How to apply to art and design at the University of Illinois Chicago: the Schools of Art and Design do not require or review portfolios for admission, with a portfolio review into the major after the first-year foundation, plus requirements and timelines for students from China, Canada and transfers

At the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), undergraduate art and design belong to the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts (CADA), which includes the Schools of Architecture, Art, Design, and Theatre and Music, and the Department of Art History. This guide summarises UIC’s published requirements for students at high schools in China (including A-Level, IB and AP), students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver) and transfer students.

1. Degrees and majors

• School of Art: the BFA in Art, with an optional concentration in new media arts, moving image, photography or studio arts, or coursework across media; 20 hours of art history and a final BFA thesis exhibition; 129 hours in total. Also the BFA in Art Education, Interdisciplinary Education in the Arts (IDEAS) and an art minor.
• School of Design: the four-year Bachelor of Design (BDes) in graphic design or industrial design; also the BA in Design Studies (described as a transfer degree that can be completed in three years) and the BS in CS + Design.
• First year: BFA in Art students take the first-year Art Foundation program; all School of Design students take the Foundations Program (2D and 3D form-making, analog and digital visualization, interactive media, color theory).

2. Portfolio

• Not at admission: CADA and the School of Art state that portfolios are not required (or reviewed) for undergraduate admission to the Schools of Architecture, Art and Design or the Department of Art History.
• BFA in Art: after the first-year program, students take an all-school portfolio review to be accepted into the art major.
• Bachelor of Design: after the Foundations Program, departmental faculty review portfolios to place students in a major area.
• The pages we read do not give the number of works or dates for these reviews; ask each school.

3. Application materials and deadlines

• Application: first-year students use the Common App; transfer students use the UIC Application.
• Materials: CADA lists an official transcript, fee or waiver, personal statement and program essay; recommendation letters are encouraged but not required; UIC is test-optional. The School of Art also asks every applicant for a statement of interest explaining why UIC and which degree.
• School of Design wording: the design application page says admission is highly competitive, standards exceed the campus averages for ACT/SAT and high school class standing (HSPR), the middle 50% of freshmen have ACT composites of 21–26, and review covers the Common App, transcripts, GPA, ACT/SAT, class standing, recommendation letters and personal statement. This differs from CADA’s test-optional, letters-encouraged wording; both are given here, so check with the School of Design.
• Fall 2027 deadlines: first-year Early Action 2 November 2026 (all documents by the deadline), Regular Decision 1 February 2027; transfer 1 April 2027. International applicants follow the same deadlines. The BDes admits in fall only.
• CADA’s how-to-apply page still shows fall 2026 dates; use the 2027 dates on the admissions and School of Design pages.
• Fees: international first-year applicants pay $170 in total, a $70 application fee and a $100 international evaluation fee, non-refundable.

4. English

• University minimums: TOEFL 80 (4.5 on the new scale), IELTS 6.5, PTE 54 or Duolingo 120 (accepted from fall 2027), with section minimums listed on the international requirements page.
• School of Design: its application page lists TOEFL 80 with sub-scores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20 and Writing 21.
• Exemptions: two consecutive years of full-time high school or university study in the US or another country where English is the only official language; SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 570+; ACT English 24+; AP English Language 4+; IB English Language and Literature 5+, and others. UIC says exemptions are not granted based on medium of instruction.

5. Costs and scholarships

• Tuition: the registrar’s 2026-27 undergraduate tuition tables are posted on an external file host, which we did not read; amounts are not published on the web pages themselves, so check the registrar’s tuition page.
• Scholarships: admissions says completing the UIC application brings automatic consideration for most university and college scholarships; fall applicants should apply by the scholarship priority date. The UIC Merit Tuition Award is only for US citizens and permanent residents who do not qualify for in-state tuition. Which scholarships international students can receive is not published.

6. Students at high schools in China

• Credentials and Gaokao: the international requirements page shows credentials by country, but that content loads dynamically and we could not read it; how the Gaokao or art exams are used is not published, so select China on that page or ask admissions.
• Documents: transcripts must be sent sealed by the school; non-English documents need ATA-certified translations.
• Portfolio: none at application; after the first-year foundation, a review decides entry to the major.

7. Students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver)

• Credentials and English: we could not read the country lookup on the international requirements page; select Canada there to see whether English scores are required. The exemption wording is in section 4 above.
• Grades: BC grade requirements are not published.

8. Transfer students

• Bachelor of Design: the School of Design says the BDes takes four years regardless of transfer status and admits in fall only; because it starts with the first-year foundation, design course credit from other institutions is not accepted, and students planning to start at a community college are asked to reconsider; some academic credits may transfer.
• BA in Design Studies: the transfer degree, possible to finish in three years.
• Credit: up to 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) from community or junior colleges.
• Deadline and fees: fall 2027 transfer by 1 April; applicants with coursework outside the US pay a $100 international evaluation fee on top of the $70 application fee and submit syllabi for international coursework.
• Intercollege transfer: current UIC students need a 2.75 GPA for the BDes or BA in Design Studies and must apply at least one semester ahead.

Checklist

Students at high schools in China:

• Apply on the Common App with a personal statement and program essay (statement of interest for the School of Art)
• Early Action 2 November 2026 or Regular 1 February 2027; pay the $170 fees
• Prepare TOEFL 80 (4.5) or IELTS 6.5; design applicants should note the TOEFL sub-scores
• Select China on the international requirements page for credential and Gaokao details

Students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver):

• Select Canada on the international requirements page to confirm credential and English requirements

Transfer students:

• Start the BDes as a first-year; as a transfer, consider the BA in Design Studies; apply by 1 April

Sources: University of Illinois Chicago, School of Art admissions; BFA in Art; Bachelor of Design; School of Design first year; Design application process; Design deadlines; CADA how to apply; Undergraduate requirements and deadlines; International requirements; Tuition and financial aid; Registrar undergraduate tuition. Information is for fall 2027 entry; check UIC’s website for the latest.