Portfolio Guidance

BA Art and Design

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

We recommend that you start by watching our video guidance on creating a digital portfolio, and then take a look at the course-specific guidance below.

This course is for students with a diverse range of interests, experiences and capabilities.

You might have previously studied art/design/media, but have not identified a pathway to industry yet or are excited about new possibilities in making wider creative connections, through incorporating music, maths, coding, digital technologies, new media, etc.

You might not have previously studied art/design/media, but are interested in science, maths or music, and the opportunity to explore design methodologies. Therefore, your portfolio may not be a typical art and design portfolio.

Format

• This could be a link to a self-shot video of you explaining your interests and why you want to do a creative degree, with evidence of a passion for creative practice in its broadest sense (no more than 5 minutes in length).
• Alternatively, this could be a PDF, PowerPoint or Word Document of experimentations you may have carried out, with links to video, animations and moving image work, etc. (no more than 10MB file size). Please test your links to make sure they work and are easily accessed. We will not be able to view links that require a password.

The aim of the portfolio is to make sure this is the right course for you.

Tips for your portfolio: Content

• Tell us about your interests and why you want to do a creative degree.
• Evidence a passion and curiosity for creative practice in its broadest sense.
• Show us a range of ideas or work, which can be experiments, research or work in progress, using thinking skills, making skills or digital skills.
• We are interested in your thoughts and processes and how you develop your ideas and problem solve.
• You can include work you have made at School or College, or work you have made independently.

BA Art and Design with Creative Technologies

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

We recommend that you start by watching our video guidance on creating a digital portfolio, and then take a look at the course-specific guidance below.

This course is for students with a diverse range of interests, experiences and capabilities.

You might have previously studied art/design/media, but have not identified a pathway to industry yet or are excited about new possibilities in making wider creative connections, through incorporating music, maths, coding, digital technologies, new media, etc.

You might not have previously studied art/design/media, but are interested in science, maths or music, and the opportunity to explore design methodologies. Therefore, your portfolio may not be a typical art and design portfolio.

Format

• This could be a link to a self-shot video of you explaining your interests and why you want to do a creative degree, with evidence of a passion for creative practice in its broadest sense (no more than 5 minutes in length).
• Alternatively, this could be a PDF, PowerPoint or Word Document of experimentations you may have carried out, with links to video, animations and moving image work, etc. (no more than 10MB file size). Please test your links to make sure they work and are easily accessed. We will not be able to view links that require a password.

The aim of the portfolio is to make sure this is the right course for you.

Tips for your portfolio: Content

• Tell us about your interests and why you want to do a creative degree.
• Evidence a passion and curiosity for creative practice in its broadest sense.
• Show us a range of ideas or work, which can be experiments, research or work in progress, using thinking skills, making skills or digital skills.
• We are interested in your thoughts and processes and how you develop your ideas and problem solve.
• You can include work you have made at School or College, or work you have made independently.

BA Fine Art

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

We recommend that you start by watching our video guidance on creating a digital portfolio, and then take a look at the course-specific guidance below.

This course is ideally suited for students who have previously or who are currently studying A-level Art subjects (Fine Art, Art and Design, Textiles, Photography, Media, etc.), students from BTEC Art and Design or Foundation Art and Design Diploma courses or for those who have developed an interest in art practice via an alternative route.

Alongside examples of completed works, we are also interested in quick experiments, sketches, ideas, notes and photographs that have been influenced by your environment, experiences, exhibitions you have seen, books you have read or research you have done to indicate ideas you have for work which you might not yet have had the resources to make.

We welcome applicants of all ages and from all backgrounds. Your application will be primarily assessed through your portfolio so even if you do not meet our typical offer criteria it can still be worth applying.

You have the option to attend an in person portfolio review or to submit your portfolio digitally for an online portfolio review.

What we would like to see in your portfolio

1. Making and thinking skills
2. The development of ideas
3. Willingness to experiment using a range of media, materials and processes
4. Creativity and visual curiosity
5. Self-motivation, individuality and a sense of your interests, passion and personality
6. Commitment to art practice

Format

1. Please submit your work as one PDF, PowerPoint or Word Document.
2. Aim to include approximately 20 pieces of work.
3. Your digital portfolio should be no more than 10MB. Please compress your file if it exceeds the limit.
4. Add any links to video, animations, and moving image work to your PDF, PowerPoint or Word Document. (Please check that these links work before you submit your portfolio and that they can be easily accessed. We will not be able to view links that require a password).

Tips for your portfolio: Content

1. A range of work which can be experiments, research or work in progress (unfinished pieces). Examples of the type of work that you can include are drawings, paintings, prints, photographs, animations, films, sculptures, installations, multimedia outcomes, digital artwork and textiles (photographs of larger or 3D works can be included as representations in physical portfolios; for digital portfolios please indicate scale and medium in the documentation of work).
2. We are interested in your processes; the way you develop your ideas and approaches to making. As such we are keen to see tests and some sketchbook works.
3. You can include work you have made at School, College or University and/or work you have made independently or outside of an educational curriculum.
4. Include your most recent work and present it in a coherent order. Remember the order you present it in is the order it will be viewed in.
5. Demonstrate your interest and awareness of contemporary art practice by providing evidence of exhibitions you’ve visited and artists whose work you have looked at.

MA Art and Design: Interdisciplinary Practices

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

We recommend that you start by watching our video guidance on creating a digital portfolio, and then take a look at the course-specific guidance below.

This course is ideally suited to students that have previously studied art and design subjects or worked within the creative industry and include: Applied Art, Art and Design, Photography, Visual Communication, Product Design, Expanded Design Practice, Textiles, Media, Performance, Film, Jewellery Design, Printmaking, etc. It should evidence interdisciplinary methods of working as well as critical thinking and how that translates into practical and creative development.

