Prospective Students - Admissions

Portfolio Requirements


All applicants are required to submit a portfolio along with the required university application materials. The portfolio is a collection of your work that represents your creative development, knowledge, skills and interests. The portfolio must include the mandatory portfolio exercise and three drawing/design exercises as described below. The portfolio MAY include a supplemental body of work described below. 

The portfolio must be submitted with a signed declaration form stating that the candidate completed all the work without assistance from another individual. Candidates will be required to take a test should inconsistencies appear in the quality of work submitted. Academic honesty and integrity are the standards expected and adhered to at VCUQatar. Candidates suspected of plagiarizing or including work done by others will be barred from admittance into VCUQatar.

Portfolio Submissions

Digital Format

  • Images must be submitted in JPG format on a standard 4.75" CD-R
  • Maximum JPG dimensions should be 800x600 pixels at 72 dpi.
  • On an A4 size sheet of paper describe each image by file, name, title, dimensions and medium(s).
  • Test your CD-R on multiple computers to ensure that the disc is functional.

Mandatory Portfolio Exercise

All applicants are required to create ONE piece of art that expresses THREE moments during their day. A moment can be anything - something as simple as washing your hands or waking up, to a moment as complex as driving to the movies, playing basketball, or daydreaming about the future. This exercise can be created with any medium.

Three Drawing/Design Exercises

Select THREE of the following seven exercises. The three exercises must be included with your application. Follow the directions carefully. Some of the exercises are worded in a way that requires your interpretation as an integral part of the exercise. Each exercise must be completed on a separate sheet of white A4 size paper. We recommend that you use good quality paper.

You are required to send the originals. On the back of each completed piece, print your full legal name, your date of birth and the exercise number in the lower left hand corner. These exercises become part of your permanent file and will not be returned.

Drawings must be done from looking directly at the object and not from photographs or other published material. Copying of anime, graffiti or tattoos will not be accepted.

Unless otherwise noted, please use a soft lead pencil (2B or softer).

  1. Make a freehand perspective drawing of one corner of your room and include at least three pieces of furniture. This drawing should emphasize shading, proportion and perspective.
  2. Using either pencil or ink make a freehand drawing of a standing human figure. Be sure that you draw the whole figure.
  3. Crumple up an A4 sheet of plain paper and place it under a strong light. Using another sheet of paper make an ink drawing of the crumpled sheet. We will look at your understanding of light, shading and composition.
  4. Create a composition by drawing or combining two-dimensional images or materials that you consider unusual or humorous. Be as creative and original as you can be.
  5. Using any medium, illustrate one of the most interesting events of your life. On the reverse side, explain the illustration in one paragraph. This serves as a writing sample as well as an opportunity to visually illustrate something unique and interesting about yourself.
  6. Select three pieces of fruit or vegetables and place them on a windowsill or in a similar location where you can see both the fruit and vegetables and a landscape or cityscape or cityscape beyond. Using any medium, draw the space between. Note: in this exercise, the "space between" can be interpreted in many ways.
  7. Arrange a still life composition consisting of at least one bell pepper and three pieces of cutlery. Before drawing this still life, physically alter one or more of these objects. Using any medium, draw your creation as realistically as possible.

Optional: Supplemental Body of Work

You may submit up to 16 images of art that you have created within the past two years that show your promise in visual art and design. Present your strongest work that demonstrates your potential to develop a diverse set of skills and ideas with a range of two-dimensional and three-dimensional media.


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