Portfolio Review and Admission

All students entering the Art Department as majors are admitted under either the B.A. in Art or the B.A. in Art History, Theory, and Criticism. After completing the foundation courses and one other course in ART, CDES, or ARTH, those wishing to pursue the B.F.A. in Art, B.F.A. in Art Education or the B.F.A. in Communication Design will be required to pass a formal portfolio review for admittance.

Portfolio submissions must be completed by the end of the 6th week of the fall and spring semesters. Faculty will conduct reviews and students will be notified of the results in time to make registration decisions for the following semester. Refer to portfolio submission deadlines below.

Spring 2024 Portfolio Submission Deadlines

Portfolios are to be submitted electronically to msudenver.slideroom.com by Friday, February 23rd, 2024 at midnight. Application opens Monday, January 29th.

Applicants will be notified via their msudenver.edu email accounts of their acceptance status no later than Friday, March 8th, 2024 at midnight. Chrome browser is recommended for submissions.

Studio Art Portfolio Submission Workshops

Students interested in learning more about the Studio Program portfolio submission process are encouraged to attend one of the following workshops or arrange an individual advising appointment with their Faculty Advisor. If you don’t know who your advisor is please email the Department of Art office at [email protected].

Workshop Dates:

Open Workshop #1 — Open to all students

  • Thursday, January 25, 2024 from 1:30 – 2:30pm
  • In AR170 or on MS Teams: Join Meeting Online
  • with Professor Yunjin Woo

Open Workshop #2 — Open to all students

  • Tuesday, February 6, 2024 from 11am – 12pm
  • In AR189 (Ceramics) or on MS Teams: Join Meeting Online
  • with Professor Tsehai Johnson

Open Workshop #3 — Open to all students

  • Wednesday, February 14, 2024 from 3:30 – 4:30pm
  • In AR168 or on MS Teams: Join Meeting Online
  • with Professor Leslie Boyd

Contact LESLIE BOYD
with any Portfolio questions

Portfolio Photography Shoot by Metrosphere

Join us to professionally photograph your portfolio in Gallery 199:

  • Dates TBA

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Art

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art prepares students to be critical, creative thinkers and makers. Students often become practicing artists who exhibit their work in galleries both near and abroad and might continue their research in graduate studies. Whatever your final career choice, the skills of the B.F.A. are appropriate for careers throughout the creative economy.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art is interdisciplinary.  Students select an emphasis of 9 credits in ceramics, drawing, jewelry, painting, photography, printmaking, or sculpture, and 6 credits a complementary area.  If the emphasis is in a two-dimensional area, the complementary area would be one of the three-dimensional areas; if the emphasis is in a three-dimensional area, the complementary area would be one of the two-dimensional areas.  Students also take at least 15 credits in interdisciplinary integrated media coursework.

Consistent with the Department of Art, student learning outcomes are designed around three assessable themes: research, execution, and articulation.

In the B.F.A. in Art, instruction should prepare students to:

  • make artworks that shows evidence of intellectual inquiry and curiosity;
  • convey ideas that are consistently reinforced through the execution of cohesive work(s) that are the result of the process of making;
  • use effective and eloquent oral, written, and visual communication of enduring ideas.