Art & Design Students

Savor that feeling when you have the best of two worlds. At Suffolk, you’ll enjoy an outstanding art school education and a comprehensive university experience. Our dedicated 42,000-square-foot visual arts facility features traditional and digital studios, a fabrication lab, a gallery, and a materials library.

Whether you have a portfolio or not, there’s a pathway for you to become an Art & Design major.

If you plan to major in Graphic Design, Interior Design, or Studio Art at Suffolk University, you won’t submit a portfolio with your initial application. On acceptance to the University, you’ll be invited to submit a portfolio for review.

Your portfolio will contain 12–15 examples of your recent, original work. These can be pieces produced in your high school or other art classes, or on your own.

  • A strong portfolio will showcase a balance of technical and conceptual skills and demonstrate an understanding of fundamental art-and-design principles.
  • You’re encouraged to include a variety of work that presents a range of media and techniques.
  • The portfolio should reflect your interests and indicate your versatility and willingness to experiment.
  • You should select work that shows who you are as an artist/designer. Creativity can be expressed in different ways, so include examples that reflect your unique perspective.

Other things to consider:

  • Your portfolio doesn’t need to be tailored to a particular major. A broad-based portfolio often provides a better sense of your abilities, experience, and potential
  • It’s helpful to demonstrate your hand skills through drawing, painting, and/or three-dimensional work
  • You can include finished work made over a long period of time, pieces made more quickly (for example, sketches or storyboards), and work in progress
  • Leave out pieces copied from another artist’s work or made from templates. It’s fine to work in a particular style, but cookie-cutter work won’t show that you’re effectively tackling creative challenges

If your portfolio is approved, you’ll be invited to declare an Art & Design major (Graphic Design, Interior Design, or Studio Art). You may also qualify for Foundation (first-year) studio course waivers, which can create greater flexibility in your academic plan, allowing for more advanced coursework or personalized learning opportunities.

If your portfolio isn’t approved, you can still follow Pathway 2 to becoming an Art & Design Major at Suffolk University.

Even without an approved portfolio, there’s a pathway to becoming an Art & Design major (Graphic Design, Interior Design, or Studio Art). You’ll enter the University in your first (fall) semester as an Undeclared BFA or BA student and take the same studio courses as declared Art & Design majors.

If you earn a 2.7 GPA in your first-semester studio courses, with no grade lower than a C+, you’ll be invited to declare an Art & Design major. If you haven’t met that requirement at the end of the semester, you can ask the Art & Design Chair to review samples of your work and request letters of recommendation from your studio faculty.

An Undeclared BFA/BA student who isn’t admitted to an Art & Design program after two such attempts (fall and spring semesters) can apply completed studio courses toward an Art Minor in Foundation Studies, Graphic Design, or Studio Art. In some cases, completed studio courses can be used as elective credits toward a non-Art & Design major.

If you’re an Undeclared BFA/BA student who enters mid-year, spring-semester studio course grades will be used for your initial attempt. Otherwise, the outline policies for no portfolio/Undeclared students will apply.

Transfer Students

If you’re a transfer student applying to Suffolk University’s Graphic Design, Interior Design, or Studio Art program, you can follow either portfolio pathway.

If you have studio-course credits on your transcript, you must submit 3–5 pieces of work from each studio course to receive transfer credit. If you don’t have studio-course credits on your transcript, Art & Design faculty will assess your readiness for advanced coursework during your first semester at Suffolk.