Once an offer of admission has been extended, applicants must submit a $1,000 nonrefundable enrollment fee to the Office of Graduate Admissions in order to secure a space in their intended program of study. Enrollment fees will be processed only as space remains available in each department. Five hundred dollars of this fee will be applied to the first semester tuition.

The health insurance fee is $925 per semester. (waivable at www.sva.edu/uhp) 

*For Art Practice, Digital Photography and Visual Narrative summer semesters, there is also a summer insurance fee charged for your first summer semester. For Summer 2013, this fee is as follows: 

Art Practice: $313

Digital Photo: $410 ($535 with a $125 waiver)

Visual Narrative: $410

Students are automatically enrolled in the SVA-sponsored accident and sickness insurance and billed the Health Insurance Fee. Students who want to remove this charge must have sufficient insurance coverage and waive the fee online before the applicable deadline. For more information about the insurance, deadlines and waiving the fee, go to www.sva.edu/uhp.

SVA housing costs in one of the college's residences range from $10,150 to $15,600 for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Should an offer of admission be extended, a nonrefundable $1,000 enrollment fee and an $800 housing deposit ($300 nonrefundable placement fee and a $500 security deposit) must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Admissions.

New students will be placed in housing on a first-come, first-served basis. The housing deposit will be returned only if a student cannot be placed in housing.

Note: You should expect tuition, fees and housing charges to increase at a minimum of 4 percent to 7 percent annually.

$100 Late registration fee
$200 Late payment fee assessed to accounts not paid in full by the tuition due date
$20 Replacement of lost student identification cards
$20 Returned check fee
$100 Course adjustment fee charged after the course adjustment period is over

Payment may be made by check, money order, American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa or JCB credit card. Checks should be made payable to: School of Visual Arts. The College cannot accept cash payments.

All payments are to be made in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank. SVA does not accept checks drawn on a foreign bank or a foreign branch of a domestic bank. An additional fee of $75 plus any other balance incurred for conversion of foreign currency to U.S. funds will be charged for processing money orders or bank checks drawn on a foreign bank or a foreign branch of a domestic bank. To avoid the processing fee, payments from foreign banks may be made by wire transfer to:

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
420 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94104

For the account of
School of Visual Arts, Inc.
Account #4121919880
ABA #121000248

Swift code: WFBIUS6S

Please include student name and SVA identification number in wire notes.

Note: Wire transfers can take several business days for bank processing. Please plan accordingly.

A student's registration for a semester is not complete until all bills due for that and any prior semester are paid in full. Bills for tuition are mailed on June 15 and November 1 and are payable by August 1 and December 1, respectively. The Office of Student Accounts will impose a late charge if any part of the semester bill is not paid when due.

No degrees will be conferred and no certificates of attendance or transcripts will be furnished until all bills due the School of Visual Arts are paid in full.

Students may choose to pay the annual cost of tuition and fees in 10 monthly installments, 5 installments per semester. The agreement is for the fall and spring semesters and payments begin on August 1 and end on May 1. Students will be asked to sign the Payment Plan Application and Agreement Form. SVA offers this option free of any interest or finance charge. There is a $200 processing fee for participating in the plan. SVA will consider all financial aid awards when calculating the payment plan, thereby reducing the amount of the monthly installment.

International students are eligible for the payment plan only after they have attended at least one full-time semester at SVA as a student and paid tuition in full.

The Payment Plan Application and Agreement form can be found in the Forms section.

Students registered for less than 12 credits or more than 15 credits per semester for Graduate Division courses (16 credits for Art Criticism and Writing and Design Criticism programs) will be billed at the rate of $1,205 per credit ($1,290 for Branding, Design, Interaction Design, Design for Social Innovation, Products of Design; $1,470 for Social Documentary Film). Tuition for more than 15 credits (16 credits for Art Criticism and Writing and Design Criticism majors) is fully refundable during the drop/add period. After the drop/add periods, refunds for extra credit tuition charges will be prorated based on the institutional refund policy. 

NOTE: Graduate students may audit one undergraduate or one continuing education course each semester that they are enrolled as matriculated and full-time students. Courses must be audited during a two-year period and cannot exceed four courses in total. All applicable course fees will be charged. Courses open to auditing are subject to availability.

The enrollment fee is nonrefundable. The Health Insurance Fee is refundable only if withdrawal occurs prior to the applicable semester waiver deadline. The waiver deadline is located on the Student Health and Counseling Services webpage.

Students who wish to withdraw from SVA must notify their academic advisor in writing. Written approval from a parent or guardian must be included if the student is under 18 years of age. The effective date of the withdrawal is the date written notification is received by the academic advisor. Lack of attendance alone does not entitle a student to a refund.

Refunds, less the nonrefundable enrollment fee and Health Insurance Fee (if applicable), are made after the prorated percentages of liability are applied, unless superseded by an existing state or accrediting agency refund policy. Upon withdrawal from the semester, SVA does not charge any department or course fees. However, payment plan fees, late fees and any other administrative fees are not prorated. Only tuition and housing costs are prorated. Prorated housing costs are based on the check-out date, not the official date of withdrawal.

Title IV recipients should note that the amount of the student refund will be calculated only after the aid proceeds are appropriately returned to each program. Please contact the Office of Student Accounts or the Office of Financial Aid for more information on Title IV refunds.

The prorated percentages of liability (tuition and fees owed) are based on the official date of withdrawal, as follows:

Fall and Spring
0% liability if withdrawal occurs prior to the start of classes
10% if withdrawal occurs during the first and second week of the semester
50% if withdrawal occurs during the third and fourth week of the semester
75% if withdrawal occurs during the fifth through eighth week of the semester
100% if withdrawal occurs after the eighth week of the semester
No refund will be made for withdrawal occurring after the eighth week of the semester.

Summer
Please note that the length of the summer semester program varies by department. This information is located on the webpage of each individual department.

Programs 12 weeks and over:
0% liability if withdrawal occurs prior to the start of classes
10% if withdrawal occurs during the first and second week of the semester
50% if withdrawal occurs during the third and fourth week of the semester
75% if withdrawal occurs during the fifth through eighth week of the semester
100% if withdrawal occurs after the eighth week of the semester
No refund will be made for withdrawal occurring after the eighth week of the semester.

Programs 9-11 weeks:
0% liability if withdrawal occurs prior to the start of classes
25% if withdrawal occurs during the first and second week of the semester
50% if withdrawal occurs during the third and fourth week of the semester
75% if withdrawal occurs during the fifth week of the semester
100% if withdrawal occurs after the fifth week of the semester
No refund will be made for withdrawal occurring after the fifth week of the semester.

Programs up to and including 8 weeks:
0% liability if withdrawal occurs prior to the start of classes
25% if withdrawal occurs during the first week of the semester
50% if withdrawal occurs during the second week of the semester
75% if withdrawal occurs during the third week of the semester
100% if withdrawal occurs after the third week of the semester
No refund will be made for withdrawal occurring after the third week of the semester.

SVA requires that the enrollment fee and all tuition and fees be paid in full in order to complete registration and enrollment. The housing deposit must be paid in full in order to reside in SVA housing. Attendance in classes or residing in SVA housing without payment or without making approved arrangements for payment will result in involuntary withdrawal from SVA for non-payment. You will be held responsible for all costs and fees incurred through the date of withdrawal for non-payment.