiment and exploration.

Photography

SAIC is constantly defining photography media, and teachers and students are also involved in theoretical practice to a large extent. The college pays more attention to the creation of traditional forms of pictures, which also makes SAIC's photography have a distinctive response compared with others. In learning and creating under a variety of conceptual structures, graduate students laid a theoretical, historical and critical foundation for their work. The School of Photography has the most modern ideological trend, top teachers in philosophy and theoretical research, leading students to practice contemporary photography. In such a free and creative atmosphere, photography majors often visit other departments to broaden their knowledge and seek artistic inspiration.

art education

The College of Art Education has three types of degrees: art education graduate students, art teaching graduate students, and pure art undergraduate students who focus on art education. On the basis of the strong correlation between the contents of SAIC's various disciplines, art education has also made new progress in theoretical knowledge, daily practice, social criticism, and entrepreneurial presentation. Students learn a series of ways to create, show, interpret and teach visual arts. SAIC's College of Art Education focuses on cultivating critical thinking of art by educating students at different levels. Postgraduates help to train artists, cultural educators and other art experts in museums and community institutions, which is also applicable to art teachers who apply for professional qualifications for higher academic studies.

Art Therapy

The graduate students of Art Therapy College provide detailed education for students to help them become artists or art therapists. SAIC's School of Art Therapy is an outstanding representative of this school. It is suitable for students who are interested in the connection between daily life experience and art creation, as well as those who have ideas and are willing to help others obtain and restore normal, clear thinking and healthy emotions. This series of courses is used to cultivate critical thinking ability, so that students can actively learn, raise questions, and participate in the creation of innovative ideas. The college will provide students with more than 900 hours of clinical internship experience, and have a registered art therapy center and other mental health experts to supervise and manage.

clothing design

Under the background of its artistic foundation, the Fashion Design Institute is world-famous for its interdisciplinary characteristics. The success of this major can be reflected in the list on campus, including famous designers: Matthew Ames, Shane Gamby, Christopher Peters, Gary Graham, Stun, Maria Pinto, Cynthia Rowley, etc.

ceramics

The College of Ceramics is a model of mutual investigation and research among various disciplines, including research and innovation in the fields of art, design and technology. Ceramics can also include paintings in fantasy space and sculptures in real space. In the contemporary era, ceramics are also often considered to be between works of art and handicrafts, paintings and sculptures, practical goods and decorations. The ceramic curriculum aims to reflect these contradictions, and at the same time, on the basis of these contradictions, explore and create technology and conceptual issues in combination with traditional and contemporary focus. The clay sculpture and studio pottery production explored have become a springboard for more individuals and contemporary image production.

painting

SAIC is Studying abroad in painting Students have provided many philosophical ideas. This major provides a diversified and open environment, including 70 world-famous artists whose works cover various fields. Past alumni have achieved great success in international famous art exhibitions, education industry and awards, and have performed well, including Zak Prekop, Angel Otero, Jeni Spota, Rebecca Morris, Amanda Ross Ho and other alumni. There is a chance to get in touch with the famous art museums, which have collected works of art from the world 5000 years ago. The spacious and bright classroom provides space for students to practice and discuss, and participate in criticism and strategy research.

Graphic Artist Designer

Graduate students majoring in graphic design at the Chicago Academy of Arts are always creative. They break the rules, design prints, and publish books for artists. Teachers in the college also have a variety of graphic design skills, and everyone also knows at least painting, design, digital art, photography, sculpture, and publishing.

Sculpture

The Sculpture Department of SAIC provides the largest, most comprehensive and diversified project in the United States. It applies sculpture to different meanings. In the 20th century, art practice popularized sculpture space and materials to the world. This long-term vision and experience are expressed through the curriculum development and resources of this major, including the expression of various unexpected materials and opinions. The department covers a strict combination of concepts, materials and processes to enable students to understand, communicate and contribute to culture. The goal of SAIC is to cultivate creators and thinkers. Courses and seminars combine technology, materials, theory and criticism. The teaching staff are well-known artists both at home and abroad. They have a deep understanding and familiarity with this field, are very familiar with today's academic issues, and can establish a diversified and positive environment, which is conducive to exchanging views and participating in the communication process of the sculpture industry.

Fibers and materials

SAIC's fiber and material research major provides students with interdisciplinary methods of fiber, material and production, including textile structure, sculpture, equipment, movement and technology. Studio Practice: This course emphasizes that students can create textile and fiber art in the contemporary art environment, and use current theories as support. Students can learn a variety of textile production technologies, including: textile, printing, dyes, soft sculpture, knitting, crochet knitting, spinning, collage, etc. The studio is equipped with analog and digital equipment, and digital technology and computers are used as the assistance of handicrafts to enable students to actively participate in it.

Performance and animation

SAIC's School of Performance and Animation closely combines critical, theoretical and historical research, which plays a key role in human aesthetic choice and artistic expression. The core of performance is to explore how to use the human body as a medium of artistic expression. It has a series of interdisciplinary theoretical and practical experimental courses, including live performance, performance equipment, behavior research, psychological performance, digital technology, and writing to express behavior. The School of Performing Arts gives students ample opportunities to communicate one-on-one with teachers and make in-depth critical comments. Students also share their study and work freely. Animation is the art of using action language to express. Imagine the events you want to express, and then reproduce them after discovering the meaning of these events.

