How to Apply to Art and Design at Penn State: School of Visual Arts B.A./B.F.A. in Art with Post-Admission Portfolio Review and the Two-Stage B.Des. in Graphic Design (Evidence of Creative Work), with Portfolio Requirements and Timeline for Chinese and Canadian High School Students and Transfer Students

At Penn State, undergraduate art and design is in the College of Arts and Architecture. Studio art and digital arts belong to the School of Visual Arts (SoVA), while Graphic Design has its own admission process. Here is what you need to know, based on Penn State’s admissions pages, the college website and the Undergraduate Bulletin, for students at Chinese high schools, students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver) and transfer students.

1. Undergraduate degrees

• B.A. in Art: at least 120 credits, 52 of them for the major. Students choose one concentration: ceramics, drawing and painting, new media, photography, printmaking or sculpture. B.A. students must reach the 12th-credit level in a world language and take 9 credits of B.A. fields.
• B.F.A. in Art: at least 123 credits, 84 for the major, including 47 credits of 300/400-level art with 24 in one concentration (the same six areas). The Bulletin describes it as preparation for professional careers in art and graduate study.
• B.Des. in Graphic Design: at least 120 credits, 75 for the major; a four-year program beginning in the fall semester of acceptance.
• Bachelor of Design in Digital Arts and Media Design: at least 121 credits, 80–84 for the major, with emphases such as Digital Art and Design and Interactive Media and Games.
• The college also offers the B.Des. in Digital Multimedia Design, the B.Des. in Professional Photography, the B.S. in Art Education, the B.A. in Art History and the B.A. in Integrative Arts, plus architecture, landscape architecture, music and theatre. This article focuses on art and graphic design.
• Grades: every course the major designates as C-required needs a C or better.

2. How you enter the major

• Art B.A./B.F.A. and Digital Arts and Media Design: the Bulletin’s entrance procedures point change-of-major and transfer applicants to the Visual Arts instructions on the college site, and the Visual Arts admission page lists portfolio requirements only for change-of-major and transfer students. Whether first-year applicants submit a portfolio is not stated; email caaprospects@psu.edu to confirm.
• The B.F.A. is a post-admission review: SoVA students apply to the B.F.A. between their second and fourth semesters, and entry follows a successful portfolio review. Work and performance are reviewed throughout the program; students who do not meet the standards may return to the B.A. in Art or choose another program.
• Entrance to Major (ETM): the Visual Arts page says students admitted to SoVA must complete the ETM requirements before declaring a major. The courses are in each program’s Suggested Academic Plan in the Bulletin and depend on your entry year.
• Graphic Design admits in two stages: in Stage 1 you apply through Penn State Admissions, which forms a pool of qualified candidates; everyone in the pool is invited to submit Evidence of Creative Work (ECW). In Stage 2, Graphic Design faculty review the ECW, focusing on creative thinking and personal reflection rather than prior art skills, and offers go out on a rolling basis for fall entry. Applicants not accepted may reapply the next year, which could delay graduation by at least a year.

3. Portfolio requirements

• Graphic Design ECW (first-year, change-of-major and transfer): submitted through SlideRoom, with four parts:
  • Three examples of visual work: your best work from the past two years in any medium (graphic design, photography, illustration, painting, animation, sculpture, ceramics, fiber, fashion, collage, installation and more), each with a one- or two-sentence description;
  • Project “Teach Us Something”: teach the audience about a topic that matters to you in a format you choose (a poster, a stop-motion video, a comic and so on); the work must be entirely your own. Single images in JPG, PNG or PDF up to 8.5 × 11 in and 10 MB; multi-page PDFs up to 20 MB; video in MP4, MOV or AVI up to 2 minutes;
  • Statement of intent: 250–500 words on your thinking and creative process;
  • Optional video introduction: up to 2 minutes.
  Penn State says you do not need formal design training. Read the full admission page before submitting.
• Visual Arts (change of major and transfer): 10–12 images of your work plus a statement of up to 500 words describing one piece, submitted at psu.slideroom.com. Portfolios are reviewed as they arrive, and change-of-major applicants hear from Penn State Admissions by email within a month.

