By the Portlio studio · Published · 7 min read
The short answer: most colleges don't require a portfolio for general admission. Some programs, usually in the arts, design, architecture, and film, do. And some colleges accept an optional creative supplement.
Requirements vary by college, university, program, and application year, and they can change. This guide helps you work out whether you need a portfolio and how to find out for certain, for each college on your list. It's written for students and parents researching U.S. undergraduate applications.
The short answer
No, colleges don't all require a portfolio. A student applying to study biology, economics, or history at most colleges won't be asked for one. A student applying to a Bachelor of Fine Arts, an architecture program, or a film program often will. The requirement belongs to the program, not to "college" in general.
Programs that commonly ask for a portfolio
These are the kinds of undergraduate programs that often involve a portfolio. Whether a particular program does is for that program to say.
- Studio art, fine art, and illustration, including BFA programs.
- Graphic, product, interaction, and communication design.
- Architecture, including some Bachelor of Architecture programs.
- Photography and other media arts.
- Film, animation, and game design or digital media.
- Fashion and textile design.
Some programs in these fields ask for work samples at the time of application. Others review it later, or only for particular majors.
If one of these is your field, the matching guide goes further: art, design, architecture, photography, or film.
Optional creative supplements
Some colleges and universities invite applicants to submit additional creative material, such as art, music, writing, or a project, alongside the main application. If it's optional, you don't need to submit one to be considered. Whether it's worth the effort depends on the college, the program, and what the work shows that the rest of your application doesn't.
Some colleges also don't accept supplementary materials at all, or accept them only for certain majors. Read the instructions before you prepare anything.
When you probably don't need one
- You're applying to a general program, such as most arts and sciences majors, and the college doesn't mention a portfolio or supplement.
- The application has no field for creative work.
- The college states that it doesn't accept additional materials.
Even then, a portfolio website can be useful for recommenders, interviews, or a scholarship that does ask for work, but it isn't part of the application. See portfolio websites for young creatives if your interests cross several fields.
How to find out for each college
- Go to the college's admissions website and find the page for first-year applicants, then the page for the program or major you're interested in.
- Check the instructions inside the application you'll use. Many colleges accept the Common App, and each college adds its own supplemental questions and materials.
- Look at the department's own page. Art, design, and architecture departments often publish their own portfolio guidelines.
- If it's still unclear, email the admissions office or the department and ask.
- Check again each year. Requirements and deadlines change.
Questions to ask when you contact a college
- Is a portfolio required, optional, or not accepted for my intended major?
- How many pieces, and in what format?
- Is there a separate portfolio deadline?
- Can I submit a website link, or must work be uploaded?
- Is there a prompt or required work?
Keep track in one place
With several colleges on your list, requirements get mixed up quickly. A simple table helps. For each college, record:
- Program or major you're applying to
- Portfolio required, optional, or not accepted
- Number of pieces, formats, and size limits
- Required work or prompts
- Statement requirements
- Portfolio deadline and where to submit
A note for parents
If your student is applying to a creative program, the portfolio is often prepared over months, not days, so it helps to ask early what each program expects. You don't need to know about art or design to help: you can check the deadlines, keep the tracking table, and make sure the student has time and a quiet place to photograph work.
Scholarships
Most scholarships don't ask for a portfolio either. Some, particularly those connected to creative fields or to art and design schools, do ask for work samples. See scholarship portfolios for what to look for.
Where to go next
If you do need a portfolio, how to make a college application portfolio walks through the process, and what to include in a college portfolio helps you choose the work. For the overview, see college application portfolios. To see what finished selections and sites can look like, read college portfolio examples and browse student portfolio examples.
Portlio designs and builds custom portfolio websites. A website complements each program's required submission; it doesn't replace it, and nobody can promise it will change an admissions or scholarship decision. If you'd like help presenting your work, you can get started or ask for a portfolio review first.
About this guide. Written by the Portlio studio as general guidance. It isn't any college's requirements and it can't predict an admissions decision, so check each program's current instructions. Last updated .
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