How to Apply to Art and Design at the University of Washington: Get Admitted First, Then Apply to the Art BA/BFA or Bachelor of Design with a Portfolio in Your First Spring, Art Degrees Being Restructured, and Portfolio Requirements and Timeline for Chinese, Canadian High School and Transfer Students

At the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, undergraduate art and design are offered by the School of Art + Art History + Design. Unlike many art schools, these majors cannot be entered directly from high school: you apply to and are admitted by the UW, take introductory courses in your first year, and apply to the major with a portfolio in your first spring. Here is what you need to know for autumn 2027 entry, based on official UW information, for students at high schools in China, students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver students), and transfer students.

1. Majors and the restructuring

• Art BA and BFA: the School is restructuring its art degrees. The application page says the new BA/BFA pathways are pending a final UW curricular review; the form is expected to open in Winter 2027 with a Spring 2027 deadline (exact date to be announced). The new pathways are three majors: 3D4M (ceramics, glass, sculpture), Painting + Printmaking, and Photo, Media, New Genres, each admitting about 30–40 students a year.
• BA vs BFA: per the FAQ, the proposed BA has fewer required art credits and more room for electives, double majors and minors; the BFA adds upper-division studio work with a senior exhibition and capstone, for students aiming at advanced study or a practicing career. Double majoring within Art is not possible.
• Existing concentrations: the site still lists the current BA concentrations, including Interdisciplinary Visual Art (IVA); the FAQ says IVA is closing and current students can finish it.
• Bachelor of Design (BDes): three majors — Industrial Design, Interaction Design and Visual Communication Design — taught in cohorts, admitting about 20 students per major (about 60 in total) each year; admission is highly competitive.

2. Getting into Art

• Who can apply: current UW Seattle students with 10 credits of introductory ART completed or in progress by the end of the spring quarter they apply, or transfer students who have applied to the UW for autumn.
• Required intro courses: Painting + Printmaking applicants must take ART 190; 3D4M applicants ART 233, 253 or 272; Photo, Media, New Genres applicants ART 140, 141 or 142. The School suggests a different medium in each intro class, plus an art history course and general education in the first year.
• Timing for first-years: students entering in Autumn 2026 apply in Spring 2027; later first-years follow the same pattern and apply in their first spring. Missing the spring deadline means waiting a year, which may add a fifth year or mean choosing another major.
• Application: name, intended major, portfolio, image list, transcript and short answers.
• Portfolio: 3–5 works, from class assignments or personal projects, each with a 1–2 sentence caption (for class work, the objective and time frame); .jpg, .jpeg, .png or .pdf, with video as links viewable without passwords. Reviewers look at conceptual thinking, process and material exploration, curiosity and technical proficiency.
• Image list: title, medium and a short description for each work.
• Short answers: how you approach making art; what you learned in your intro courses; what you hope to keep learning in your chosen major.
• Decisions: by email in the third week of June (accepted, rejected or wait-listed); admitted students contact the School by 30 June to accept and register. Faculty cannot give individual portfolio feedback; portfolio workshops are held in winter and spring.

3. Getting into the Bachelor of Design

• Who can apply: current UW Seattle students who have taken DESIGN 166, or transfer (and post-bac) students who have applied to the UW for autumn.
• DESIGN 166: current students take it in their first year (winter quarter only). Students who earn 3.7 or higher are automatically offered a place in one of the three majors; below 3.7 you can apply by the deadline. Transfer students cannot take DESIGN 166 at UW Seattle, and UW Bothell and Tacoma students count as transfers.
• Timing: applications open in March and close at the end of May, with decisions in the third week of June. The admissions page gives 31 May as the deadline for autumn 2027 BDes admission, with exact dates to be announced in autumn 2026 and info sessions from October to May; the application page currently shows the 2026 cycle (deadline 31 May 2026).
• Materials: résumé (high school and GPA, UW and previous college GPA and credits, TOEFL if applicable, activities and work), portfolio, all college transcripts (unofficial accepted) and major-specific answers, all as PDFs.
• Portfolio: 5–10 design samples as a personal portfolio, website, shared Google Slides deck or letter-size PDF, with numbered pages and a 1–2 sentence caption per project; DESIGN 166 students must include all class projects, showing originals alongside anything revised and labeled “Revised”.
• Major-specific advice:
  • Industrial Design: functional products you designed (furniture, containers, tools) with process and models, hand sketches, other 3D work (model aircraft, sculpture, ceramics) and 3D digital models or renderings;
  • Interaction Design: a required take-home prompt, ideally 8–12 pages and no more than 20, plus optional extra work such as storyboards, user flows, interface mockups and user research;
  • Visual Communication Design: posters, layouts, ads, websites or app screens, logos and icons, photography and illustration.
• Questions: why the major interests you, your design experience, why the program fits, your experience with critique, collaboration and presentation, interests beyond design, and what you would major in if not admitted; the School asks applicants not to write that “everything is design” or describe Apple products in general.
• Decisions are final with no appeal; admitted students contact the School by 30 June to register for autumn sophomore design classes.

