Portfolio Requirements for BA/BFA Applicants

A portfolio of artwork is required for admission to the BFA and BA programs. The purpose of the portfolio is to help the Committee on Admissions evaluate an applicant’s artistic skills and creative potential. Portfolios should show the applicant’s current level of ability in the medium or mediums in which they feel most competent. Additionally, a portfolio should demonstrate creative imagination, the potential for artistic growth, and the applicant’s areas of artistic interest.

Portfolios can be tailored for entry into specific program areas—Fine Art, Photography, or Design—or they can demonstrate artistic talent in more than one area. Recommended contents for each type of submission are listed in the Requirements by Area section. Applicants with questions about requirements should contact the Admissions staff for counseling on portfolio preparation.

If at all possible, applicants should present original, hard copy versions of their portfolios for their in-person review, unless their work is digital by nature. Students who live less than 200 miles from Washington are required to attend a portfolio review in person. Be ready to discuss your works and processes at an interview. Applicants who live more than 200 miles from Washington have the option of mailing in a portfolio digitally or in 35 mm slide format, as discussed below.

DIGITAL PORTFOLIO
In addition to (or in lieu of) having original portfolios viewed, students may submit a digital portfolio on a CD or DVD. Digital portfolios should not be submitted as an e-mail attachment or as a PowerPoint or digital slide show.

Still image files should be formatted as TIFs or JPEGs, with pixel dimensions of 800 x 600 or smaller. Video clips may be in QuickTime format or on a DVD. Each CD or DVD must be printed with the applicant’s name and address. Do not submit your only copy. Please check your disk to see that the files are readable before submitting.

Mailed digital portfolios must be accompanied by a written inventory list detailing the names of the disk’s files and the title, medium(s), size, and date of the depicted works. The entries should also describe the file type (i.e., .jpg, .html, etc.) and indicate if the files were generated using a Mac or PC.

Example: JohnSmith.jpg, Mac, Self Portrait, mixed media, 24" x 36", May 2008.
35 mm SLIDE PORTFOLIO

Please be aware that 35 mm slides will be converted into digital images before they are viewed by the Admissions Committee. We strongly recommend that students submit a digital portfolio.

If you do submit slides, label the front of each slide with your name and the artwork’s title, and number each slide to correspond with an inventory list included with your portfolio. In the right-hand corner of the slide, indicate the top of the piece with a small arrow. Write directly on the slide—do not use labels. Assemble the slides in order, according to the numbers assigned to each, and place in a clear slide-protector sheet. Clearly label the slide-protector sheet with your name and address.