Portfolio Guidance for International Students
The following guidance is relevant to international students who need to submit a digital portfolio at the point of application to the following courses:
- BA (Hons) Architecture (RIBA Part 1 Exemption).
- BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design.
- BA (Hons) Landscape Architecture.
- BA (Hons) Product and Furniture Design.
If you are an EU student not currently studying in the UK you will need to provide a digital portfolio for the following courses:
- BA (Hons) Architecture (RIBA Part 1 Exemption)
- BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design
- BA (Hons) Landscape Architecture
- BA (Hons) Product and Furniture Design
This guidance is also relevant for the following students as they are also required to submit a digital portfolio as part of their application:
- BA (Hons) Architecture (RIBA Part 1 Exemption) - mature students/ those coming from a non-traditional academic background and part-time students.
If you are a full-time UK-based home student, or an EU student currently living and studying in the UK, applying to a course within the School of Architecture and Design please see your specific portfolio guidance here.
Content
- Be relevant
Include relevant work related to the subject area. Know about the course you are applying for. You may like to view some of the student work on our website. Show ideas generation, experimentation and risk taking. - Think about the basics
Show examples of paintings, drawings, photographs, three-dimensional work, time-based work and anything else relevant to the area of practice. - Tell a story
Try to show one full project from start to finish with the preparatory drawings included. Annotations are helpful as they show how you research and reflect on the development of your work. See here for examples of good ways to evidence ‘’design process’’. See Roxana Cislariu's portfolio as an example. - The Finished Article
Include three to four final pieces that you are able to talk about. This might include photographs of physical models or images generated from digital 3D models - The Sketchbook
Include extracts from sketchbooks to help us understand how you think (through your annotations) and allow us to see the development of your drawing. You may wish to photograph or scan some of the best pages from your sketchbook.
Format
Digital
You can submit your portfolio via your applicant portal. Please follow the below guidelines for digital submissions.
- 20 slides are more than enough. Annotate each slide explaining your processes.
- The file that you send should be no bigger than 10MB (megabytes).
- PDF (portable document file) or PowerPoint are accepted formats.
- Audio compositions/moving image work are also acceptable formats. If they cannot be embedded within your PowerPoint then please include a link to the file hosted somewhere online eg. on YouTube.
- Blog screen shot pages are also acceptable formats.
- Please ensure that all submitted materials are properly documented citing materials used, and where appropriate, explaining the processes used.
- Please make sure that your name / email is on the file attachment.
Final word of advice
What is the first thing that we will see in your portfolio? This should grab our attention. What will be the mid-point highlight? What will you end with? Consider the flow of your portfolio - this will help keep viewers interested. Also, can you say your portfolio communicated with passion?
Support
If you are an international student and would like support with your portfolio, please contact Panchalingam Suntharalingam to arrange support via email or video call.