Portfolio/Audition Requirements

The portfolio should indicate what your artistic interests are and how you represent them in your practice. Your work can be in any medium, and we encourage applicants to submit a variety of types of work. In order for your portfolio to be seriously considered by the faculty reviewing your work, it is important to follow the following guidelines. Please read through the requirements carefully, and direct any questions to the Assistant Director for Admissions. 

• Your portfolio must be submitted through the portfolio section of the CalArts Application, and should include approximately 20 images representative of your most recent or current work. You do not need to submit 20 distinct works or projects, but please make sure that each image you submit shows us different content. Sketches and works-in-progress are welcome.

• Submit individual images of individual works. Do not submit a pre-formatted portfolio. Do not submit composited images, PDFs, or links to websites, and please make sure that the image fills the slide. Otherwise, we will not be able to view the work.

• We are not able to zoom-in on the images. Please submit detail shots on a separate slide.

• Enter any captions, descriptions, or titles of your work in the "edit details" fields of the upload tool. Do not add captions, descriptions, titles or other extraneous text within the area where you upload your image.

• We are looking for personal work that gives us a sense of who you are as an artist, rather than academic work. Please do not include generic class assignments (i.e. technical exercises, figure/life drawing, still life drawings).

• CalArts does not offer a program in Illustration.The School of Art offers both undergraduate (BFA) and graduate (MFA) programs in Art, Graphic Design, and Photography and Media and a graduate-degree program in Art & Technology (MFA only). The School of Film/Video offers programs in Character Animation and Experimental Animation

If you experience technical difficulties while uploading your portfolio, you may send an email to the Review Coordinator, Ani Kazandjian, at akazandjian@calarts.edu.

There is not a minimum or maximum word count requirement, but it is recommended that your statement be between 500 and 1000 words. An artist statement is very important in the admissions process and should answer the following three questions:

• What are your artistic interests/goals?

• What issues and concerns inform your art-making practice?

• Why are you applying to your program at CalArts?

BFA and MFA students are required to submit a video introduction. We would very much like to meet you. Since this would be impossible in practical terms, we ask that you send a brief video introducing yourself. 

• Duration: minimum of 30 seconds, maximum of 90 seconds.

• Speak directly to the camera.

• No edits.

• No special effects or on-screen overlays.

• File should be uploaded or linked directly in your portfolio.

• Does not require professional-level equipment; cellphone camera or consumer cameras are okay.

Two letters of recommendation are required. At least one recommendation should be written by a person who understands your designer work, such as a performance instructor or art teacher.

All letters of recommendation should be received by the application deadline, so it is highly recommended that you contact your recommenders months before. We request that you submit the requests for your letters of recommendation through the online application, as it will allow you to track when we receive your requested letters.

Only if this is not possible, you may download the Letter of Recommendation Form (pdf) and have your recommender send their letters by mail to the Office of Admissions. Please choose only one method – either through the online application (preferred) or by mail – per recommender. Letters of recommendation will not be accepted via credentialing services such as Parchment or Naviance.

Mailed letters of recommendation should be sent to:

CalArts Office of Admissions
24700 McBean Pkwy.
Valencia, CA 91355
United States of America

Please note, letters of recommendation must be written in English or accompanied by a certified English translated document.

The portfolio should indicate what your artistic interests are and how you represent them in your practice. Your work can be in any medium, and we encourage applicants to submit a variety of types of work. In order for your portfolio to be seriously considered by the faculty reviewing your work, it is important to follow the following guidelines. Please read through the requirements carefully, and direct any questions to the Assistant Director for Admissions. 

• Your portfolio must be submitted through the portfolio section of the CalArts Application, and should include approximately 20 images representative of your most recent or current work. You do not need to submit 20 distinct works or projects, but please make sure that each image you submit shows us different content. Sketches and works-in-progress are welcome.

• Submit individual images of individual works. Do not submit a pre-formatted portfolio. Do not submit composited images, PDFs, or links to websites, and please make sure that the image fills the slide. Otherwise, we will not be able to view the work.

• We are not able to zoom-in on the images. Please submit detail shots on a separate slide.

• Enter any captions, descriptions, or titles of your work in the "edit details" fields of the upload tool. Do not add captions, descriptions, titles or other extraneous text within the area where you upload your image.

• We are looking for personal work that gives us a sense of who you are as an artist, rather than academic work. Please do not include generic class assignments (i.e. technical exercises, figure/life drawing, still life drawings).

• CalArts does not offer a program in Illustration.The School of Art offers both undergraduate (BFA) and graduate (MFA) programs in Art, Graphic Design, and Photography and Media and a graduate-degree program in Art & Technology (MFA only). The School of Film/Video offers programs in Character Animation and Experimental Animation

If you experience technical difficulties while uploading your portfolio, you may send an email to the Review Coordinator, Ani Kazandjian, at akazandjian@calarts.edu.

There is not a minimum or maximum word count requirement, but it is recommended that your statement be between 500 and 1000 words. An artist statement is very important in the admissions process and should answer the following three questions:

• What are your artistic interests/goals?

• What issues and concerns inform your art-making practice?

• Why are you applying to your program at CalArts?

BFA and MFA students are required to submit a video introduction. We would very much like to meet you. Since this would be impossible in practical terms, we ask that you send a brief video introducing yourself. 

• Duration: minimum of 30 seconds, maximum of 90 seconds.

• Speak directly to the camera.

• No edits.

• No special effects or on-screen overlays.

• File should be uploaded or linked directly in your portfolio.

• Does not require professional-level equipment; cellphone camera or consumer cameras are okay.

Two letters of recommendation are required. At least one recommendation should be written by a person who understands your designer work, such as a performance instructor or art teacher.

All letters of recommendation should be received by the application deadline, so it is highly recommended that you contact your recommenders months before. We request that you submit the requests for your letters of recommendation through the online application, as it will allow you to track when we receive your requested letters.

Only if this is not possible, you may download the Letter of Recommendation Form (pdf) and have your recommender send their letters by mail to the Office of Admissions. Please choose only one method – either through the online application (preferred) or by mail – per recommender. Letters of recommendation will not be accepted via credentialing services such as Parchment or Naviance.

Mailed letters of recommendation should be sent to:

CalArts Office of Admissions
24700 McBean Pkwy.
Valencia, CA 91355
United States of America

Please note, letters of recommendation must be written in English or accompanied by a certified English translated document.

Applicants who have passed the preliminary selection process will be notified in mid-February. At that time, candidates will be invited to visit CalArts in March for an interview and to meet faculty and students. The interview is required of invited candidates and is an important component of the final selection process. Video chat interviews are available in exceptional cases, however we like to emphasize the importance of having an in person interview as part of the application process for prospective students. Additionally, it gives you an opportunity to see the school and meet and talk to the faculty.