Preparing Your Portfolio

Maverick O'Meara '25, BFA Communication Design

A colorful, surreal scene unfolds in your portfolio, showcasing cartoon-like figures in a cityscape with abstract shapes. A giant figure in orange interacts with a toy-like structure, surrounded by brightly colored cubes and futuristic buildings against a whimsical blue sky.

Gia Fonseca '25, BFA SIM

A geometric sculpture featuring metallic, double-cone shapes is displayed on a white pedestal near a window with a red frame, reminiscent of preparing your portfolio. The blurred trees and buildings visible through the window create an abstract backdrop.

Julia Underah '24, BFA Ceramics

What to Include

Submit 12 to 15 pieces.
Include pieces that highlight your strongest skills and most authentic ideas.
You may include work created in a classroom setting as well as projects completed independently.
Use media you enjoy, and feel free to experiment.
Work can include drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media, digital art, video, animation, or anything else you create visually.
A unifying theme is not required—feel free to showcase a range of ideas, styles, and approaches.
You may include sketchbook pages or process studies if they are especially strong and thoughtfully developed. However, avoid submitting unfinished or underdeveloped work.

Photography

A tabletop displaying an art portfolio with clipboards, papers featuring black-and-white photos, a grid notebook, metal bulldog clips, and abstract sketches—all neatly arranged in a bright, well-lit space.

Looking to Learn - Fall 2017

What We Look For

Craft and Technique: How well you use your materials. This includes attention to detail, execution, and showing that you’ve practiced and developed your skills over time.

Exploration: Your willingness to take creative risks, like trying new materials, combining different techniques, experimenting with scale, or stepping outside your comfort zone.

Concept and Point of View: The ideas behind your work. We look for pieces that are thoughtfully planned and express your personal perspective, rather than work created only for aesthetic appeal.

Problem Solving: How you use art to work through creative challenges. This could mean finding inventive solutions in a project, designing something complex, or bringing together multiple elements in a meaningful way.

Context: How your work connects to a bigger picture, such as your own experiences, social or cultural issues and other inspiration. It shows us you’re thinking deeply about what you’re making and why.

Make art regularly so you have a variety of work to choose from.
Prioritize your strongest and most recent pieces.
Show your ability to think and solve problems visually.
Ask for feedback from teachers, mentors, or peers.
Be selective when choosing which pieces to include — not every piece you make may be suitable. Show us your strongest and most recent work.
Your portfolio should showcase original work. While it’s natural to be inspired by other artists, we strongly discourage submitting pieces that are copied directly from existing media. Instead, aim to develop ideas that reflect your own voice, perspective, and creative thinking.
Since MassArt is a visual art school, musical recordings, theater performances, and creative writing will not be reviewed.

These prompts are designed to help you develop portfolio pieces that reflect your technique, concept, and exploration. You don’t need to respond to all of them—choose what inspires you or use them as a starting point to make something uniquely your own.

Technique & Craft

We measure technique and craft as your ability to handle any given medium. To show your technical skills, try creating a work that pays special attention to the elements of art: line, shape, color, value, form, texture, space, perspective, and proportion.

Draw what’s in front of you! Create a still life with your favorite things.
Create a work that emphasizes three or more formal elements: line, shape, color, value, form, texture, space, perspective, or proportion.
Create a work that plays with scale or size.

Concept

Your concept is what the work represents beyond its surface. To demonstrate your understanding of concept, try creating a work that uses symbolism to evoke an emotion you deeply resonate with.

Create a work that uses symbols or metaphors to express an emotion or idea.
Create a series of works that explore a central theme (such as comic pages, character designs, fashion collections, or animation concepts).
Create a work that interacts with the space around you in an intentional way.

Exploration

Exploration is about risk-taking, trying new things, and showing excitement for learning through your art. To highlight your willingness to explore, try working in mixed media or unfamiliar formats.

Create a multimedia piece that combines at least two different materials or mediums.
Experiment with a process you’ve never tried before—consider digital tools, collage, installation, or performance.
Create a work that transforms or responds to its environment (site-specific, wearable, or interactive).

A high school student sits at an easel drawing in a brightly lit room.

