The School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s (SAIC) Master of Fine Arts in Printmedia program encourages experimentation and material exploration to expand the definition of contemporary print. As a student, you will tackle issues of contemporary art by employing a wide variety of printing techniques and developing technologies. Work across disciplines to create prints, artists’ books, three-dimensional objects, installations, new media, and time-based art. 

Iteration and discovery, purposeful execution and serendipitous results are highly valued. Individual graduate studios and faculty mentorship aid the development of ideas, concepts and creative production. Well-equipped printmaking facilities include:

  • 6 Intaglio/Relief presses
  • 15 screen printing stations with 2 large format vacuum tables
  • 4 lithography presses and 1 hand offset press
  • Offset studio with 2 automated presses using direct-to-plate printing and 2 risograph printers
  • Darkrooms for screenprinting, lithography, and intaglio
  • Artists’ books/bookbinding studio
  • Access to laser cutters, 3D printers and scanners, CNC routers and other advanced digital and analog technologies

Apply to the Printmedia program by January 10. 

As a graduate student at SAIC, you will focus, study intensively, and learn from some of the most renowned faculty in the world. We encourage our MFA Studio students to move beyond their home departments and work with faculty and peers in any area that supports their graduate work and research. 

For more than 155 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers, and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program ranked number two in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago museum, on-campus galleries, and state-of-the-art facilities.

Learn more about graduate study at SAIC.