Undergraduate Application Requirements: Portfolio
Resource
The portfolio is a key component of your holistic application to Pratt. Students will be asked to upload a visual or writing portfolio. The information below is meant to demystify our requirements, and we hope to learn more about you through your submission. Your portfolio should show your level of preparedness for our rigorous first-year foundation programs, as well as highlight your unique voice as a maker or writer.
Portfolio
There are several different types of portfolios at Pratt: a standard visual portfolio, a film portfolio, a liberal arts portfolio (which consists of writing), and a game design AOS portfolio. Your intended major determines the portfolio you should submit.
STANDARD VISUAL PORTFOLIO REQUIREMENTS
All high school art, design, and architecture applicants, including photography, fashion design, and BFA in History of Art and Design applicants, must submit a visual portfolio.
The visual portfolio at Pratt should be 10 to 15 pieces of your most recent artwork. Please organize these pieces in a way that makes it easy for you to share your visual story with us in a clear and meaningful way. Though not required, we recommend that you include examples of work made from the direct observation of objects or people. While working from photographic reference or from your imagination can offer valuable insights as to your technical and creative skills, the ways in which you used line, value, texture and/or composition to capture real life forms and spaces onto the 2-dimensional picture plane can offer a deeper understanding of your creative problem-solving process. We welcome examples of work done in a range of media, which can include pencil, charcoal, paint, collage, clay, wood, stone, photography and film. Design and computer-generated pieces are also acceptable but please make sure this type of work offers insights as to your own creative process and not just the capabilities of software and programs. Be careful not to submit a wide range of work or media unless you have found success or satisfaction working in those subjects and mediums. The most important thing to include in a portfolio is you. Make sure that what you share is work that you like, that is meaningful to you, that shares your voice, your perspective, your interests, your sensibilities, and your story. (Should be submitted on SlideRoom at pratt.slideroom.com.)
PORTFOLIO FOR FILM APPLICANTS
There are two parts to the film portfolio at Pratt:
- Visual Component: Select Option A or Option B or Option C
- Writing Component: Complete the required writing sample
Find details below:
Visual Component (Choose A, B, or C)
Option A
Film students should submit 10 to 15 pieces of their most recent artwork. Please organize these pieces in a way that makes it easy for you to share your visual story with us in a clear and meaningful way. Though not required, we recommend that you include examples of work made from the direct observation of objects or people. While working from photographic reference or from your imagination can offer valuable insights as to your technical and creative skills, the ways in which you used line, value, texture and/or composition to capture real life forms and spaces onto the 2-dimensional picture plane can offer a deeper understanding of your creative problem-solving process. We welcome examples of work done in a range of media, which can include pencil, charcoal, paint, collage, clay, wood, stone, photography and film. Design and computer-generated pieces are also acceptable but please make sure this type of work offers insights as to your own creative process and not just the capabilities of software and programs. Be careful not to submit a wide range of work or media unless you have found success or satisfaction working in those subjects and mediums. The most important thing to include in a portfolio is you. Make sure that what you share is work that you like, that is meaningful to you, that shares your voice, your perspective, your interests, your sensibilities, and your story. (Should be submitted on SlideRoom at pratt.slideroom.com.)
Option B
Video: A three- to five-minute video in which you had primary creative control. This may be fiction, documentary, or experimental in approach, and it may be silent or include sound, but it must reflect your aesthetic, intellectual, and emotional interests.Because Pratt’s foundation year utilizes life drawing as one of the ways to explore and create within the picture plane, we also encourage you to submit some 2D pieces in your portfolio. We welcome examples of work done in a range of media, which can include pencil, charcoal, paint, collage, clay, wood, stone, photography and film. Design and computer-generated pieces are also acceptable but please make sure this type of work offers insights as to your own creative process and not just the capabilities of software and programs. Be careful not to submit a wide range of work or media unless you have found success or satisfaction working in those subjects and mediums. The most important thing to include in a portfolio is you. Make sure that what you share is work that you like, that is meaningful to you, that shares your voice, your perspective, your interests, your sensibilities, and your story. (Should be submitted on SlideRoom at pratt.slideroom.com.)
Option C
Storyboard : A series of photographs you have taken or drawings you have made that, when viewed in a sequence, tell a simple story or portray an original character or place. Include a brief written narrative (less than one page) about the character, place, or story you’ve created. Because Pratt’s foundation year utilizes life drawing as one of the ways to explore and create within the picture plane, we encourage you to submit some 2D pieces in your portfolio. We welcome examples of work done in a range of media, which can include pencil, charcoal, paint, collage, clay, wood, stone, photography and film. Design and computer-generated pieces are also acceptable but please make sure this type of work offers insights as to your own creative process and not just the capabilities of software and programs. Be careful not to submit a wide range of work or media unless you have found success or satisfaction working in those subjects and mediums. The most important thing to include in a portfolio is you. Make sure that what you share is work that you like, that is meaningful to you, that shares your voice, your perspective, your interests, your sensibilities, and your story. (Should be submitted on SlideRoom at pratt.slideroom.com.)
Writing Component
Write a one-page original film synopsis. Then, write a two-page descriptive treatment for a scene within the film. This should not include dialogue, but should rely heavily on character interactions and visual storytelling.
Please upload the writing sample to either the media section of SlideRoom in PDF format or to the attachments section as a Word document.