Vision and criticism

The major of vision and criticism was established in 2000 to provide direction for the interdisciplinary research of SAIC. The vision and criticism research project not only focuses on the research of visual media in different disciplines, but also focuses on mixed research, especially the overlapping development of studios and academia. The program is an evolving example that emphasizes the complex visual and critical practices of the 21st century and provides an interdisciplinary environment for students committed to design, writing and creation. The core of vision and criticism is key feedback. The courses for undergraduate and graduate students include one-on-one coaching.

Visual communication design

The major of visual communication design encourages students to actively participate in the world and define themselves as designers through critical analysis skills, personal voice and visual language. This major cultivates a sense of social responsibility and enables students to become designers at the junction of art, design and popular culture.

undergraduate

Admission requirements for undergraduate students of Chicago Academy of Arts:

closing date

Early application: November 15; General: January 15

Application requirements

Language requirements: IELTS 6.5; TOEFL 82; ACT 18 (not required)

Transcripts, purpose statements, portfolios, SAT or ACT scores and language scores are required to be submitted online.

graduate student

Graduate admission requirements of the Chicago Academy of Arts:

closing date

January 15th

Application requirements

Language requirements: IELTS 6.5; TOEFL 82; GRE scores can be attached (not required)

You need to submit a purpose statement (500-750 words), resume, portfolio, transcripts, letters of recommendation (two letters) and language scores online, and there will be an interview. It is recommended but not required to submit GRE scores.

undergraduate

Requirements for the Undergraduate Students'Work Collections of the Chicago Institute of the Arts:

The applicant is required to submit a 2000 word art criticism paper, which can use the papers from previous courses, or be an excerpt or a recently published article. The deadline for submitting the collection of overseas art works is 11:59 p.m. on January 16 (Central Time).

graduate student

The requirements of the Chicago Academy of Arts graduate student's overseas work collection:

Applicants are required to submit an electronic collection of art study abroad works before 11:59 p.m., January 16, Central Time. The content should include at least five different projects, at most 20 pictures or modern media works within 10 minutes, or the two can be properly mixed. Applicants without design experience can submit a writing sample or a visual "article" to replace the traditional art study abroad design portfolio. The writing sample needs to show the applicant's interests and concerns, which can include images.

Chicago Academy of Arts Application Guide:

1. The Chicago Institute of the Arts requires high GPA scores, which requires students to work harder in their daily studies and try to achieve high scores.

2. In addition to GPA, the collection of overseas art works is also very important. As far as the Chicago Art Institute is concerned, it hopes that the applicant's collection of overseas art works can reflect the applicant's unique ideas, so students need to focus on their own research and design process. However, it is not necessary to emphasize the process and ignore the results. The final design results must also be excellent.

3. The top ten universities generally require IELTS 6.5 and TOEFL 80-100, and the language requirements are relatively flexible. If the applicant's work is very prominent, the universities may relax the language requirements, but this is a minority, so language should still be paid attention to.

4. SAIC ID is an independent project, which is very similar to Cranbrook. HM, the dean of the department, is a young, smart and beautiful big sister. She has made a lot of great lamps and furniture. She is very ambitious. The school is so poor, she just bought a CNC, and the seminar here is very good. I attended the seminar of Fiber material in school, and I was skeptical, However, the teacher led our studio crit, class discussion and visit, which made me have different views and understanding of art and design.

5. If we go abroad to study in order to learn a skill and find a good job, we can save this money and buy a house. If you are like me, interested in product design and have mediocre qualifications, but want to really do something, SAIC will make you different. I believe that my view on objects is actually related to my life experience. I used to have feelings, but feelings belong to feelings, and design belongs to design, but now I can better integrate feelings into my project.

6. It has been more than half a year since I thought of my doubts, confusion, and even scolding the school for three meals when I first came here;, The course selection here is very free. I choose metal this semester and plan to play neon next semester. The engineering education we received before me is all hard stuff. The advantage of contacting hand craft is not to turn ourselves into craftsmen, but to have more knowledge of shapes and materials, and also to stimulate more design possibilities. SAIC The disadvantage is that the tuition is expensive and the equipment is old. Even so, I think it is worth it.

7. The biggest difference between MA in Design and the existing MFA is that the existing MFA is mixed with many art departments. From my personal experience, I have great freedom to choose courses. My advisor can choose 1-2 people every semester according to my project needs. For example, I have worked on the model of rubber casting for two consecutive semesters, and I have looked for consultants from the discipline and fiber material. At the same time, I can also go to school freely for almost all the classes I am interested in - such as welding, light, painting... as long as I feel necessary.

8. The reason for the new MA in Design is that many good applicants are from non undergraduate departments. If they want to follow the existing course selection system, they must compete for computer courses with their college classmates So the new MA in Design has both courses and teamworks, and each semester's individual project can't choose teachers from strange departments as advisors like me. Of course, I can't study seminar or studio in other departments like me. But for those who don't know what project they will do in the future when applying, this is a way to follow the school obediently.

9. According to my personal experience, if you want to apply for Design Object, but the background is a non undergraduate department, I suggest you not apply for SAIC, but apply for industrial design or furniture design or craft or metal smithing from other schools, depending on your interests. If you had one of my backgrounds mentioned above, and frankly SAIC is my favorite school, I would also recommend you to apply for MFA. Because you can see many strange people. Students talk about art activities, art theories and exhibitions every day - this is definitely different from Taiwan's humanistic environment.

10. The course selection of MFA in SAIC allows you to try many materials and think that you have never had before, and also allows you to concentrate on a big project. At the same time, fiber, art and technology, and painting are the excellent subjects of SAIC. If I want to come to this school, I choose MA in Design to stay in a small circle, which is a pity.