Undergraduate Admissions: Art
In addition to the university's general requirements, B.F.A. applicants are required to submit a portfolio online via Cornell AAP SlideRoom. If you have difficulty uploading your portfolio to Cornell AAP Slideroom please email aap-admissions@cornell.edu.
The visual arts evolve through the fusion and synthesis of different forms and content. Different forms stem from different cultural traditions, and the diversity of content stems from a multitude of lived experiences. The art department seeks to bring together a cohort of students that reflects a dynamic and diverse cultural environment. Thus, students and faculty engage and contribute together in this process of cross-pollination and fusion.
The Art Department at Cornell is a school for the artist scholar and scholar artist. We offer the same rigor you would find in an art school within the context of a world-class research institution. Students are expected to inform their art through one of the widest selections of fields of study.
Art is aesthetic, not anesthetic. Be curious, think critically, solve problems creatively, and do it all within your means.
We value and are looking for one or more of these:
- Form: A language informed by your culture or sub-culture
- Content: A creative voice informed by your experiences
- Drive: Self-initiated and pro-active
- Rigor: You search for the form that resonates with your content / you search for the content that resonates with your form
- Empathy: The world through your voice
- Passion: You create because you care
Portfolio Requirements
Applicants must submit their portfolios online at Cornell AAP SlideRoom. If you have difficulty uploading your portfolio to Cornell AAP Slideroom, please email us at aap-admissions@cornell.edu. The portfolio should consist of high-quality images of 10 pieces of work. The media of the work represented is optional, but it is to the advantage of the applicant to include work representing several of (but not necessarily limited to) the following media: drawing, digital media, painting, photography, print media, and sculpture/installation. Applicants should choose media that best reflect their highest conceptual and technical development level. While there is no requirement that any particular subject or style of work be included in the portfolio, the faculty admissions committee would like to see a selection of work that has been made both independently and in school and that reflects the applicant's creative interests at this point.
Step-by-step instructions for portfolio submission are available online at Cornell AAP SlideRoom. Acceptable file formats include image files (JPG, PNG, GIF) and video files (MOV, MWV, FLV, MP4). Portfolios will be added to all other admissions materials for review by the Department of Art admissions committee.
Please take note of the following guidelines when submitting your portfolio. If you have any questions, please email aap-admissions@cornell.edu.
In addition, submit seven works that directly respond to the Department of Art's Home Test.
- Create a rubbing that reveals the unseen.
- Visually map your centers and peripheries. Observe how one's periphery is another's center and all form part of a whole.
- Say something without saying it.
- Create a structure that is a form of support for another species.
- Design and create a flag that represents you. Document your flag at a site of personal significance.
- Create a piece that is inspired by an artwork that changed your life.
- Resonance
Do not use recycled works or repurposed class assignments to answer the prompts.
Cropped images will not be accepted. Please show the work in its entirety for your documentation.
Do not submit a description of your work on the uploaded work file. Please save the image description for slideroom. We recommend no more than 50 word count.
Do not submit multiple-angle shots of artwork in one image file or close-up shots.
Do not outsource your portfolio or home test to a third party. This includes AI-generated images.
The Department of Art admissions committee will not begin to consider an application until all requirements, including a portfolio, have been submitted.
Transfer Applicants
- External transfer application deadline: March 15
- Portfolio deadline: March 1
Students considering a transfer into the B.F.A. program should be aware that, if admitted, a transfer credit evaluation will take place. This process requires syllabi from any classes for which an admitted student seeks credit, as well as a portfolio of work for any studio classes. Applicants should prepare these materials in advance so they can be submitted promptly if an offer of admission is made. Admitted transfer students will have two weeks from the date of admission to submit all transfer credit materials. AAP will not accept transfer credit materials before an offer of admission is made.
- Internal transfer application deadline: December 1 (spring) and May 1 (fall)
Internal transfer is an option for current Cornell students who wish to transfer between colleges at Cornell. It is also an option for current AAP students who wish to transfer into a different AAP program.
Students interested in transferring into an AAP program must follow a college-specific internal transfer application process. All questions regarding the process for transferring can be emailed to the Office of Admissions at aap-admissions@cornell.edu.
