Undergraduate portfolio preparation

If you’re applying for a Cambridge School of Art course that requires a portfolio (Fashion Design, Fine Art, Graphic Design, Illustration, Interior Design or Photography) you’ll find all the information you need below.

If you’re applying for our BA Computer Games Art or BA Visual Effects, please visit our undergraduate computer games portfolio page.

What do we look for in an undergraduate portfolio?

Ideally 15 - 20, but no more than 30, pieces of work or projects that show your skill in the chosen subject. This can include video.

More specifically, we are looking for:

• Any observational drawings/drawings from life
• Evidence of how you tackle a project
• Research and development of ideas and thought processes
• Example of experimentation with new materials, media, processes or methods
• For the BA Illustration: please don't send us just a portfolio full of manga!
• For the BA Interior Design: photographs of 3D work
• For the BA Animation and Illustration: examples of drawings from life, narrative images, and sequential images. We don't require animation work, but if you do have it we encourage you to include it. Good quality scans or photos of your art are essential, as is an easy to open and navigate package such as a PDF. It's also helpful if you include a title page with your name on it, and starting with an eye-catching and impressive image will also help you get our attention.
• For the BA Photography: diverse skills in photography; your passion for photography; digital and/or analogue experimentation; good quality final images; an understanding of photography as a medium of communication & expression; evidence of extracurricular activities (work experiences, gallery visits, personal projects).

Watch the video below for more information on what to include in your portfolio.

Watch the video below to understand the importance of observational drawing for your portfolio.

How does the undergraduate portfolio process work?

Digital portfolios

Please email us a link to your portfolio online. This could be a PDF of your work saved to a file sharing site such as Google Drive, OneDrive or DropBox (convert to PDF using InDesign or Powerpoint if you don't have Adobe Acrobat), or a link to your personal portfolio website. Send this link to [email protected] (home applications) or [email protected] (international applications).

Please host any videos on a video sharing site such as YouTube or Vimeo - you can set them as 'unlisted' and just send us the links. If you're unable to share your video via a video sharing site, please use a file sharing service such as Google Drive, OneDrive or Drop Box (make sure your file is less than 1GB).

Important: please ensure that any links you send us can be accessed by anyone, not just the email recipient, so they can be sent on to Admissions Tutors. Please do not use WeTransfer to send your portfolio as the link will expire.

Face-to-face portfolio review

If you would like to arrange a face to face portfolio review and tour, please contact [email protected] (home applications) or [email protected] (international applications).