Your portfolio is an essential component of your application to the Stamps School of Art & Design. Every portfolio must include 12 - 15 examples of your best and most recent work, including a minimum of 3 drawings from direct observation. Each piece in a portfolio should be there for a reason — for example, to show a particular skill, to demonstrate your range, or to highlight your creativity. A Strong Portfolio Includes:
At least 3 drawings from direct observation. If you have in the past copied from photographs or other flat copy, you can improve your portfolio with drawings from observation. Include sketches as well as finished drawings.
2D media : Design, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, and mixed media
3D media : Fibers, ceramics, metalwork, sculpture and installations
Digital media : computer animation, video, audio, interactive art and internet-based projects
Performance, conceptual work, or other work not easy to categorize
A Strong Portfolio Does Not Include:
Work created prior to 9th grade should not be considered. Your most recent work is usually the strongest work.
More is not always better. In other words, don't include more work for the sake of having a lot to show. Be sure to choose your best work. Think about quality over quantity.
Drawings from magazines, comic books, animation, CD covers, or movie posters are not acceptable. Remember, work should be your own.
Avoid overused, stereotyped, or timeworn imagery.
Submitting Your PortfolioThe Stamps School's portfolio review process uses SlideRoom, an online review system. Applicants register and submit their portfolio on the SlideRoom website as part of the Common Application Art Supplement. After starting the Common Application and choosing the University of Michigan as your college, submit your portfolio using the following steps:
Stamps applicants must answer "Yes" to the question: “Do you intend to submit a portfolio so that your special talent in one or more of the arts will be considered as part of the admission process to the University of Michigan?”This will turn on a section called “Portfolio” at the bottom of the left sidebar.
Click the "University of Michigan Portfolio Site" link under "Portfolio Instructions" to open the Stamps School's SlideRoom portal.
After the Stamps School's Slideroom portal opens, you'll be prompted to login to an existing SlideRoom account or create a new account.
After logging in, you'll see a list of the School's programs. Undergraduate applicants should choose the program labeled UM Stamps School of Art & Design BFA/BA Portfolio and click "begin."
Answer questions and add your creative content to complete your portfolio.
SlideRoom checks to see if your Common Application has been submitted - the portfolio cannot be fully submitted until the Common Application has been submitted. Once your Common Application is submitted, you can proceed with submitting your portfolio in SlideRoom.
SlideRoom is web-based, so all applicants need is an Internet connection and a modern web browser - and applicants with prepared digital files can quickly upload their portfolio within minutes. SlideRoom charges applicants a $10 transaction fee to submit a portfolio. For concerns regarding the SlideRoom fee, or to request a fee waiver, please contact us at a&[email protected]. Applicants may upload images (jpg), video (mov, wmv, flv), music (mp3) or PDF documents. For good image quality and fast upload, your image files should be sized no larger than 1400px on the largest dimension. Please keep video files under 60MB each. If you'd like to submit a larger file, upload it to Vimeo or YouTube, and submit the video's URL instead. Use the description fields to help us understand your work.
If the work was a class assignment, describe the assignment and how your work solved the problem.
If the work was self-directed, tell us why you made it, and describe your ideas and concepts.
Explain why you chose to include this particular work in your portfolio, what it means to you and what you were trying to achieve.
Discuss any research and preparation you did for your final work.
Our SlideRoom portal offers additional instruction for submitting work. For technical assistance, access the help desk at http://slideroom.zendesk.com.