Portfolio
Review

All prospective art majors must first apply for admission to WCU prior to submitting a portfolio. The Department of Art + Design cannot review any student portfolios from students who have not completed an application with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Once you have completed your application, you will receive a request via email to submit your portfolio to Slideroom, an online portfolio review site. You will need to register and pay a nominal fee in order to upload your portfolio to Slideroom. Portfolios will be reviewed weekly so we encourage you to submit your portfolio as soon as it is completed. Once the Department of Art + Design has reviewed your portfolio, you will be notified of the results by email from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

If you have questions about the Portfolio Review process, please email artinfo@wcupa.edu.

First-Year Students

Your portfolio should contain artwork that reflects YOU. The portfolio committee wants to see how you express ideas and concepts in visual art and design. The artwork that you include should demonstrate your previous experiences learning the technical skills of visual art; part of your evaluation will be on the strength of these skills. Every year merit scholarships are awarded from portfolios for incoming first year students.  

How to Prepare Your Portfolio:

Getting started

Before your senior year, talk with your teachers about preparing a portfolio for application to our program. You will likely include examples from your classes, pre-college courses/camps, and independent work.  Some of the work you will collect will be projects that you have spent lots of time on, but it is also acceptable to include sketchbook pages and studies in your portfolio.

Curate your Portfolio

Your artwork should demonstrate your technical skills and creative thinking. We are looking for artwork that demonstrates originality in ways of making both ideas and processes. You will need to include 5 original drawings in addition to 7 artworks that demonstrate your creative interests. You can include sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, painting, illustration, and graphic design.

Documenting your work

When photographing your work, make sure you have a neutral background (like a white wall) and even lighting. Be sure that the edges of your 2D work are square to the photograph’s edges so that you have an accurate representation of your art. You will be able to add information about each piece in Slideroom, this will be space you can share details about the materials, processes, or specific prompts you were following.

Preparing to upload

You will upload 12 works to Slideroom as .jpg or .pdf files; you will be prompted to include the media and title for each work. There will also be space to write an optional short description.

If you have any questions about the portfolio, you may reach out to Professor Lauren Pakradooni, co-chair of portfolio review commitee.

If you would like to learn more about our program and/or plan a visit to the Department of Art + Design please reach out to Professor David Jones, Chair of Department of Art + Design.

Transfer

  1. The portfolio must include 12 example of work in any media (2-D or 3-D) or style during the last two years that represents your artistic strengths and abilities. A variety of media is recommended.
  2. At least FIVE of the examples must be drawings from direct observation (not copied from photographs or other 2-D sources).
  3. One example must be a self-portrait.
  4. Transfer students seeking advanced standing should include examples of work completed in the college-level studio courses to be considered for transfer credits.

Internal Transfer

Applicants currently enrolled in the University transferring into the B.F.A. program must successfully (based on the minimum grade of a C) complete ART 106, 111, and 120. Students are required to submit a portfolio to the Department of Art + Design that includes 12 examples of work completed in these three courses to the Department of Art + Design. Portfolio reviews will be conducted at the end of each semester.