Undergraduate Portfolio Requirements
Portfolio Requirements
Applicants to the undergraduate program in the School of Visual Arts at Boston University may either send the School a slide portfolio or CD of their artwork or attend an on-campus portfolio review day. If sending a CD, please include color print outs of the work on the CD. Portfolios are to consist of at least eight (8) and not more than twenty (20) samples of work. The portfolio review committee is especially interested in seeing examples of the applicant's ability to work from observation.
There are three required samples of work:
- At least one portrait drawing (a self-portrait or portrait from life)
- At least one still-life drawing (from actual objects)
- At least one composition of recognizable objects (a drawing or painting)
Portfolios consisting primarily of photography are not acceptable.
SLIDE OR CD PORTFOLIO
Note: The deadline for receipt of slide portfolios is February 15, 2009.
Slide or CD portfolios (with the exception of Early Decision candidates) submitted for Fall 2009 admission will be accepted from December 2008 until February 15, 2009. Each slide in the portfolio is to be identified with the applicant's name, dimensions of the actual work, and arrows indicating the top of the slide. Inclusion of a slide list is encouraged. If you submit your portfolio in CD format, you must also include print-outs of the work represented on the CD.
Send slide or CD portfolios to:
Boston University, College of Fine Arts
School of Visual Arts, Room 552
855 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
Return of Slide or CD Portfolios
Portfolios can be returned in one of the following ways:
- The applicant or the applicant's representative picks up the work, after it has been evaluated, from the School of Visual Arts.
- The applicant provides a self-addressed stamped envelope or a $5 check made payable to Boston University for the return, by mail, of the portfolio.
All work for which there is no return option specified will become the property of the School of Visual Arts and may be handled at the School's discretion.
If you have any questions about the portfolio review process, please call the School of Visual Arts at 617-353-3371.
On-Campus Portfolio Review Days
Applicants have the option of presenting their original artwork at an on-campus portfolio review day. There are four portfolio review days scheduled, the first of which is for Early Decision, Trustee Scholarship, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship candidates only. All portfolio days give students the opportunity to discuss their work with faculty members and to take student-led tours.
Portfolio Reviews with Faculty (by reservation; space permitting)
- Friday, October 10 , 2008, 2-4 p.m. (Includes a tour and portfolio feedback)
- Friday, October 31, 2008, 8:30-2pm (CFA Vistor's Day, includes tour and portfolio feedback)
- Friday, November 7, 2008, 1-3 p.m. (Early Decision, Trustee, and MLK Scholarship candidates only)
- Friday, January 16, 2009, 1–3 p.m.
- Friday, January 23, 2009, 1–3 p.m.
- Friday, January 30, 2009, 1–3 p.m.