Students seeking to major in the Department of Art & Design at the
University of Delaware must submit a portfolio of creative work and a
written essay to be evaluated by the Department Admissions Committee
(DAC). This is in addition to your application to the University of
Delaware.
# 1: Apply to the University of Delaware by submitting the common application by January 15.
http://www.udel.edu/admissions/apply/
International students:
Upon receipt of your application, the University Office of Admissions
responds to all Department of Art & Design applicants with a letter
outlining the portfolio and essay requirements for admission.
# 2. Submit your digital portfolio and essay for review by the
Department Admissions Committee. Portfolios and essays must be uploaded
by midnight January 15 via SlideRoom.
The DAC will not evaluate original portfolios. Portfolio reviews are
not conducted in-person; rather, portfolios are submitted through the SlideRoom website.
We do, however, encourage students to visit the University of Delaware
campus during an open house. Please visit Office of Admissions for more
information.
During the DAC review, applicant's portfolios are ranked into three categories:
1. Admissible*
2. Not admissible
3. Wait-listed (Applicant's portfolio will be reevaluated against new applications at a subsequent date)
* Please note that a positive evaluation from the DAC is not a
guarantee of admission. Students majoring in the Department of Art &
Design must also meet the academic requirements for admission to the
University. In the event of a negative evaluation from the DAC, students
who are academically admissible may be offered an alternative major by
the Office of Admissions. The DAC will notify the University's
Admissions office of its ranking.
# 3: You will be notified of your acceptance to both the Art &
Design Department and the University by the Admissions Office by
Mid-March. Please do not contact the Art office to inquire about the status of your application.
SLIDEROOM INSTRUCTIONS
Create an account on the University of Delaware SlideRoom Site:
https://udart.slideroom.com/
Be sure to upload to the "Freshman"
program.
Secure Registration
Upon registration, applicants are emailed an activation link for
security and to ensure their information is accurate. You must use the
link in this email to activate your account. Logging In will result in
an error unless you activate your account first.
Open 24-7
Applicants can access their account from anywhere in the world by
using their email address and password. Their private account is totally
secure and accessible to them at all times. The applicant can edit and
upload as much as they like until they are ready to send their
portfolio. Do not submit your portfolio until you have completed all
possible edits. You may not "unsubmit" your portfolio for changes
later.
Technical Support
Applicants can contact SlideRoom anytime for technical support by emailing support@slideroom.com.
Easy to Upload
SlideRoom provides all the tools necessary to upload, label, arrange
and preview portfolio items. The uploader allows applicants to browse
their computer for files they wish to upload, which may include images,
videos, MP3s or PDF documents. SlideRoom accepts a wide range of
standard file types and sizes to make everything easy for applicants.
Preview Portfolio
Applicants see their portfolio just as reviewers will see it before they submit.
Label & Organize
Applicants can add a Title, Dimensions, Medium, Year and any other
applicable information to their portfolio pieces by simply double
clicking on any item. The system will remind applicants to add this
information to any unlabeled portfolio items.
Add 500 word Essay
Cut and paste your essay into the form.
TIPS for submitting your portfolio:
1. Select your Work for your Portfolio Application
The application portfolio requires a minimum of 15 and maximum of 20 individual pieces.
Portfolios are evaluated for creative expressive potential including:
understanding of materials, excellence of craftsmanship, composition,
conceptual thinking, originality and technical expertise within a
variety of media.
We recommend that you limit pieces to a maximum of 4 from any of the following categories:
- drawing
- painting
- photography
- computer graphics
- 2-dimensional design
- sculpture
- ceramics
- 3-dimensional design
- other
In the event that a Web site is included, up to three screen grabs of
the web site are to be submitted. (a screen grab is a JPEG of the web
page, not the web page itself.)
Inventory
As your work is submitted to the online application, you will be asked to provide the following for each entry:
- title of the piece
- medium
- category for the piece
- size (width, then height)
2. Prepare Digital Images of your Work
You may use a digital camera, scanner or film camera to capture your images for your application portfolio.
Image Quality
All images need:
- sharp focus
- accurate color
- tight cropping without wide borders to frame the image
- the enter and edges of the piece evenly
One of the best and easiest ways to take the photo is in bright
sunlight, being careful to avoid glare. Also avoid confusing or textured
backgrounds as much as possible.
Capturing images with a digital camera
Using a digital camera is the easiest way to create images of your
pieces. You can shoot many images and know quickly if you are capturing
high quality images. Almost all digital cameras save the images in the
required JPEG file format for uploading images over the internet to your
portfolio application.
Film Camera
Using a film camera to create images of your work is acceptable. Once
you have completed your photography, take the film to a camera shop
where they can create a CD with digital versions of your images. Be sure
that the images are saved in the JPEG file format and are at least 700
pixels in width or height.
Scanner
You can use a scanner to create images of your work. This will work
well for pieces that fit on your scanner. Larger pieces are more easily
captured with a camera as it is difficult to scan in several sections of
the piece and then collage them together in an image editing program.
You can also use the scanner to digitize prints or slides from a film
camera. Be sure your scanner accurately captures color and produces
sharp images. It is likely that your camera shop will digitize your
prints more accurately than your scanner.
Requirements to upload your images
If you feel the need to manipulate your images in an image editing
program like Adobe Photoshop, you can tightly control the cropping,
focus and color of the image. These programs make it easy to crop the
images to focus attention on your work. If you are comfortable doing
this, you can save time uploading images. Warning: be sure to save your
images as high quality JPEGs. Low quality JPEGs tend to look blurry with
a loss of accurate color.
Write Your Essay
Essay Topic​
The department is looking for applicants who will shape the character
and vision of the department. We are looking for visually creative
people who are unique, passionate and talented. In your essay, please
describe what qualities you feel you will bring to the department and
your college-level educational experience and why. The maximum length
for the essay is 500 words.
Suggestions for your essay
It is reasonable that the lack of a formal art education may
negatively impact the portfolio. If this is the case, the merit of the
essay as a measure of an applicant's admissibility is emphasized. If you
feel your art experience is lacking you should refer to that issue in
your essay.
Please note that this essay is in addition to the essay required by
the Office of Admission's application. Applicants should also be aware
of the importance of the University's other requirements such as
academic record, letters of reference, extracurricular effort, etc. to
the evaluation from the Office of Admissions.
Write your essay in any word processor. Give the essay a title. Take
advantage of the spell checker. Print it out and proofread very
carefully for content and grammar. Do not use any text formatting
(multiple fonts and font sizes, bold and italic) as that will not be
preserved when pasting the essay into the text area. Be sure the title
of your essay is at the top and on its own line. We are interested in
the content of your essay, not the design of your essay.
Your essay must address the issues requested by the DAC.
FINANCIAL AID & THE CALLOWAY SCHOLARSHIP
All undergraduate financial aid and scholarship programs are managed and decided by the Office of Student Financial Services.
http://www.udel.edu/finaid/scholarships.html