What it is, which undergraduate programs ask for one, what to put in it, and where a portfolio website fits.
Requirements vary
Not every college asks for a portfolio. Requirements differ by institution and by program, and they change from year to year. Always follow each program's own instructions first.
What is a college application portfolio?
A college application portfolio is a selection of your work that you submit, or share, as part of an undergraduate application. For art, design, and architecture programs it's usually a set of images of finished pieces and process work. For film or animation it may include a reel or short film.
The portfolio a program asks for is defined by that program: how many pieces, which formats, and where to upload them. A portfolio website is something different: one place where your complete body of work lives, which you can share wherever an application, a teacher, or an interviewer can use a link.
Which applicants need one?
- Students applying to art school, design school, or architecture school, and to BFA or BArch programs.
- Applicants to some film, animation, photography, and fashion programs.
- Students at colleges that offer an optional arts or creative supplement.
- Applicants to some scholarships that review creative work (see scholarship portfolios).
If a program doesn't ask for a portfolio, you don't need to send one.
How portfolios are usually submitted
- Uploads through a college's own applicant portal.
- A portfolio platform such as SlideRoom, with limits on pieces, file types, and sizes.
- A website link, where the application has a field for one.
- In person, at interviews or portfolio review events such as National Portfolio Day.
Deadlines for portfolios usually follow the application deadline, but check each program.
What to include in a college portfolio
Where a program gives a brief, follow it. Where it leaves the choice to you, these are what reviewers of creative portfolios commonly look for.
Your strongest recent work
Usually from the last two or three years, chosen for quality rather than quantity.
A clear point of view
Work that shows what you care about and how you see, not only technical skill.
Range, where it helps
Different materials, subjects, or approaches, if the program asks to see them.
Process
Sketches, drafts, iterations, or making-of material that shows how you develop an idea.
Captions for every piece
Title, medium, size, and year, in one consistent format.
A short statement
Only if the program asks for one, written in your own words.
How many pieces should a college portfolio have?
Use the number the program asks for. Programs that set one often ask for somewhere around 10 to 20 pieces, but the range varies. When the choice is yours, a tighter selection of strong work usually reads better than everything you've made.
PDF or portfolio website?
Submit whatever format each program requests. A website is useful alongside it: one link for recommenders, interviews, and any application that accepts links, and a home for video and work that doesn't fit an upload.
A simple portfolio timeline
A typical path for a senior applying in the fall. Adjust it to your own deadlines.
- Spring of junior year: look up the programs you're interested in and note which ask for a portfolio, and what they ask for.
- Summer before senior year: make new work, photograph what you have, and keep notes on each piece.
- Early fall of senior year: choose and order your pieces, draft any statement, and get feedback from a teacher or at a portfolio review event.
- Before each deadline: prepare files to each program's exact specifications and submit through the channel it names.
Where a Portlio website fits
We design and build custom portfolio websites for students. Your site sits alongside each program's required submission: it doesn't replace it, and it can't promise a result.
Guides for each step
The process
- How to make a college application portfolio, step by step
- Do colleges require a portfolio? What U.S. applicants should know
- What to include in a college portfolio, and how many pieces
- College portfolio examples: what they can look like and how to learn from them
- PDF portfolio vs website portfolio: which do you need for college applications?
- How to submit a college portfolio: formats, platforms, and final checks
- How to write an artist statement for a college portfolio
By program
- How to create an art portfolio for college
- How to create a design portfolio for college
- How to create an architecture portfolio for college
- How to create a photography portfolio for college
- How to create a film portfolio for college
- How to create an animation portfolio for college
Applying for creative scholarships too? See scholarship portfolios.
College portfolio questions
No. Most colleges don't ask for a portfolio for general admission. Portfolios are usually requested by art, design, architecture, film, and other creative programs, and some colleges accept optional creative supplements. Requirements vary by institution and program, so check each one.
In the U.S., yes. Colleges and universities both use the term, and the advice on this page applies to both. What changes is each program's own instructions.
Only if the program allows it. Many ask for uploads in a specific format through their own portal or a platform such as SlideRoom. Some have a field for a website or additional information; others don't accept links. Follow the instructions for each application.
You may not need a portfolio at all. If you have research, engineering, writing, or community projects you'd like to share, some applications have room for additional materials, and a simple portfolio website can also be useful for recommenders and interviews.
No one can promise that. Admission decisions belong to each college. Portlio designs and builds portfolio websites that present your work clearly; we don't guarantee or influence outcomes.