The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and school, SAIC has been accredited since 1936 by the Higher Learning Commission and by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design since 1944. It has been a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) since the association's founding in 1991 and is also accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board.