Montclair

Montclair State in Montclair offers robust BFA and BA programs within its Department of Art and Deisgn. 

Degree Offerings:

• Fashion Design and Merchandising (BA)

• Visual Arts (BA)

• Visual Arts with an Art Education concentration (BA)

• Illustration (BFA)

• Visual Communication Design (BFA)

A portfolio submission is only required for the BFA programs.  Portfolio requirements can vary slightly depending on the specific major you apply to, but general guidelines are provided for aspiring art students.

• Number of Pieces: Generally 15-20 pieces of your strongest and most recent work.

• Media: A combination of media is welcome. Specific programs have more pointed requirements:

  • Illustration: The portfolio MUST include 7-10 works of observational drawing (still life, figure drawing, self-portraits, landscapes). They want to see that you can draw what is physically in front of you. It's also required to include 3-5 examples of portraiture and figure drawing and at least one perspective drawing of architecture.

  • Visual Communication Design (VCD): While foundational drawing is important, portfolios for VCD can also include graphic design work (logos, posters), web design, animations, and other digital media.

• Key Focus: Montclair emphasizes a strong foundation in observational drawing as a cornerstone of visual communication.

  • Professionalism: They advise presenting your work in a professional manner, with clear labels for title, medium, and date.

  • Sketchbooks: Sketches that show process and ideation can be included.

Original Work: Like most competitive programs, they explicitly state not to include "Fan Art" or work copied from other artists' photographs. They want to see your original ideas and compositions.