PORTFOLIO FOR WRITING
Applicants are required to submit a writing portfolio of recent writing (no more than 10 pages). Writing applicants may submit poetry, short stories, and excerpts from novels, articles, and essays. Please submit one sample of analytical writing (essay, term paper, or article). We encourage you to submit several examples of your writing in different genres. If you submit poetry, you must also submit some prose. Please upload writing samples online through the Common App if you are a first-year applicant and directly to Slideroom at pratt.slideroom.com if you are a transfer. Submit to either the media section in PDF format or to the attachments section as a Word document.
PORTFOLIO FOR CRITICAL AND VISUAL STUDIES AND BA IN HISTORY OF ART AND DESIGN
Applicants should submit examples of analytical writing (no more than 10 pages) at pratt.slideroom.com. Please upload writing samples online through the Common App if you are a first-year applicant and directly Slideroom at pratt.slideroom.com if you are transfer. Submit to either the media section in PDF format or to the attachments section as a Word document.
At this time, feedback on writing portfolios is not available through the Admissions Office.
PORTFOLIO FOR AOS in Game Design and Interactive Media
There are two parts to the AOS in Game Design and Interactive Media portfolio at Pratt:
- Creative Component: Select Option A or Option B
- Writing Sample: Complete the required writing sample
Find details below:
Creative Component
Option A
Applicants to the AOS in game design should submit 10 to 15 pieces of their most recent artwork. Please organize these pieces in a way that makes it easy for you to share your visual story with us in a clear and meaningful way. Though not required, we recommend that you include examples of work made from the direct observation of objects or people. While working from photographic reference or from your imagination can offer valuable insights as to your technical and creative skills, the ways in which you used line, value, texture and/or composition to capture real life forms and spaces onto the 2-dimensional picture plane can offer a deeper understanding of your creative problem-solving process. We welcome examples of work done in a range of media, which can include pencil, charcoal, paint, collage, clay, wood, stone, photography and film. Design and computer-generated pieces are also acceptable but please make sure this type of work offers insights as to your own creative process and not just the capabilities of software and programs. Be careful not to submit a wide range of work or media unless you have found success or satisfaction working in those subjects and mediums. The most important thing to include in a portfolio is you. Make sure that what you share is work that you like, that is meaningful to you, that shares your voice, your perspective, your interests, your sensibilities, and your story. (Should be submitted on SlideRoom at pratt.slideroom.com.)
Option B
Game Proposal: Applicants may submit an original game proposal including at least 3 of the following 5 elements. The proposal can be for any sort of game.
- Characters
- Narrative
- Strategy
- Rules
- World/Visual Descriptions
Writing Sample
Describe in detail the impact that a game has made on you. Applicants may write about any aspect of the game that impacted them the most. What effect did it have on you? How has it influenced you? What techniques do you feel the game developers use to achieve this impact?
Please upload the writing sample to either the media section of SlideRoom in a PDF format or to the attachments section as a Word document.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR PORTFOLIO
First-year high school applicants will submit their portfolio to Slideroom through the Common App and must include their Common App ID in their Slideroom submission.
College transfer students must submit their portfolios directly to Slideroom at pratt.slideroom.com by the application deadline. You will be able to edit your portfolio online until you press the “submit” button, and you will receive immediate confirmation that we received your work.
Please submit by the application deadline. Do not send originals. All submitted materials, including the portfolio, become the property of Pratt Institute. Portfolios in any format will not be returned or held for pickup. We do not review personal websites. There is a $15 charge to submit your portfolio on SlideRoom.
Admissions advisement sessions and reviews done during National Portfolio Days or by appointment off-campus do not fulfill the applicant’s visual requirement; they are for guidance only.
HOW TO SHINE: PRATT PORTFOLIO GUIDANCE
What is a portfolio?
At Pratt, an admission’s portfolio is simply 10 to 15 pieces of your most recent artwork. That’s it. If you’ve been making art, then you have a portfolio. You just need to organize these pieces in a way that makes it easy for you to share your visual story with us in a clear and meaningful way.
Why do I need a portfolio?
A portfolio serves as a snapshot of where you are at this point in your creative journey. In the same way that your high school transcripts offer insights as to your experiences as a student, your portfolio offers insights as to your explorations as an aspiring artist. It provides a view of your current storytelling skills, interests and experiences.
What should your portfolio include?
There is a wide range of work that can be included in a portfolio, such as object studies, still lives, landscapes, figure drawings, illustrations, sketches and sculptures. We want to see what you’ve been doing.
Though not required, we recommend that you include examples of work made from the direct observation of objects or people. While working from photographic reference or from your imagination can offer valuable insights as to your technical and creative skills, the ways in which you used line, value, texture and/or composition to capture real life forms and spaces onto the 2-dimensional picture plane can offer a deeper understanding of your creative problem-solving process.
We welcome examples of work done in a range of media, which can include pencil, charcoal, paint, collage, clay, wood, stone, photography and film. Design and computer-generated pieces are also acceptable but please make sure this type of offer insights as to your own creative process and not just the capabilities of software and programs.
Be careful not to submit a wide range of work or media unless you have found success or satisfaction working in those subjects and mediums.
The most important thing to include in a portfolio is you. Make sure that what you share is work that you like, that is meaningful to you, that shares your voice, your perspective, your interests, your sensibilities, and your story.
What do we look for in a portfolio?
Your portfolio can only be made by you and no two portfolios can ever be the same. Whether you are self-trained or have attended tons of private classes, we want to see your unique connection to your art. We won’t compare you to anyone else but we will want to see that your work reflects your unique background and experiences, that it demonstrates care and respect for your art, and that you’ve been having fun making art. And your portfolio will help us understand the degree to which you are ready to meet the challenges that will await you in the first semester of your intended program of study.
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