Portfolio

Your port­fo­lio should include:

• 12 – 15 pieces of your best and most recent work, including
• 2 design or direct obser­va­tional draw­ings. Learn about how Stamps defines these below:

Design draw­ing: a draw­ing of a design you devel­oped for a prod­uct, gar­ment, space, pat­tern design, a graphic novel spread, or an archi­tec­tural draw­ing. A design draw­ing empha­sizes visu­al­iza­tion over direct observation.

Obser­va­tional draw­ing: a draw­ing of a sub­ject that you have directly observed. An obser­va­tional draw­ing could be a col­lec­tion of objects set up on a table that you observe, a per­son mod­el­ing in front of you, a build­ing you are view­ing, or a land­scape out­side of your win­dow. Keep in mind: An obser­va­tional draw­ing would not include draw­ing some­thing from a photo, from your imag­i­na­tion, or from memory.

Check out the videos below for tips on obser­va­tional draw­ing from Stamps senior Mag­gie McConnell (BFA ​‘21).

Keep in mind:

• Empha­size exper­i­men­ta­tion, con­cept, and a range of media
• Include class assign­ments and self-directed work
• Answer the ques­tion, ​“Why did I cre­ate this?” for each work’s description
• Your appli­ca­tion will be con­sid­ered com­plete only after you have sub­mit­ted your portfolio

National Port­fo­lio Days

Explore the nation’s best col­leges of art and design and meet with Stamps Admis­sions rep­re­sen­ta­tives, who can pro­vide infor­mal port­fo­lio reviews, dis­cuss our unique cur­ricu­lum, and answer ques­tions about pro­fes­sional careers in art. Show­ing your work early can help you acquire impor­tant infor­ma­tion about orga­niz­ing and pre­sent­ing your port­fo­lio for future admis­sion con­sid­er­a­tion. High school stu­dents, par­ents, teach­ers, guid­ance coun­selors, and col­lege trans­fer stu­dents are encour­aged to attend. All National Port­fo­lio Day events are free and open to the pub­lic. Learn more at nation​al​port​fo​lio​day​.org.

Reg­is­ter online for the fol­low­ing vir­tual events at nation​al​port​fo​lio​day​.hey​days​.io/​e​vents:

• Sep­tem­ber 26, 1pm-5pm ET
• Octo­ber 30, 1pm-5pm ET
• Novem­ber 20, 1pm-5pm ET
• Decem­ber 10, 1pm-5pm ET
• Jan­u­ary 9, 1pm-5pm ET
• March 12, 1pm-5pm ET
• May 21, 1pm-5pm ET

Prep Your Port­fo­lio for NPD

Your port­fo­lio should show­case the best work you are mak­ing now, and can include fin­ished pieces, work in progress, and sketch­books. Make sure to pho­to­graph your work with inten­tion and have your files ready to share with us dig­i­tally. Visit our Port­fo­lio page for tips on how to make your port­fo­lio stand out.

Sub­mit­ting Your Portfolio

Early Action dead­line : Novem­ber 1
Reg­u­lar dead­line : Feb­ru­ary 1

Port­fo­lios are sub­mit­ted through Slid­e­Room. You will receive a link to Slid­e­Room through your Com­mon Appli­ca­tion or Coali­tion Appli­ca­tion.

There is a $10 trans­ac­tion fee to sub­mit your port­fo­lio. Stu­dents who receive a Common/​Coalition Appli­ca­tion fee waiver will auto­mat­i­cally receive a Slid­e­Room fee waiver.

For tech­ni­cal assis­tance with Slid­e­Room, visit sup​port​.slid​e​room​.com.