San Francisco Art Institute

The San Francisco Art Institute, SFAI, traces its roots to the San Francisco Art Association which was founded in 1871. The association established San Francisco School of Design in 1874, which was renamed California School of Design in 1893. This school was destroyed by a fire in 1906, and rebuilt a year later as the San Francisco Institute of Art. In 1916, it was renamed California School of Fine Arts, and was finally christened San Francisco Art Institute in 1961. The main campus of SFAI is located in San Francisco, California. The institute also operates the Graduate Center in San Francisco.

San Francisco Art Institute awards the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Arts, and Master of Fine Arts degrees. Students can also opt for post-baccalaureate certificate programs. Courses are available in the fields of contemporary art, exhibition and museum studies, urban studies, painting, photography, sculpture, and film, among others. SFAI has under it the following 2 schools:

• School of Interdisciplinary Studies
• School of Studio Practice

Students of SFAI are members of various clubs and organizations like the Alternative Media Coalition, Art After Hours, the Gamers Club, Juicy Jews, Productive Publishing Club, the Shaved Apes Motorcycle Club, Tea Drinkers Anonymous, and the Indigenous Arts Coalition. Among the famous alumni are Gutzon Borglum, creator of Mount Rushmore; Courtney Love, rock musician and actress; Rea Irvin, art editor of The New Yorker; Kathryn Bigelow, film director; and Ronald Davis, painter.

Highlights

Where the school stands out most compared to other schools (details below):

• Many students concentrating in fine arts, drama and performing arts, and photography and commercial art.
• Selective admissions.
• Large number of programs of study offered.
• Good faculty-to-student ratio.
• Number of dorm rooms for students.

Other important characteristics:

• Faculty tenure system
• Library on-campus
• Campus housing available
• Study abroad option
• Part-time classes available

Degrees Awarded (in 2008-2009)

Students

Student enrollment was 655 in 2007-2008 (646 full-time equivalent).

About 32% of the freshmen class in 2008-2009 was male and women were 68% of the class.

Undergrads are 66% of enrolled students and graduate students are 34%.

Students living in the US make up 100% of incoming freshmen.

Among freshmen students, 97% are full-time and 3% are part-time.

Tuition and Other Costs (2008-2009)

Financial Aid: San Francisco Art Institute participates in US Title IV financial assistance programs.

Please refer to BrainTrack's financial aid articles section for background information.

Housing and Meals

San Francisco Art Institute provides on-campus housing for 115 of its 646 (full-time) students (as of 2008-2009). The school requires freshmen to live on campus.

Admissions (2008-2009)

SAT Test Scores: