Art and Design BFA Portfolio Requirements

Dates and Deadlines

First-Year Students

Early Action Applicants

  • Application submission deadline - Nov. 15
  • Portfolio submission deadline - Nov. 22
  • Decision notification - Jan. 1

General/Rolling Decision Applicants

  • Application submission deadline - Feb. 15
  • Portfolio submission deadline - Feb. 15
  • Decision notification - April 1

Spring Applicants

  • Application submission deadline - Nov. 15
  • Portfolio submission deadline - Nov. 15
  • Decision notification - Rolling basis

Transfer Students

Fall Applicants

  • Application submission deadline - Mar. 1
  • Portfolio submission deadline - Mar. 15
  • Decision notification - April 15

Spring Applicants

  • Application submission deadline - Nov. 15
  • Portfolio submission deadline - Nov. 15
  • Decision notification - Rolling basis

Current students*

Spring Admission

  • Portfolio submission deadline - Nov. 15 by 3 p.m.
  • Decision notification - Jan. 1

Fall Admission

  • Portfolio submission deadline - Feb. 15
  • Decision notification - Mar. 1

*For portfolio requirements, please see your faculty advisor

Portfolio requirements for first-year and transfer students

  1. 10 good quality images of your strongest artwork. 2D and 3D work in any medium is accepted in jpeg or PDF file format. Time-based work, such as video and animation, should be submitted in up-to-3-minute samples of your current work. Images of your artwork should be numbered 1-10.
  2. A corresponding numbered list, in PDF or MS Word format, including the title, media, size, and date of each artwork.
  3. A personal statement of no more than 200 words including a description of your interest in and commitment to the BFA program and a summary of your art training and experience.

Portfolio submission guidelines

New students: submit electronic files through your application status page

  • All work must be original. Applicants should not submit work copied or derived from film, television, photographs, magazine/book illustrations or other sources that are not their own work.
  • Please don't submit a multi-page PDF or Power Point files with individual and unrelated works on each page as that may potentially exceed the limit of 10 examples requested. The only exception to this is a portfolio piece like a graphic novel where multiple pages are part of a single, cohesive work.
  • Incomplete applications and work submitted as prints or on CDs will not be reviewed.
  • We will consider the following when reviewing your materials:
    • Creativity & Evidence of Artistic Potential
    • Curiosity, Originality, and Ambition
    • Craftsmanship and Skill
    • Growth Potential
    • Presentation of required material
  • Prospective art students should upload their portfolio when submitting all other Admission materials. Students must be academically admissible to SUNY Oneonta and meet all deadlines.

Students who are not accepted to the BFA program will be placed in the BS program and may re-apply for the BFA after they complete their first semester (to include at least two Art Department foundations classes).

SUNY Oneonta reserves the right to close admission at any time without prior notification to applicants. Space in the BFA program is limited.