A professor speaks to a group of students sitting in the film viewing room with black and white film on the screen over his shoulder.

Submit Your Portfolio

In addition to fulfilling all of York College’s admissions requirements, a student seeking admittance into either the Fine Art or Graphic Design major is required to submit a portfolio of 10 to 20 examples of artwork. The portfolio should contain the student’s best work to date, reflect a range of abilities, interests and concepts, and demonstrate experience in a variety of media. In addition, an introductory artist’s statement must be included, and should be a brief synopsis of the applicant’s experience, who or what has been an influence and how, and what aspirations are for the future.

The portfolio is to be submitted via York College’s online submission system (see link at bottom of this page). York College no longer accepts portfolio submissions via mail-in slide form or CDs. The applicant will then receive confirmation of receipt by email with a confirmation number and approximate decision date. A portfolio will only be reviewed after the applicant has been accepted to York College. Acceptance to York College does not guarantee acceptance into art programs.  Students who do not yet have a prepared portfolio may be declared as a Provisional Fine Art or Provisional Graphic Design major.   

Portfolio Evaluation Criteria

The Portfolio Review Committee wants to get a sense of who the applicant is as an artist, through reading the artist’s statement and viewing his or her best work to date. Experience in a variety of media, interesting perspectives and subject matter indicate to the committee that the applicant has the potential for success in a college-level art program and beyond. A numerical score is given to the applicant, in areas, listed below. These numbers are then averaged for a final rating.

The committee asks these questions during the evaluation of a portfolio:

  • Are the images of good quality in terms of focus and lighting?
  • Is the artist’s statement clear and substantive?
  • Is there a good sampling of several of the following media: ink, pencil, pastel, oil, acrylic, collage, digital, photography, sculpture, fabric, jewelry, ceramics, printmaking, video or web?
  • Is there drawing from both real and still life?
  • Has there been experimentation with both realistic and expressive drawing and composition?
  • Are there varied subjects and concepts in the portfolio?
  • Is the subject matter a reflection of the applicant’s interests?

Portfolio Submission Dates

The portfolio submission deadlines are November 1 (for entry in the Spring semester) and January 31 and March 15 (for entry in the Fall semester). The student will be notified by letter of the review committee’s decision approximately two weeks after portfolios are reviewed. Portfolios will be reviewed on an as received basis and accepted as space permits after the deadlines.

Information for Transfer Students

The portfolio should contain a minimum of two examples of work from each art course the student wishes to transfer to York College. Transfer credit in Graphic Design is given only for foundation courses (with the exception of Computer Graphics I), art history courses and art electives. Transfer credit in Fine Art is given for foundation courses, art history courses, art electives and any additional nine credits in art.

Submit Your Portfolio (requires Adobe Flash Player 10.3.)

DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR PORTFOLIO UNTIL YOU HAVE RECEIVED CONFIRMATION THAT YOU HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED TO YORK COLLEGE ON AN ACADEMIC BASIS.

Artist Rebecca Carter stands in front of the lobby sign reading Marketview Arts