The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a top art school in the United States. So what makes SAIC special? The interview questions below are designed to help potential undergraduate art majors and art graduate students make the choice of art schools that is right for them. Special thanks to John Eding, Marketing Coordinator at SAIC for providing the answers.
Can you briefly describe the flavor and feel of your campus?
Located in the heart of Chicago, SAIC's educational philosophy is built upon a multidisciplinary approach to art and design, giving students unparalleled opportunities to develop their creative and critical abilities, while working with renowned faculty who include many of the leading practitioners in their field.
SAIC's resources include the Art Institute of Chicago and it's new Modern Wing, as well as numerous special collections and programming venues providing students with exceptional exhibitions, screenings, lectures, and performances.
How many students do you have?
- SAIC consists of 2300 undergraduates, 700 graduate students, 700 faculty (full time and part time) 300 staff, and 17,000 alumni who excel in diverse fields within art and design and beyond and come from throughout the world.
- In the fall of 2009, the largest freshmen class in the College's history matriculated with 799 students.
What is your largest major?
Painting and Drawing
Can you briefly describe your financial aid?
SAIC provides a number of scholarship programs, both merit and need-based. For undergraduate students, there are a substantial amount of merit-based scholarships based on the whole of the student's academic history upon entering the university. For graduate students, there are 5 separate merit-based scholarships awarded to students who demonstrate exceptional ability upon entering the university.
In addition to these merit-based scholarship programs, there is a vast array of need-based grants available to students based on their financial need. There are 8 separate need-based grants available, ranging from federal and state grants to SAIC grants. Available to all students are 6 need-based endowment scholarships which are given to new students demonstrating financial need, based on various criteria.
Can you provide the number of scholarship programs?
There are more than 20 different scholarship, grant and endowment scholarships available to SAIC graduate and undergraduate students, including federal work study and special scholarships for international students.
What percentage of your student body has some kind of financial aid?
Last year, $25.7 million was awarded to SAIC students in aid money, with over 75% of students receiving some form of financial aid.
Of that percentage receiving financial aid, what is the average percentage of their tuition being covered?
Of the 75% of students receiving financial aid, on average, over 27% of their tuition is being covered by aid money (this does not include Federal and State loans).
How is your college involved in the community in which it is located?
SAIC is an urban campus located in the heart of the Chicago Loop, which-with over 50,000 students attending classes in the area-is now Illinois' largest "college town." The area offers resources and entertainment increasingly targeted directly at this growing student body.
What is unique about your college that makes it the best choice for attending?
We have an unparalleled history. SAIC was founded as the Chicago Academy of Design in 1866. The School incorporated as the Chicago Academy of Fine Art in 1879, and changed its name to The Art Institute of Chicago in 1882. The Museum and School moved into a building designed and built for the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. Since 1976, the School has occupied its own cutting-edge facilities adjoining the Museum and its new Modern Wing overlooking Grant Park and Lake Michigan with additional buildings throughout an urban campus at the heart of the Chicago Loop.
Throughout the history of the School, alumni have played central roles in important art movements. It was the School of the Art Institute of Chicago that provided the impetus for two significant schools of American painting - the Regionalists of the 1930s, and the Imagists of the 1960s. Some of the most notable names in the arts received their early training at SAIC. This list includes Georgia O'Keeffe, Claes Oldenburg, H.C. Westermann, Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, Ivan Albright, Ed Paschke, Roger Brown, Halston, LeRoy Neiman, Elizabeth Murray, Cynthia Rowley, David Sedaris, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and Sarah Vowell.
School of the Art Institute Mission
To provide excellence in the delivery of a global education in visual, design, media, and related arts, with attendant studies in the history and theory of those disciplines set within a broad-based humanistic curriculum in the liberal arts and sciences. To provide instruction for this education in a range of formats: written, spoken, media, and exhibition-based.
Find out more about SAIC here.
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