School of the Art Institute of Chicago

If there is anything I am learning about the art world at SAIC, its everything! Experimenting in different mediums and art types is daily routine. Film, sculpture, plaster, and sound are just a few things that I have dipped my hands into since being here. The best thing is that I can take all different types of classes and never have to define a major. For example, I can take shoe design and figure drawing. I create my own plan and degree based on what I am interested in and want to create. The main thing I am learning though, is exactly what kind of artist I am going to turn into and what my favorite materials/subject matters are. I am learning more about myself as an artist then anything else!

Interdisciplinary, major-less environment. Tons of opportunities. Very conceptual and design-y.

saic provides a challenging and creative environment to sharpen your artistic skills. the staff is well equipped with experience and knowledge to give practical and helpful direction. the school is also located in one of the most exciting cities in the world, with a vibrant history and many opportunities to make your voice heard.

This school has pushed me to work my butt off. I attended 2 years in a regular big campus university before transferring to SAIC, and I have never been so challenged or exhausted by my classes. It's beautiful, and exactly what I need as a growing artist.

SAIC gives you access to facilities and artists that give you the skills to be a great artist and to succeed in the art world.

SAIC, if anything should be said, provides its students with a toolkit. It shows you how to build your practice, giving you practical lessons on doing so as well as technical knowledge.

SAIC is an interdisciplinary school. This fancy phrase just means they encourage students to explore a wide assortment of media in their work. You can pick and choose what skills or areas of study you want to experiment with. The unique perspectives of my fellow students and professors have had a huge impact on how I understand and relate to conceptual art.

I've visited the campus multiple times and have had absolutely no criticisms against it! The school's little supportive ideas for the artist's mind (having school in the museum, studios in all dorm buildings open 24/7, and having no majors or grades whatsoever) is extremely helpful! If you're an artist looking to pursue an education within the city and want to be pushed to be the greatest you can be, I suggest you apply here.

This is an interdisciplinary school and they will make sure you know it. The first year program focuses almost exclusively on the interdisciplinary aspect of the bachelor of fine arts track. However, once you get out of that first year they definitely take care of you.

I have attended SAIC for two years in my 30's after working for about 10 years. Originally I went to Berkeley for an 80% verbal- 20% quantitative/scientific education. My Berkeley education was heavily dependent upon my own ambition and initiative and my SAIC education was doubly so. The cliche it is what you make of it is something that all successful SAIC students learn to their marrow. You can easily coast through this school on a flood of bullshit if you so desire, and take only the least demanding classes. You can also work so hard and get so much from the teachers that you won't have to do anything but art all your waking hours.

The teachers can't make you a good artist, but by and large they say very helpful things and are very good at tailoring their feedback to your skill and motivation level. They are generally just what they should be- very good at talking about art. By and large they are not great artists themselves, but rarely are they complete frauds. As someone who was trained in verbal analysis, I have often marveled at how adept many of my teachers are at talking intelligently. Yes, they will find something nice to say about crappy work just to socially lubricate a critique, but this is exactly what is called for, in my opinion. Perhaps they should remind everyone at the beginning of every class that it is very unlikely that any one of the students will ever be a professional artist. This is so blindingly obvious that it rarely gets acknowledged.