4. First, apply to the UW (Chinese and Canadian high school students)

• How: Common App, opening 15 August with a single first-year deadline of 15 November and decisions 1–15 March; the international fee is USD 95 and cannot be waived. Submit a personal essay of up to 650 words and self-report courses and grades in STARS.
• Tests: the UW no longer requires SAT or ACT for most applicants.
• English (Chinese students): TOEFL iBT 76 or 4.0 on the new scale, IELTS 6.0 or Duolingo 110, taken by 31 December and sent directly by the testing agency.
• English (Canadian students): exempt if your primary and secondary education were in English-speaking Canadian provinces (or Australia, the UK, Ireland, New Zealand or the US); high school alone in Canada does not qualify. Alternative: an average of B (80%) in grades 10–12 English writing or literature at an English-medium school plus SAT Reading and Writing 580 or ACT English 22.
• Gaokao, art exams and BC: the UW does not say how Gaokao or Chinese art exam results are used and publishes no BC grade requirements. No portfolio is needed to apply to the UW; it comes later, when you apply to the major.

5. Costs and scholarships

• 2026-27 (nine months; international students pay non-resident rates): tuition USD 44,460, total about USD 67,800 living on or off campus; some majors charge extra fees.
• University aid: the UW gives no financial aid or scholarships to international undergraduates.
• School scholarships: more than 30 undergraduate awards of USD 1,000–5,000 a year. Two are for incoming students: the Crabby Beach Scholarship (USD 1,000–5,000, Washington residents only) and the Kathryn Hinckley-Martin Scholarship (USD 2,500–5,000); whether international students can receive them is not stated, so check with the School.

6. Transfer students

• UW transfer application: opens 15 December, due 28 February, decisions 1 May–30 June.
• Art: transfers entering autumn 2027 or later must submit a separate departmental application in the spring before entry; plan on 10 credits of introductory studio art (drawing, painting or printmaking for Painting + Printmaking; sculpture, ceramics or other 3D work for 3D4M). The School advises autumn entry, since out-of-cycle entry may prevent applying to the major.
• Design: apply to the UW for autumn and submit the BDes application by its deadline; transfers cannot take DESIGN 166 at UW Seattle.

Checklist

Students at high schools in China:

• Apply to the UW through the Common App by 15 November (no portfolio at this stage)
• Take TOEFL 76 (new scale 4.0), IELTS 6.0 or Duolingo 110 by 31 December
• First year: for Art, 10 credits of intro art; for Design, DESIGN 166 in winter; apply to the major with a portfolio in spring

Students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver):

• Exempt from English tests if all primary and secondary schooling was in English-speaking Canadian provinces; otherwise submit scores or use the B-grade plus SAT/ACT alternative
• The same post-admission major application applies

Transfer students:

• Apply to the UW for autumn by 28 February and submit the Art or Design major application that spring
• Art: 10 credits of intro studio courses; Design: portfolio by the deadline

Sources: University of Washington, Admissions to BA/BFA in Art; BA/BFA in Art application and instructions; BA/BFA in Art FAQ; Admissions to BDes; Bachelor of Design application; School undergraduate scholarships; Dates and deadlines; First-year how to apply; English proficiency; 2026-27 cost of attendance. Information is for autumn 2027 entry (2026-27 cost estimates). Check the UW for the latest details.