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Portfolio

50% of your Stamps admissions decision is based on your portfolio.

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Info Sessions
In this video, Stamps Recruiting Coordinator Juliana gives inside information on the kinds of work we like to see and tips on how to make your portfolio stand out.

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

Port­fo­lio Reviews

We know that each school is dif­fer­ent, and it can be chal­leng­ing to con­sider what to include when curat­ing your port­fo­lio. The Stamps Admis­sions Team would be happy to pro­vide some feed­back to help you decide which pieces would ben­e­fit your port­fo­lio sub­mis­sion. Click the link below to set up an infor­mal infor­mal port­fo­lio review with a Stamps Admis­sions coun­selor via email.

Sign up for an Informal Portfolio Review

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.