The MFA in Ceramics course at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago equips students with experience in clay, sculpture and pottery to create experimental ceramic designs.

School: School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)
Course: MFA in Ceramics
Location: Chicago, USA
Course dates: August 2023 to May 2025
Application deadline: 10 January 2023

The department of ceramics at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a model of interdisciplinary investigation where art, design, and craft are the fields of research and innovation.

SAIC offers one of the few graduate ceramics programs that focuses on experimental and contemporary ceramics.

It allows students to move fluidly across materials and methods using an exploration of clay, sculpture and studio pottery as a springboard for more personal and contemporary sculptural making.

Graduate student projects range from traditional forms to contemporary installations, performance, mixed media, time arts and community-based practices.

SAIC's ceramics department encourages school-wide interdisciplinary study and students are encouraged to take courses across disciplines, working with graduate advisors in any department.

Students will explore the intersections and shared methods, materials, and critical discourse among architecture, interior architecture, designed objects, fiber and material studies, sculpture, performance and more.

Resources in SAIC's ceramics department include individual graduate studios, 18 gas and electric kilns, three state-of-the-art Blaauw computer-automated gas kilns, fully equipped mould-making and casting facilities, Potterbot 3D ceramic printer and ceramic decal printer, installation and gallery space, clay and glaze mixers, extruders, slab rollers, wheels and more.

Free bulk materials including clay, slip and glazes allow for unlimited experimentation in the medium.

Applications to this course have now closed.

Top image: Vessels (Veiled) by MFA Ceramics 2021 graduate Shea Burke.

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