• Examples of your most recent work
• File format: PDF, PowerPoint or website/blog link (file size no more than 10MB)
• Examples that demonstrate the breadth skill set and processes
• Evidence of practice based research and critical thinking
• A good understanding of why an interdisciplinary course is suitable to your career development

Things to consider

The course is based on practice and process based making and ongoing research with high quality outputs. Therefore experimentation, prototyping, cross-disciplinary research are key parts of the learning approach. We are often interested in issues that explore technological, social and anthropological topics and consider a range of media to address them. The development is hands on and continuous, reliant on refinement and critical thinking. You will need to demonstrate a commitment to your creative interests whilst being able to work independently.

MA Fine Art

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

We recommend that you start by watching our video guidance on creating a digital portfolio, and then take a look at the course-specific guidance below.

Alongside examples of completed works, we are also interested in your ideas as expressed through material experiments, draft sketches, notation and photographs that have been influenced by your context, including your environment, experiences, exhibitions you have seen, books you have read, or research you have done.

What we would like to see in your portfolio

1. Creative making skills
2. The development of conceptual and critical thinking
3. Willingness to experiment using a range of media, material and processes
4. Creativity and visual curiosity
5. Self-motivation, individuality and a sense of your interests, passion and personality
6. Commitment to art practice

Format

1. Please submit your work as one PDF, PowerPoint or as a link to your website.
2. Aim to include approximately 15 - 20 pieces of work.
3. Your digital portfolio should be no more than 10MB. Please compress your file if it exceeds the limit.
4. Add any links to video, animations, sound and moving image work to your PDF, PowerPoint or website. (Please check that these links work before you submit your portfolio and that they can be easily accessed. We will not be able to view links that require a password.)

Content

• A range of work which can be experiments, research or work in progress. Examples of the type of work that you can include are drawings, paintings, prints, photographs, performance, films, sculptures, installations, multimedia outcomes, digital artwork and so on. (Please indicate scale and medium in the documentation of work.)
• We are interested in your processes; the way you develop your ideas and approaches to making. As such we are keen to see examples of experimentation, research ideas and some sketchbook works.
• You can include work you have made at University and/or work you have made independently or outside of an educational curriculum.
• Include your most recent work and present it in a coherent order.
• Demonstrate your interest and awareness of contemporary art practice by providing evidence of exhibitions you’ve visited, artists whose work you have looked at and relevant books to your area of interest.

MA Arts and Education Practices

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

We recommend that you start by watching our video guidance on creating a digital portfolio, and then take a look at the course-specific guidance below.

This course is for students with a diverse range of interests, experiences and capabilities in creative fields and with an interest creative education.

You might have previously studied in the creative arts or have an interest in creative education, have experience in working in creative fields of education, and are excited about new possibilities in making wider creative connections, through incorporating social practice, projects, teaching, sculpture, print, coding, digital technologies, performance, painting and pedagogy.

You might not have previously studied art/design/media, but are interested in science, maths or music, and the opportunity to explore creative pedagogic methodologies. Therefore, your portfolio may not be a typical creative portfolio.

Format

• This could be a link to a self-shot video of you explaining your interests and why you want to do a creative postgraduate course, with evidence of a passion for creative educational practices in their broadest sense (no more than 5 minutes in length).
• Alternatively, this could be a PDF, PowerPoint or Word Document of experimentations you may have carried out, with links to work, projects, practices and work with learners and communities, etc. (no more than 10MB file size).
• If you are linking to video & web based work online please test your links to make sure they work and are easily accessed. We will not be able to view links that require a password.

The aim of the portfolio is to make sure this is the right course for you.

Content

• Tell us about your interests and how they connect with MA Arts and Education Practices.
• Evidence a passion and curiosity for creative educational practice in its broadest sense.
• Show us a range of ideas or work, which can be experiments, research or work in progress, using thinking skills, making skills or digital skills.
• Show us how you work creatively with others, be that through teaching, collaboration or social practice.
• We are interested in your thoughts and processes and how you develop your ideas and problem solve.
• You can include work you have made at University, in the workplace or work you have made independently.

MA Contemporary Arts China

The content of your digital portfolio and the skills it demonstrates should be the same as if you were creating a physical portfolio. The only difference is that you will need to submit your portfolio through your applicant portal rather than physically bring it in for us to see.

We recommend that you start by watching our video guidance on creating a digital portfolio, and then take a look at the course-specific guidance below. This course is ideally suited to students that have previously studied art and design subjects or worked within the creative industry and include: Fine Art, Art and Design, Photography, Visual Communication, Art History, Curating, Media, Performance, Film, Printmaking, etc. It should evidence an interest in the arts and culture of China as well as critical thinking and how that translates into practical and creative development.

• Examples of your most recent work
• File format: PDF, PowerPoint or website/blog link (file size no more than 10MB)
• Examples that demonstrate the breadth skill set and processes
• Evidence of practice based research and critical thinking
• A good understanding of why an engagement with contemporary chinese arts is suitable to your career development

Things to consider

This course is aimed at ambitious researchers and practitioners who want to pursue an international career in the arts and want to become research-led practitioners and professionals. Its focus on professional development makes it ideal for recent graduates, curators, artists, designers, art historians, writers and others. Experimentation, critical thinking, cross-disciplinary research are key parts of the learning approach. We are often interested in issues that explore social, cultural and anthropological topics and consider a range of media to address them. The development is hands on and continuous, reliant on refinement and critical thinking. You will need to demonstrate a commitment to your creative interests whilst being able to work independently.

Once we receive your portfolio, we will provide feedback at the earliest possible opportunity. Please note that we may recommend that you study an alternative course with us based on the assessment of your portfolio submission.