4. Dates and materials

• University deadlines: the main first-year deadline is Early Action on November 1; after that, review is rolling and University Park becomes more competitive. International deadlines generally match domestic ones, with a final deadline for visa processing. Fall applications close on July 28 (except University Park). The pages show no year.
• Graphic Design dates: ECW portfolios submitted before November 1 get priority. The Graphic Design admission page lists November 30 as the “priority university admissions application date”, which differs from the university’s November 1 Early Action deadline; both are on Penn State’s site, so confirm with the college.
• Testing: Penn State is test-optional unless you use the SAT or ACT to prove English proficiency.
• Academic record: international first-year applicants complete the STARS self-reported record for their last three years (except students in the South Korean system).
• Application fee: the college page explains fee waivers (College Board, ACT and others); the fee amount is not on the pages read.

5. Students at Chinese high schools

• Gaokao and art exams: Penn State does not say how they are used (not published); ask international admissions.
• English (minimums on the international requirements page): Duolingo 120; TOEFL 4.5 for tests after January 21, 2026, or 80 before; IELTS 6.5; SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 570 and others. TOEFL, IELTS and Duolingo scores must be under two years old, and TOEFL MyBest is not accepted.
• Documents: non-English documents need a certified line-by-line English translation.

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

• Penn State lists no grade requirements for Canadian or BC curricula (not published); ask international admissions.
• International students whose native language is not English must prove English proficiency; whether a Canadian high school exempts you is not stated.

7. Transfer students

• Visual Arts: students with 18+ credits elsewhere apply to Penn State and submit a portfolio (as above). The page says fall admission only, for applicants with no more than two semesters (about 34 credits) of college coursework by enrollment, but the same page also lists a November 1 spring deadline and a February 15 summer/fall deadline. The two statements conflict; confirm with the college.
• Graphic Design: fall admission only, no more than two semesters (about 34 credits) by enrollment, cumulative GPA 2.5 or higher, deadline February 15, with ECW.
• Changing majors at Penn State: moving into the SoVA pre-major needs a portfolio, reviewed on a rolling basis; moving into Graphic Design needs a 2.5 cumulative GPA by February 15.

8. Costs and aid

• Tuition: Penn State tuition varies by campus, program, level and residency, and the figures are on the university tuition calculator, which was not read for this article (not published here). The tuition page advises budgeting for books and supplies; art supply costs are not listed separately.
• Scholarships: the college pages read do not list undergraduate art scholarships or international eligibility (not published); ask the Office of Student Aid.

Checklist

Students at Chinese high schools:

• Apply by November 1 with your intended major; Graphic Design applicants submit ECW when invited, ideally also by November 1
• Complete STARS; prepare IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 4.5 (new scale)
• If you want the B.F.A., prepare for the portfolio review in your second to fourth semester

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

• Same deadlines; ask international admissions about Canadian curricula and English exemptions
• Email caaprospects@psu.edu to confirm whether first-year art applicants submit a portfolio

Transfer students:

• No more than about 34 credits by enrollment; fall entry only; apply and submit the portfolio by February 15
• Graphic Design needs a 2.5 GPA and ECW; Visual Arts needs 10–12 images and a statement of up to 500 words

Sources: Penn State, College of Arts and Architecture undergraduate degrees; How to apply; Visual Arts admission information; Graphic Design admission information; B.F.A. in Art; B.A. in Art; Bulletin: Art, B.F.A.; Bulletin: Art, B.A.; Bulletin: Graphic Design, B.Des.; Bulletin: Digital Arts and Media Design, B.Des.; First-year dates and deadlines; International dates and deadlines; International admission requirements; Tuition and costs. The deadline pages show no year; check Penn State’s website for the latest.