School of The Art Institute of Chicago – Transfer Policy
Students transferring to SAIC who have not earned a prior degree from a college or
university may be eligible for up to 72 hours of transfer credit. Only courses for which a
student has earned a grade of "C" or better, or its equivalent, at a regionally accredited
institution are eligible for transfer. Undergraduate transfer students must have all credits
from previous institutions accepted for transfer prior to the end of their first semester of
study at the School. Requests to receive transfer credit for work completed prior to
matriculation will not be considered after this date. Prospective and new undergraduate
students with questions about transfer credits should contact an admissions counselor prior
to admission and no later than their first semester of study at the School of the Art Institute
of Chicago.
Transfer credit policy for students with prior bachelor's degrees
Requests for transfer credit from students with a prior Bachelor's degree are evaluated at
the time of admission. Students with a prior degree from a regionally accredited institution
may qualify for up to 96 semester hours toward an undergraduate degree at the School of
the Art Institute of Chicago.
Transferring credit hours from another college or university to SAIC is individually-based and
not a complicated procedure. The application process for transfer and prior degree students
is the same as it is for first-year students entering from high school, except that a transfer
student needs to submit college transcripts.
To apply to SAIC's undergraduate program, please go here
For domestic applicants:
To be exempt from submitting test score requirements for admission, you must have
successfully passed (with a grade of C or above) at least 6 credits of college level essay
writing or English (or have taken a significant amount of Liberal Arts credit). If you have
graduated from high school two years ago (or more), you do not have to take the SAT or
ACT. However, if you have not taken 6 credits of college-level English, your file will be
reviewed by our Academic Review committee.
For international applicants:
ALL international transfer students must provide a TOEFL, unless you have a Bachelor's
degree from a United States university. See international student test score requirements
here.
Transfer students are eligible to transfer up to 33 studio credits towards the BFA and BIA
degrees, 30 towards the BFAAE, 24 towards our BAVCS and BFAAH.
See here to see specific degree requirements.
We transfer credit on an individual basis. As soon as you apply to SAIC, request that
transcripts from your current and past colleges be sent to us. Upon receipt, we will
evaluate these transcripts in a timely manner and will let you know what transferred and
how. You can send us in-progress transcripts. We do need "official" transcripts from your
university's registrar for credit to officially transfer, however, you may initially provide us
with unofficial transcripts to get an idea of your standing at SAIC. You must have earned
grades of C or above to transfer credit.
We have Merit Scholarships specifically for transfer students.
For Spring, the deadline is November 15.
For Fall, we have two competitions: February 15 and June 1. You can only compete in one
of these competitions.
See here for guidelines.
The only time a student may need to send in additional work is for ADVANCED PLACEMENT
in specific departments:
Architecture, Interior Architecture and Designed Objects
Film, Video and New Media
Fashion Design
Visual Communications
The department head in each of these departments will review your portfolio, transcripts and
artist statement to determine where you will place in the respective department as well as
suggest which classes you should take your first semester at SAIC.
The department head of Architecture, Interior Architecture and Designed Objects will also
determine transfer credit for studio classes into the Bachelor of Interior Architecture degree
program. A BIA student can only transfer 12 studio credits to the BIA program prior to the
department head's review.
Please submit a portfolio that reflects this type of work. For example, if you are applying to
the Bachelor of Interior Architecture degree program, then submit a design-oriented
portfolio that reflects your interior design and architectural skills, especially if you want to
transfer design credit from your current school. To reiterate, if you are applying to our
Bachelor of Interior Architecture degree program, please send us a design-based portfolio.
In this case, a painting and drawing portfolio would be counter-productive.
We have rolling admissions for transfer students, therefore there is no hard deadline.
However, if you want to be considered for the Merit Scholarship, you must abide by these
deadlines:
For Spring, the deadline is November 15.
For Fall, we have two competitions: February 15 and June 1. You can only compete in one
of these competitions.
See here for guidelines.