Undergraduate Admissions: Portfolio

The portfolio should be a collection of 10–15 pieces of your best and most recent work and should reflect your interests, skills, and willingness to explore, experiment, and express yourself. We are most interested in how you communicate ideas and demonstrate your use of processes and materials. We encourage you to take risks and be inventive.

ePortfolio:

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) requires all applicants to upload their work electronically. You will receive a secure link to SlideRoom, our ePortfolio provider, once you have completed and saved the first page of your SAIC application OR have submitted the Common Application in its entirety (including the supplement and application fee).

Guidelines for submitting work: 

• Each digital image file must be saved as a JPEG at a resolution of 72 dpi, and must be no bigger than 600 pixels in the longest direction.
  
  
• Film, video, and animation and/or sound portfolios may not exceed five minutes. You can include multiple clips of different projects within this five-minute limit.
  
  
• Original work portfolio—Actual work should be brought with you only when you are interviewing in person at the SAIC Admissions office, Immediate Decision Option (IDO) Days, SAIC Days, or National Portfolio Days. Do not mail portfolios of original work to the Admissions office.
  
  
• DO NOT upload PowerPoint presentations of your work.

We strongly encourage you to meet with us at one of our events or on campus for individualized feedback about your portfolio.  

Visit Portfolio Requirements by Degree Program for more detailed information regarding portfolios.
 

Prerequisite Waivers

Departmental review is required for advanced placement into the following departments:

• Interior Architecture
• Visual Communication Design
• Film, Video, New Media, and Animation

Your portfolio must contain examples of course projects in these areas.