Comics

Master of Fine Arts in Studio, Comics

Our new Master of Fine Arts in Studio, Comics program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) offers a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and innovative pathway for aspiring comic artists. We recognize that developing narrative comics is a multi-faceted art form. The curriculum provides students interested in comic art with the opportunity to work across various disciplines, including painting, drawing, writing, reading, and narrative expression. Foundational Comics Seminars, combined with student-selected studio electives and faculty advisors, allow students to explore and experiment with creative comics while developing their individual narrative voices and visual languages.

Comic Art at SAIC: Drawing Outside the Lines

The MFA in Studio, Comics program leverages Chicago's vibrant comics art community. It provides an interdisciplinary environment for creativity across the departments of Printmedia, Painting and Drawing, Writing, and Visual Communication Design. The program’s unique, multi-faceted curriculum allows students to foster the poetic nature of comics, providing the breadth necessary for artistic expression.

The Comics program builds on existing courses across departments, offering a broad platform for aspiring comic artists to launch their ideas and bring innovative concepts to life. The program is distinguished by its non-commercial, experimental approach. Students are encouraged to explore innovative language, multidisciplinary experimentation, and resilience. While recognizing the importance of commercial viability, the program focuses on the narrative. It positions students to develop their narrative voice in the ever-evolving world of comics.

Breadth and Depth of Study

Comics faculty teach students to investigate the relationships between idea and realization, tradition and innovation, and art and craft. Unique to SAIC, graduate students may take courses across disciplines and work with graduate advisors in any department to broaden their skills and the content of their work. Additionally, students participate in interdisciplinary critiques with panels composed of faculty and visiting artists from all fields, alternating with disciplinary critiques. This process allows a broad context for critical feedback. Comics graduate students develop cohesive bodies of work, displaying well-developed content and superior technical skills for their practices.

Our Unique Curriculum

The MFA in Studio program at SAIC is a 60-credit program that offers maximum flexibility. It is uniquely designed so that students are able to explore, study, and create across departments, collaborating with faculty and peers in other areas that support their graduate work. As part of the Comics program’s curriculum, students will: 

• Choose from a wide variety of seminars and courses linked to numerous studio, design, and academic departments
• Participate in four graduate critiques where they will present their work to disciplinary and interdisciplinary panels of faculty, visiting artists, and fellow graduate students
• Present their work in the SAIC Graduate Thesis Exhibition or other end-of-year events at SAIC

Graduate Projects

The cornerstone of SAIC's graduate studio program is its focus on tutorial-guided studio practice. Each semester in addition to selecting from graduate advisors in the department, you will select from more than 100 graduate faculty advisors at SAIC. Advisors represent a myriad of disciplines, approaches, and intellectual positions. Ultimately, it is the student's work that drives the choice of advisor, and both disciplinary and interdisciplinary work is supported and advanced. Faculty from the academic programs in Art History, Arts Administration and Policy, Art Education, and Visual and Critical Studies also serve as graduate advisors, providing yet more expertise in support of SAIC Graduate Projects and your comics education.