Portfolio Reviews

Online Portfolio Review Sign-ups for Fall 2024 are now closed.

Portfolio Reviews will be held Friday November 15, 2024.

Deadline to sign-up for your review time in the office (if you have already signed up online and been approved): Thursday, November 7, 2024
Deadline to turn in answers to the Portfolio Review Questions: November 12, 2024 by 4PM (you can turn in them in earlier!)

The Fall 2024 Art + Design Portfolio Review Guide is available in the Art + Design office or from your advisor. It contains a how-to guide, frequently asked questions, the questions you will need to answer, sample answers from years past, and the rubric that will be used by the faculty for assessment during the review.

You should include 12–15 pieces of work for your Portfolio Review. The artwork should come from the Foundations courses: Drawing 1, Foundations Studios 1, 2, and 3, as well as work from other studio courses that you have taken at Austin Peay. Pick the best work of each of the four Foundations courses, as well as work from the last two years that represents your current interests and direction. It is important to submit your best work in each category. If you are unsure what to submit, make an appointment with a faculty member to discuss your work and seek their advice.

If you receive accommodations through ODS please email Professor Fahnestock at fahnestockm@apsu.edu regarding accommodations for Portfolio Reviews.

All students with a major in Art + Design must register for a portfolio review after they have completed the following foundation level courses (ART 1045 Drawing I, ART 1340 Foundations Studio I, ART 1350 Foundations Studio II, and ART 1360 Foundations Studio III). The review will be conducted by all full time faculty members within the Department of Art + Design. The faculty will vote immediately following the review on the students acceptance to degree tracks. The vote will either approve, deny, or defer their acceptance.

What is the Portfolio Review?

The Portfolio Review is an assessment required for students who have completed the Foundations Courses and are applying to continue with one of the B.A. or B.F.A. programs offered by the Department of Art + Design.

Why do we do a Portfolio Review?

We do the Portfolio Review to ensure that all students complete their coursework to the standards of excellence required for the B.A. in Art: Studio Art, B.A. in Art: Art Education, B.A. in Art: Art History, and B.F.A. in Art degrees with a concentration in Animation & Visual Effects, Studio Art, or Graphic Design. It also allows us to have a discussion with each student individually after they have been here for about a year about the work that they have completed so far at Austin Peay and the goals that they have for their future careers.

When should you do the Portfolio Review?

Students should sign up for the Portfolio Review the semester after they have completed the following Foundation courses:
Drawing I (ART 1045)
Foundations Studio 1  (ART 1340)
Foundations Studio 2 (ART 1350)
Foundations Studio 3 (ART 1360)

You do not need to have completed, or be currently enrolled in, Drawing II to sign up for the Portfolio Review. Check with your advisor if you aren’t sure if it is time for you to do your review.

How do you register for the Portfolio Review?

Begin by filling out the form on this website. You will receive an email from the Department of Art + Design a day or two later confirming your eligibility for the review and sending you important dates and instructions. Take note of the portfolio review questions below. You will need to answer those and send them to art@apsu.edu by the date specified on the email. There will also be instructions in the email on how to sign up for your review time slot.

The deadlines for all of these things change every semester so watch for signs in the department telling you when the online portal is open and you can begin. The reviews generally occur in November and April each year.

Portfolio Review Questions

Answers to these questions are due by November 12, 2024 by 4PM.

Return your answers by email to art@apsu.edu following the instructions given in registration confirmation email that you received. Please send them as a Microsoft Word document with your name in the the filename. A late submission will disqualify you from the Portfolio Review. If you have questions about this step of the process please email art@apsu.edu. Sample answers can be found in the Field Guide.

1. Describe your strengths as an artist/designer. Describe your strengths as a student. Are they different?
2. Describe what you consider to be your weaknesses as an artist/designer. What is one thing you would change to be a better artist/designer?
3. Identify your most successful piece that you are showing us for your Portfolio Review and describe what makes it successful?
4. Identify a piece that you are showing us for your Portfolio Review that could have been more successful and describe how you would make it better.
5. Identify artists or artistic movements that you have been exposed to here at APSU. How have these artists and/or movements inspired you and how? Be specific: think about how artists and movements have impacted your work and your way of creating.
6. Describe any experiences outside of APSU that fueled your desire to succeed as an artist/designer Identify artists/designers who inspire you outside of APSU courses.