Pre-College Summer Studios, 2024, through MassArt Youth & Teen Programs. Photo: Damian Hickey

Several large charcoal drawings of draped fabric lie spread out on the gray-tiled floor in a classroom setting, part of a vibrant portfolio preparation session. People stand and sit around, immersed in observing the artworks design and creative atmosphere.

Studio Foundation Drawing class in South 209 with Faculty member Joshua Hart.

Portfolio Reviews and Support

We’re here to help! Before you apply, we highly recommend scheduling a virtual portfolio review with a MassArt admissions counselor. It’s a relaxed, informal conversation where you can get helpful feedback on your work, ask questions, and feel more confident about your portfolio. Schedule a virtual portfolio review with us here.

Other Portfolio Review Opportunities

National Portfolio Days
Classroom visits
Regional Portfolio Events
Our Pre-College program
On-Campus Events

Portfolio FAQs Expand all

Drawing from observation is not a requirement for MassArt, but we recommend students practice it before enrolling. During Studio Foundation Year, students must take and pass two drawing classes before beginning their major.

Your portfolio should feature original work, and we discourage students from submitting artwork created directly from pre-existing media. We understand that work is influenced by other artists, but you should strive to create concepts that are unique to you.

No. A minimum of 1 pieces gives us an accurate understanding of your art-making practice and overall interest in engaging with creative processes.
If you are struggling to meet the minimum requirement, please contact your Admissions Counselor.

We understand that not everyone has formal training. Self-directed work, personal projects, and sketchbook explorations are all valid ways to show your creativity and growth. We suggest reaching out to your Admissions Counselor to schedule a 1:1 portfolio review for feedback and suggestions.

Your portfolio should demonstrate your artistic skills, creative thinking, and technical ability—qualities that are best represented through work you have fully conceptualized and created yourself.
MassArt values transparency and ethical consciousness in the use of AI (artificial intelligence) technology within the creative process. While we do not encourage the submission of AI-generated artwork, applicants are required to provide a detailed description for any work in their portfolio that has been either supported or generated by AI. This guideline is designed to ensure that our Admissions Committee can assess your artistic skills and ethical approach to technology in a comprehensive and holistic manner.

Your description should include the following:

Describe How AI Was Used in Your Art. Tell us how it helped you come up with ideas, made your piece better, or anything else it did to help you create your work.
Explain Why You Used AI in Your Art: Please provide a brief explanation of why you chose to incorporate AI into your artwork. Your insights are valuable to help demonstrate your thorough understanding of the tool.
Tools and Technologies Used: Provide an overview of the AI tools and technologies that were utilized during your creative process.

Documenting Your Artwork

When you apply, you’ll submit your portfolio through our online portal. If your work isn’t already digital, you’ll need to photograph or scan it. The goal is to make sure each piece looks its best and represents your skills clearly.

Tips for Documenting Your Artwork:

Crop your images so the artwork is centered and omits background distractions.
Use even, white light when photographing your work—natural daylight or soft studio lights work great.
Check your files on a computer before you upload them. Make sure they’re clear, not blurry, and open without any issues.
Document your work as you go. If something gets lost, damaged, or changed, you’ll still have a record to include in your portfolio.

Submitting Your Portfolio

You’ll upload your portfolio through the MassArt Applicant Portal. About 1–2 business days after you submit your Common App, you’ll get an email with your portal link and login info.

You can upload most common file types. For images, use JPG, PNG, or TIFF. For video, animation, or audio, use MP4, GIF, or WAV.
Upload each file separately. Please don’t submit your portfolio as a PowerPoint, PDF, or a link to a website—these formats won’t be accepted.

Include the following info for each piece:

Title
Medium
Dimensions
Year completed
A short description (optional)

Preparing for a Virtual Portfolio Review

While a portfolio review is not a requirement for applying, it is an opportunity to get feedback on the work you are thinking about submitting. Remember, you don’t have to include the work shared during your review in your final portfolio.

Before Your Virtual Review, Think About the Following:

Document your work so that you have images that you can share on your screen.
Some students arrange their work in a slideshow format such as PowerPoint or Google Slides.
This works well for a virtual review session.
Stay organized and keep your potential portfolio pieces together in a folder or in a place where you can easily locate them.
You can also share a link to your portfolio when you register for your review.