How to Apply to Art at Brown University: No Admission by Major, Declaring the Visual Art Concentration by the End of the Fourth Semester, an Optional 10–15-Image Visual Art Supplement, the Five-Year Brown|RISD Dual Degree, and Portfolio Requirements and Timelines for Chinese, Canadian High School and Transfer Students

Brown University is in Providence, Rhode Island. Its undergraduate art program is the Visual Art concentration offered by the Department of Visual Art. This guide summarizes Brown’s official requirements for students at high schools in China (including A-Level, IB and AP students), students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver) and transfer students.

1. Entering the Visual Art concentration

• Declared after enrolment: Brown does not admit by major; the department says students must file their concentration declaration by the end of the fourth semester, after which a Visual Art faculty member becomes their concentration advisor.
• Courses at RISD: the department notes many students earn studio credit at neighboring Rhode Island School of Design (RISD); credit from other Brown departments and approved study abroad programs is also possible.
• Grading: all Visual Art (VISA) courses are graded S/NC.

2. Concentration requirements

• 2026-27 Bulletin: 11 courses.
  • three foundation courses, one from each category: analog 2D (VISA 0100 Studio Foundation or VISA 0160 Foundation Painting), digital and 4D (sound and video, photography or digital 2D foundation), and spatial and 3D (sculpture foundation or spatial dynamics foundations);
  • five upper-level studio courses, at least three in Brown’s Visual Art department and at most one independent study; with the foundations, at least six studio courses in the department;
  • three History of Art and Architecture (HIAA) courses: one on 20th- or 21st-century art, one on non-Western practice and one seminar, excluding architectural practice courses;
  • a senior thesis exhibition, without credit but required to graduate, usually in the seventh or eighth semester.
• The department page differs: the Visual Art undergraduate page describes VISA 0100 plus seven studio classes and three HIAA classes. The two descriptions differ, so plan courses using the current Bulletin and your concentration advisor.
• Honors: a two-semester project, one course of which counts as an upper-level studio; honors students need at least 12 courses.
• Media: painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, photography, digital imaging, book arts and film.

3. Portfolio: an optional visual art supplement

• Not required: Brown says applicants are neither required nor expected to send supplementary materials; applicants accomplished in visual art may submit a visual art supplement through SlideRoom in the Common App, without waiting for the Brown applicant portal.
• Content: 10–15 images, up to 5 MB each, in .jpg, .gif, .png or .pdf; one clear image of a single artwork per upload, no collages; class assignments and self-directed work are both encouraged; photographs should go beyond hobbyist snapshots; a short statement about your interest in art may be included.
• Deadlines: create a SlideRoom account and submit by November 4 (Early Decision and QuestBridge Match) or January 7 (Regular Decision), 11:59 PM EST; Brown cannot help with submission problems unless the account and portfolio were started by those dates.
• Fee: a non-refundable USD 10 processing fee at submission, automatically waived with a Common App fee waiver, or waived on request by email before submitting.
• Brown expects the portfolio to be thoughtfully conceived and to show above-average visual art talent, as a strong supplement to the application.

4. Brown|RISD Dual Degree

• Brown and RISD offer a five-year Dual Degree: students complete about half their coursework at each school and graduate with Brown’s AB or ScB and RISD’s BFA.
• Only first-year applicants are eligible: apply to both Brown and RISD, submit the same dual degree essay with both applications and indicate on both that you want to be considered. Only students admitted to both schools are considered, and each school evaluates separately. For RISD’s portfolio and deadlines, see our RISD article.
• Dual degree candidates cannot also apply to Brown’s Program in Liberal Medical Education.

5. Application rounds and testing (fall 2027 entry)

• Deadlines: Early Decision (binding) by November 1 (11:59 p.m. local time), decision by mid-December; Regular Decision by January 5, decision by early April.
• Testing required: since the 2024-25 cycle first-year applicants must submit the SAT or ACT; Brown superscores and has no minimum.
• Grades: Early Decision applicants’ counselors send first-quarter grades as soon as available; all applicants send midyear grades.

6. English requirements

• International applicants whose first language, home language and secondary-school language of instruction are not English are strongly encouraged to submit a test. Brown offers no ESL courses for undergraduates and does not admit conditionally on English.
• Minimums expected in most cases: TOEFL 105 (before January 2026) or 5.5 (January 2026 and later, Home Edition accepted); IELTS 8.0; Duolingo 130; PTE 75; Cambridge C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency 191. TOEFL MyBest is not accepted.

7. Students at high schools in China

• National exams: Brown expects applicants to sit their national or international exams (such as A-Levels or IB), submit predicted or actual results when applying and actual results before enrolling; students in a national curriculum who will not sit the matching exam must explain this in writing with their school.
• Gaokao, art joint exam and school-set exams: Brown does not say how art exam results are used; this is not published, and the only art material is the optional supplement above.
• AP and A-Level credit: the pages we read do not say whether these count toward Visual Art; this is not published.

8. Students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver)

• Materials, deadlines and the SAT/ACT requirement are the same as above; Brown lists no separate requirements for Canadian provinces, including BC, so this is not published.
• Students taught in English throughout secondary school are not advised to submit an English test.

9. Costs and aid

• 2026-27 first-year costs (USD): tuition 74,568, fees 3,084 (including a USD 100 academic record fee for new students), housing 10,710, food 8,754, personal expenses 2,878, total 99,994. Brown notes that computer and other individual expenses are not included; the pages we read show no separate materials fee for Visual Art courses.
• International aid: from fall 2025 entry Brown is need-blind for international first-year applicants and meets full demonstrated need for admitted students who apply for aid when they apply; Brown offers no merit awards. International students file the CSS Profile by November 2, 2026 (ED) or February 1, 2027 (RD).

10. Transfer

• International students can enter only in the fall; for fall 2027 the deadline is March 1, 2027. Applicants must complete two or four semesters of full-time college study by September 2027, and transfer students must spend at least four full-time semesters at Brown.
• The SAT/ACT is optional for transfers; English requirements match first-year applicants.
• The pages we read do not say whether transfers can submit a visual art supplement or whether outside studio courses count toward the concentration; this is not published, and concentration credit is decided by the department after enrolment. The Brown|RISD Dual Degree is for first-year applicants only.

Checklist

Students at high schools in China:

• Apply ED by November 1 or RD by January 5; the SAT or ACT is required
• To show your work: 10–15 images on SlideRoom by November 4 (ED) or January 7 (RD), USD 10 fee
• TOEFL 5.5 (new scale), IELTS 8.0 or Duolingo 130; file the CSS Profile on time if you need aid
• For the Brown|RISD Dual Degree: apply to both schools with the same dual degree essay

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

• Same deadlines, testing and supplement rules as above

Transfer students:

• Apply by March 1, 2027 for fall entry; declare Visual Art after enrolling, with outside courses evaluated by the department

Sources: Brown University, Application checklist; Supplementary materials; Visual art submission; Brown|RISD Dual Degree; Early Decision; Regular Decision; Standardized tests; English proficiency; International admission criteria; International financial aid; Transfer eligibility; 2026-27 Visual Art concentration requirements; Visual Art undergraduate program; 2026-27 cost of attendance. Dates are for fall 2027 entry and costs are 2026-27 figures; check Brown’s website for the latest.