Master of Fine Arts in Studio - Low Residency

The Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts (Low-Res MFA) program is designed for the 21st-century artist whose work and life demands both a rigorous engagement with an artistic community as well as flexibility, fluidity, and a self-directed approach.
The Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts (Low-Res MFA) program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) acknowledges that contemporary artists and writers have a fluidity of practice that often adopts strategies that are not specific to any one medium, method, or environment. The three-year program is shaped around the evolving needs of arts practitioners, and is designed for 21st-century artists and writersthose creators on the move. Aligned with SAIC's fine arts graduate program, which is consistently ranked among the top programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, the Low-Res program will prepare you to meet new challenges through a deepened engagement with contemporary issues, theories, and skills.

The Low-Res program extends across various teaching platforms in order to immerse you in both tangible and virtual worlds of thinking and making on SAIC's campus as well as within the communities where you live and work. A large part of the curriculum is focused on writing and studying artist writings in addition to conducting research relevant to your unique practice. Supported by faculty based at SAIC, you will spend spring and fall semesters working remotely in your home studio, paired with an SAIC alumni advisor in your geographic area. Three consecutive summer residencies will bring you and your peers to SAIC to create, construct, and critique work during six-week intensives structured through both studio- and classroom-based courses and symposia.