Undergraduate Application Requirements: Portfolio

Office: Admissions

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

Portfolio requirements vary by program:

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 consisting of 12–20 works. Pratt accepts 2-D, 3-D, and time-based media. Portfolios must be submitted by the application deadline. Included in the 12 – 20 works, Pratt requires a minimum of two observational drawings or paintings. Observational work offers insights as to how you interpret and translate the 3-dimensional world onto a 2-dimensional surface. Because Pratt’s Foundation year utilizes life drawing as one of the ways to explore and create within the picture plane, it is important to see some evidence of this work in a portfolio. If you are a lens-based artist or fashion designer, the observational work you submit acknowledges that you are open to exploring the picture plane through 2D and 3D studio work.
Applicants to Film, Writing, Critical and Visual Studies, BA in History of Art and Design, and the AOS in Game Design and Interactive Media should see specific portfolio requirements below.

The visual portfolio should consist of a variety of media and approaches. It can include assignment-based projects, self-directed work, or pieces of a collaborative nature. The portfolio does not need to be specific to the discipline to which you are applying. Applicants should avoid including work that copies photographs, uses the grid system, or directly replicates any other artist’s work (including replicating anime drawings, cartoons, or video game character designs). Please indicate in the description section for each image on SlideRoom if the work is your own or was done by a group.

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

A visual portfolio consisting of 12–20 examples of 2-D, 3-D, and time-based media. The work should consist of a variety of media and approaches; applicants may include a three-minute-maximum video for which the applicant has primary creative control in addition to work in other media. Work may include assignment-based projects, self-directed work, or pieces of a collaborative nature. Pratt requires a minimum of two observational drawings or paintings. Observational work offers insights as to how you interpret and translate the 3-dimensional world onto a 2-dimensional surface. Because Pratt’s Foundation year utilizes life drawing as one of the ways to explore and create within the picture plane, it is important to see some evidence of this work in a portfolio. If you are a lens-based artist or fashion designer, the observational work you submit acknowledges that you are open to exploring the picture plane through 2D and 3D studio work. Applicants should avoid including work that copies photographs, uses the grid system, or directly replicates any other artist’s work (including replicating anime drawings, cartoons, or video game character designs).

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. (Should be submitted on SlideRoom at pratt.slideroom.com.)

Pratt requires a minimum of two observational drawings or paintings. Observational work offers insights as to how you interpret and translate the 3-dimensional world onto a 2-dimensional surface. Because Pratt’s Foundation year utilizes life drawing as one of the ways to explore and create within the picture plane, it is important to see some evidence of this work in a portfolio. If you are a lens-based artist or fashion designer, the observational work you submit acknowledges that you are open to exploring the picture plane through 2D and 3D studio work. Applicants should avoid including work that copies photographs, uses the grid system, or directly replicates any other artist’s work (including replicating anime drawings, cartoons, or video game character designs).

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. (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.

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.