Research and Investigation


This is an exciting moment at San Francisco Art Institute. While restating the important legacy of the Institute, we are also charting a bold and new vision for the future. Our students are at the center of this rethinking of our liberal arts and humanities curriculum through the establishment of the four Centers for Interdisciplinary Study—the Center for Art+Science, the Center for Media Culture, the Center for Public Practice, and the Center for Word, Text, and Image.

These Centers allow us to interweave academic learning and studio practice through intensive classroom discussions, coursework, and projects. In addition, each center sponsors exhibitions, symposia, residencies, internships, and travel programs that support larger social engagement. Your education here will broaden your exposure to the interrelatedness of all art practice, through engagement in the community and by direct involvement in issues connected to contemporary culture and society. A major component of this philosophy is reflected in our City Studio program, a whole new approach to working with community programs based on shared interests and dialogue. SFAI strongly believes that such direct and informative engagement with the world beyond the institution is crucial to a sound preparation for the productive and meaningful life of an artist.