Submitting Your Portfolio

All offers of admission to OCAD U's studio-based degree programs, the Bachelor of Design (BDes) and the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) are based on the strength of the applicant’s portfolio and are conditional upon meeting the minimum academic requirements and supplying all required documentation as outlined below. After you apply, you will be notified by email of the details for submitting your portfolio for assessment.

Admission to the Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Critical Studies is based on a combination of a review of the written assignment and your academic records. Applicants to the BA in Visual and Critical Studies are required to submit the following to be considered for admission:

• Statement of Intent
• Original writing sample responding to an assigned topic provided by OCAD U
• Official transcripts

After you apply you will be notified by email of the exact dates and deadlines for you to submit your supplemental application materials, the topic for the writing sample and when you will need to meet the academic entrance requirements.

Your portfolio is a collection of work that represents your individual creative and technical experiences and accomplishments and should be a visual representation of who you are. You need to demonstrate that you are a visual communicator and that you are well-equipped to succeed in the program you have applied to at OCAD U. This can include experimentation in both traditional and digital media or any combination. Keep in mind that when it comes to your portfolio, some of the most important features we look for are skill, passion, curiosity and your ability to think creatively, shown in a diverse range of mediums. Your portfolio for admission should include:

Statement of Intent:

Your statement of intent should explain your specific interest in the program that you have applied to at OCAD U as well as what or who inspires and influences the work that you do. This is your opportunity to introduce yourself as an artist/designer/maker and provide context so we can better understand your work. It needs to be maximum 300 words, talking about yourself and your specific interest in the program you apply to, as well as what you're looking to explore, what influences you, where your art has come from and where it is going.

Further details are available through SlideRoom and you will submit your statement as part of the SlideRoom submission process.

Process Work: Include your sketchbook, process and concept development skills as part of your portfolio submission. You can document your process work as a sketchbook, creative journal, concept/idea book or a digital document. Your process work should demonstrate a routine of creative process, should link to several of the finished pieces included in the portfolio and include experimentation, photos of development, drawing, mark-making, writing, research and inspirations. You may submit more than one sketchbook but must remember that each counts as one piece in the portfolio submission. Upload your process work to SlideRoom as a multiple page PDF or a brief video.

Finished Work: Include 8 to 10 examples of your original finalized work that demonstrates a variety of your skills and approaches to art, design and media. Be sure to include examples of work that is directly related to the program that you are applying. Also include explorations in traditional, digital, and experimental mediums or any combination. Show us who you are through your work and that you are well equipped to succeed in the program that you have applied to at OCAD U. Be sure to appropriately label your work in SlideRoom using the fields provided.

Descriptions: Explain in 50 words per finished piece the process/making method/media/concept and purpose of each piece. Use the additional details field in SlideRoom as you upload your work.

Please note, there are additional guidelines for some of our programs available through our SlideRoom portal and at the following links:

Creative Writing Portfolio Guidelines

Digital Futures First Year Undergraduate Program Portfolio Guidelines

Faculty of Design Undergraduate Program Portfolio Guidelines

Direct entry to an Upper Year program and the year level placement is based on the strength of the applicant's portfolio and academic standing. To qualify for upper year consideration, you must have successfully completed at least one year of study in a program equivalent to the one you are applying for at OCAD U. For more information on Upper Year entry, please refer to Transfer Pathways.

A Statement of Intent of approximately 350 words is a required element of the portfolio. No portfolio will be reviewed without the written statement.

After your application has been received and processed, details will be emailed to you about dates, deadlines, and SlideRoom access.

Upper Year Portfolio Guidelines

Upper Year Creative Writing Portfolio Guidelines

Important Reminder: We would like to remind you that plagiarism or misrepresenting the work of others as your own is an offense against intellectual property rights and is a serious breach of academic misconduct. The work you are presenting in your portfolio must be of your own creation.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that application information and all supporting documentation is truthful, complete and correct. OCAD University reserves the right to verify any information provided as part of the application. It is an act of serious academic misconduct to provide any false or misleading information (either by omission or commission) in an application. If it is proven, or if the University has reasonable grounds to conclude, that any information in the application, or in any of the material submitted in support of the application, is determined to be false or misleading, or written by a third party, the application may be invalidated at the absolute and sole discretion of OCAD University. This could result in immediate rejection of the application, or, in the revocation of an offer of admission, or, in the termination of registration at OCAD University. Any such information may be shared by OCAD University with other universities and colleges across Canada.