The Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts (Low-Res MFA) at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a three-year program aligned with SAIC’s fine arts graduate program, which is ranked in the top two MFA programs in the country by U.S. News and World Report.

Our Low-Residency MFA prepares you to meet new challenges through a deepened engagement with contemporary issues, theories, and skills. The program’s flexibility accommodates the needs of those who cannot make the commitment to the year-round MFA program on-site in Chicago.

Spring and fall semesters are spent working in your home studio, where you will be supported remotely by faculty at SAIC and paired with an SAIC alumni advisor in your geographic area. Three consecutive summer residencies bring you and your peers to SAIC’s downtown Chicago campus to create, construct, and critique work during six-week intensives structured through both studio- and classroom-based courses and symposia.

The Low-Res MFA is designed for practicing artists, working professionals, art educators, and international practitioners who want to participate in an ongoing dialogue about contemporary ideas and issues in art.

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Core Faculty

Gregg Bordowitz, Matthew Buckingham, Laurie Palmer, Molly Zuckerman-Hartung

Visiting Artists Summer Session 2017

A.L. Steiner, Steffani Jemison, Riva Lehrer, Jason Simon, Moyra Davey, Wafaa Bilal, Miguel Gutierrez, Wu Tsang, Trevor Paglen, Pamela Sneed, Lynne Tillman, Eileen Myles, Corrine Fitzpatrick, Stephen Andrews, Andrea Ray

Participating Faculty

James Elkins, David Getsy, Mary Jane Jacob, Stanley Murashige, David Raskin, Nora Taylor