first-year applicants

BFA and BA Application Requirements

At SFAI, we base our acceptance decisions on a thoughtful review of the entire application. Selection for admission is based on the quality of your overall academic performance, the strength and vision of your portfolio work (for BFA applicants) or of the essay you compose (for BA applicants), and on other artistic or academic achievements and community or professional leadership experience. Applicants must submit all of the forms and application materials listed below in order to be considered for admission.

1. Completed and signed application for admission

SFAI provides two application options:
1) Apply using our Online Application. We encourage you to apply online.
2) Download a printable copy of the Paper Application Form. Please sign your completed application form and mail it together with the rest of your application materials.

Please send your supporting documentation (if you are applying online) or your complete application packet (if you are submitting a paper application form) to:

Admissions
San Francisco Art Institute
800 Chestnut Street
San Francisco, CA 94133

2. Non-refundable application fee of $65

There are three payment options:
-Pay the application fee online by credit card, at the end of the online application.
-Send a check payable to San Francisco Art Institute.
-Call 1.800.345.SFAI or 415.749.4500 to pay by credit card.

3. Official sealed transcripts of all high school or other secondary school coursework, both completed and in-progress, or CHSPE Certificate of Proficiency, or GED certificate

All high school, college, or university transcripts or equivalency certificates must be sent directly to SFAI from the school, college, or agency in question. SFAI accepts transcripts directly from applicants only if the transcripts have been appropriately signed and sealed. SFAI reserves the right to reject any document that does not meet the appropriate standards and to request an additional copy. Final transcripts indicating graduation will be required prior to the start of classes.

4. Official SAT or ACT examination results (optional but highly recommended)

Examination results can be sent directly to SFAI from the College Board, ACT, or ETS. Copies of student score reports (i.e., reports issued to students) are not sufficient.

5. One letter of recommendation

The letter of recommendation should come from a teacher or another individual familiar with your abilities and goals, and must be written in English. Please use only the SFAI Letter of Recommendation Form. Fill out the top portion, and then submit the form to your recommender for completion.

BFA Applicants (studio art programs)

Supplement 1: Portfolio

Please see the Portfolio Requirements page for details on how to prepare your portfolio.

Supplement 2: Artist Statement

BFA candidates should briefly explain the ideas and content of the work in their portfolio. What factors have influenced this body of work? What do you want to accomplish at SFAI in terms of your art making? You may also include artists and outside sources that have influenced you.

BA Applicants (Urban Studies or History and Theory of Contemporary Art)

Supplement 1: Critical Essay

The Admission Review Committee looks carefully at how your essay demonstrates your writing skills and ability to articulate a personal vision. Please write an essay of 500 to 750 words on one of the three topics below. Online applicants should submit this essay along with the online application, using the instructions in the online application form.

1. What do you see as the role of the contemporary artist in a global society?

2. Write a critical response to a recent encounter you have had with contemporary practices of art or cultural production. You may have seen an exhibition in a traditional space (such as a gallery or museum); you may have attended a performance or a public intervention; you may have come across a web- or text-based project, or something else entirely. Be sure to consider the significance of both the mode of presentation and the content in your account.

3. What is the role of art in urban culture? How, if at all, can art provide critical perspectives on issues of urban social and environmental justice, urban quality of life, community identity, the city as a space of diverse cultural encounters, or other issues? How does the practice of art interact with the production of urban visual culture more broadly speaking?

Transfer Applicants

Please refer to the Transfer Applicants page for additional requirements.

International Applicants

Please refer to the International Undergraduate Applicants page for additional requirements and information.