The School of the Art Institute of Chicago consists of seven buildings located in Chicago’s central business district, in close proximity to the art museum Art Institute of Chicago with which the school is affiliated. While students rated the school’s teaching of technical skills highly, courses in marketing and business were ranked the lowest in our survey compared to the scores of other schools. Other noted areas for improvement include the institute’s career services, networking events and the quality of recruiters attracted to the school. Students expressed they were very satisfied with the school’s resources and campus, as well as with the quality of their teachers and peers, of which 35 percent are international.
45th
Undergraduate, Fashion Ranking 2016
Full-time fashion students
96
International students
35%
Student : Teacher ratio
13:1
Tuition: Domestic/intl
$45k/$45k
Acceptance rate
85%
Graduation Rate
65%
Courses Offered
Undergraduate:
BFA Fashion Design
Notable Alumni
Student & Alumni Comments
"It was great. SAIC had a great artistic and conceptual approach to fashion. I was very satisfied with the quality of my education. My only complaint was the lack of business education. I would like SAIC to introduce classes like merchandising and general business."
"It's a good school, if your work follows a conceptual bent, otherwise I would suggest going somewhere else to learn about the technical aspects of the industry or learn marketable skills. I had to teach myself all of that outside of school, since the curriculum never covered that in depth."
"Good, love how hands on it is, but lacking in industry knowledge/ connections."
"SAIC taught me to be an artist and a craftsman, which is so important to have a clear vision and voice in your own work. I took business classes outside of school, and did internships over the summer to learn the business side of it. But learning to shape my own voice and push myself creatively is something unique to SAIC's schooling."
Full Undergraduate, Fashion Ranking
The Business of Fashion's global fashion school rankings aim to provide an objective assessment of the top undergraduate and graduate fashion programmes around the world.