Students who do not attend the Open House/Portfolio Review for High School Students must send a portfolio with their admission application and transcripts to the Department of Art. Do not submit actual artwork or printed photographs. If applying for scholarships, only one set of slides (or PowerPoint) should be submitted. Please do not send duplicates. Do not submit work in any kind of notebook, folder, or binder.

Documentation of the portfolio must be submitted in one of the following formats:

35mm Slides (Ektachrome or Fujichrome Film)
Submit slides in a plastic slide sleeve and label each slide with your name, title of the work or course, medium, size, and date, and write "Top" on the slide mount (indicates the top of the artwork). Then number each slide in the consecutive order in which the works should be viewed. Students also should include a numbered inventory sheet detailing the assignments and any other pertinent information for each work.

• High quality images are essential. Take care in setting up artwork for slide documentation.
• Use a 35mm camera (SLR).
• Place the work against a plain or neutral background such as a black, white, or gray backdrop.
• Remove any acetate or glass that can cause a glare or may distort the image.
• Photograph the work outdoors on a sunny day for the best light and color rendition. Be sure to use daylight color slide film.
• When photographing indoors, it is best to consult a professional photographer to be sure that both the slide film and lighting will match.
• When positioning the camera, make sure the artwork is parallel to the camera, allowing the artwork to fill the entire viewfinder.
• Slides should focus on the artwork. Fill the slide view with the artwork, not the background.
• Three-dimensional artwork can be documented from more than one view to adequately represent the work.
• Additional sides can be included if you feel the work cannot be shown adequately in a single slide, but no more than three slides should be submitted of the same piece.

Note: Online professional photographic services can be used to convert digital files to 35mm slides. One that has proven to be reliable and provides quality results is Gamma Tech.

PowerPoint on a CD (Digital JPEGs)
If you choose to submit a digital portfolio, images must be presented in a slide show using PowerPoint (for more detailed instructions go to www.bsu.edu/art/digitalportfolio). With a permanent marker, write your name and Ball State ID number on the CD. You also should include a numbered inventory sheet detailing the assignments and any other pertinent information for each work.

• Digital images must be in JPEG format (individual file sizes should not exceed 72 dpi, with the pixel dimension to be no greater than 600 x 800 pixels). 
• The PowerPoint slide show should include a title slide labeled with your name, followed by JPEG images of your artwork, with the final file size being no larger than 40 MB.
• Each PowerPoint slide should be labeled with the title of the work (or course number and title), medium, size, and date.
• Please refrain from using copyrighted music in a PowerPoint portfolio.
• Digital media that is not formatted correctly in a slide show using PowerPoint will not be considered.

PORTFOLIO SLIDES OR POWERPOINT CD WILL NOT BE RETURNED. Portfolios submitted with the Department of Art admission and scholarship applications become a permanent part of a student's admissions file.

Learn more about applying for admission to our art programs.
For more information, contact Undergraduate Program Coordinator Barbara Giorgio.