Application materials and portfolio requirements for studying abroad in American art

Students who plan to go to the United States for art education must prepare their own application materials, among which the portfolio will play a more important role. Today, let's take a look at the application materials and portfolio requirements for studying in American art.

Application material

1, portfolio.

This is the most important part of applying for art major in American universities. In other words, if you apply for an art major, then you must have corresponding works of art in this major. For example, if you want to apply for photography, you must have photographic works. If your work wins the prize, it will definitely be more beneficial to your application. Or if you want to apply for the sculpture major, send your most proud sculpture works to the school you want to apply for. When applying, you'd better send your own works of art in the form of a collection, which is more helpful to the application.

2. University transcripts and bachelor's degrees.

Applicants should provide undergraduate transcripts (GPA) and bachelor's degrees. Your GPA must not be lower than 2.7 to prove that you are a good student at school. In addition, a four-year undergraduate degree is required.

3. Personal statement and three letters of recommendation.

Personal statement is similar to applying for other majors. Letters of recommendation should be written by professors or professionals who have taught you, usually three or four.

4. Standardized examination.

Generally speaking, art majors only need to provide TOEFL scores when applying for studying in the United States, and the score requirements are very different from those of applying for graduate schools in American universities. Generally, more than 80 points can be admitted, and more general schools can even get about 60 points. GRE scores are generally not needed, depending on the requirements of specific schools, but it is certainly better to have GRE scores.

Thesis Writing

Innovation: Art and wood design have a tradition of focusing on innovation and creativity. The works in studying abroad must be creative first, and then you can do some other people's designs. Even if it is not plagiarism, it is imitation. Plagiarism and imitation are taboos of foreign schools.

Difference: works need to be distinguished, which is different from works. For example, in the major of industrial design, the first big work is about the product design of PC, so the remaining big works should not be all about the design of electronic products, and their abilities should be comprehensively reflected through the differential conductivity of the works.

Integrity: A complete design process is essential for an application for studying abroad or a real design. Generally speaking, we divide a work into three stages: preliminary investigation and analysis/mid-creative conception/late effect expression. Foreign universities attach great importance to the integrity of works, and many partners blindly pursue the coolness of rendering renderings when making portfolios. In fact, the school pays more attention to the display of your design thinking process. Therefore, whether it is a big work or a small work, there must be a complete process when it is displayed.

Enrichment: The so-called enrichment means not to limit yourself to the major you are applying for. For example, if you apply for industrial design, can other professional works appear in the portfolio? The answer is yes, your photography is good enough to put some photographic works, and your handwork is good, so you can show it properly. You just need to grasp one degree.

Portfolio requirements

Undergraduate study abroad

The portfolio of applying for an American art undergraduate course is divided into three parts: 1. Professional works; 2. Sketch part; 3. Other works.

1. Professional works

This part of the work is mainly based on your major, such as architectural design, so this part of the work should focus on architectural design, and there is no requirement for the type and form of work. It can be a hand-painted work or a demonstration of the design thinking process that manual models need to pay attention to in this part. The change process of one's own design ideas can best express one's design creativity and understanding of design, so it is necessary to pay special attention to the display of the design process.

Step 2 sketch book

Sketch is the most important part of undergraduate application. What is a sketch book can be regarded as a record of the process of making a work. Many schools explicitly require undergraduate students to collect sketchbooks, such as most art colleges in Canada and the United States. At the same time, it will be more convincing if you can bring a sketch book with you during the interview.

3. Other works

This part is a supplement to the other two parts. Works can be varied, such as small crafts and photographs that you usually make. In short, the theme is not limited. Just put creative works in it.

Master's study abroad

For art design majors, the portfolio is similar to some professional papers, which can let the school know our professional ability and understanding most intuitively. There are few basic abilities such as hand-drawing/software learning in master's degree (so friends who change majors should strengthen their practice in these aspects).

Tutors teach their own design concepts and research methods to students in the process of guidance. Many students will fall into a misunderstanding when preparing their overseas study portfolio, that is, they will make all their works very tall, which is incorrect. The gradualism of works is very important, which is why friends are advised to have 3-5 perfect big works and some small works when preparing their collections. Many schools explicitly require that each work in the portfolio should indicate the completion time, in fact, in order to see the progress of students during their undergraduate study and the sublimation of design concepts.