Studio Art Concentration Entry-Portfolio Review
All students admitted to UNT who wish to major in Studio Art are designated as a pre-major in Studio Art until the entry-portfolio review process is completed and the student is accepted into one of the seven concentrations.
Important: You must complete the Foundations courses before you may complete the entry-portfolio review process. Read the first question and answer for details.
Due Oct. 15 in Fall | March 15 in Spring
Late portfolios will not be accepted. Submit all contents through unt.slideroom.com, the portal for submitting application materials.
Frequently Asked Questions
Students must have completed the following:
a) Completion of Foundations courses (four courses total) with grades of C or better
- Grades must be posted; these cannot be in-progress courses.
- If you are not sure if you have completed these or not, contact your academic advisor.
b) Completion of at least nine credit hours (three courses) of 2000-level or higher studio art courses.
- At least one course must be in the concentration you wish to pursue
- A grade of “B” or better is required in the concentration-specific course.
- For example, if you are applying to Ceramics, you must have completed at least one Ceramics class with a B or better; if you are applying to the Photography concentration, you must have completed at least one photography class with a B or better, etc.
c) Students must have a GPA of 2.5 or higher in the required coursework above.
All eligibility requirements must be met. Your portfolio will not be reviewed if you do not meet the eligibility requirements. If you have questions about whether or not you meet the eligibility requirements, contact your academic advisor.
Yes! For instance, if you want to review for Ceramics, you must have taken and completed
and earned a B or above in a Ceramics course. If you want to review for both Ceramics
and Photography, you need to have taken and completed and earned a B or above in both
Ceramics and Photography.
You must apply for each concentration by indicating in which areas you are interested
in the online form that is part of the Slideroom.com application. You may pursue multiple
concentrations as a double major should you be accepted to both. Upon notification
of your acceptance(s), you will be asked to confirm the concentration(s) that you
intend to pursue.
Portfolio Requirements
1. Artwork
Apply separately to each concentration you would like to study.
Submit your work that best highlights your skill, technical competencies (see below), and concepts from the media area in which you plan to concentrate. Your submitted work will be assessed on the following medium-specific competencies.
Technical Competencies by Concentration
For all concentrations, successful work submitted must demonstrate technical proficiency with the chosen medium, be high quality, and be presented professionally.
Ceramics: Demonstrate basic technical skills in hand-building and/or throwing
Drawing and Painting: Demonstrate technical skills in paint application, color mixing, compositional arrangement, and drawing methods.
Metalsmithing and Jewelry: Demonstrate good craftsmanship and finish.
New Media Art: Demonstrate proficiency in video capture, audio recording, and non-linear editing and exporting using digital cameras and editing software.
Photography: Demonstrate proficiency in image exposure, color correction, and tonal correction using digital cameras and editing software.
Printmaking: Demonstrate proficiency in creating strong visual matrixes, printing matrixes with fidelity, and curating prints that use at least two printmaking processes. Images 1-3, 4-6, and 7-9 will show three limited editions of three consistent prints each. Additional images may be prints or other related media. Artworks should be photographed or scanned showing the whole print, including the deckle, torn, or cut edge of the paper.
Sculpture: Demonstrate basic technical skills in woodworking, welding, mold-making and casting.
A minimum of half of your portfolio should be based on the concentration for which you seek entry. The portfolio requires 12 to 18 individual artworks. If appropriate, include detailed images.
The artwork must be legible.
Please document your work with the best possible photographs. Some good guides include the following.
- Two Low-tech Ways to Photograph your Artwork, YouTube video narrated by Kay Seedig, former CVAD visual arts technician
- Low-tech DIY: Photographing 2D Artwork using Daylight, YouTube video narrated by Kay Seedig, former CVAD visual arts technician
- Photographing Your Artwork: Beginner's Tips That Anyone Can Do.
2. Transcripts
Upload your transcripts to unt.slideroom.com, the portal for submitting application materials. UNT students must include an unofficial copy of their transcripts, which may be downloaded from My.UNT.edu. For transfer students, you must include unofficial transcripts from all previous institutions attended. All transfer transcripts will be included if you get your unofficial transcripts from the UNT Office of the Registrar. Acceptance to the program is contingent on a 2.5 GPA and good academic standing.
Save as a portable document file, .pdf, using the following file-naming convention: Last_First_Transcripts (example: Smith_John_Transcripts).
3. Statement
Write a statement of up to 2,000 characters responding to the following prompts.
- Describe your artwork's strengths, weaknesses, and plans for further development.
- Give examples of one historical and one contemporary practice/artist/method related to your artwork.
- Describe the relationship between form and content in one of the artworks in your portfolio.
- What resonates with you about the concentration to which you are applying?
- Explain your work from a creative and technical standpoint. What is your body of work about and how are you expressing your ideas with the medium of your choice?