Undergraduate Admissions

Portfolio Submission

At Jefferson, our faculty have a long tradition of developing the design perspective of each of our students. Jefferson’s history is one where great success is achieved by advancing the design capabilities of each of our students through teaching, mentoring and recognizing our students as designers on day one. Our students are then able to hone their craft while immersing themselves in the expanded knowledge of their discipline.

Transfer students seeking admission to the 5-year Bachelor of Architecture and the 4-year Bachelor of Landscape Architecture programs must submit a portfolio with their application if they have completed design or studio coursework, technology classes, as well as drawings and computer classes. If none of these previous courses are completed, students are not required to submit a portfolio with their application.

What is a portfolio?

In general, the portfolio is a collection of your previous work that relates to the skills necessary to succeed in the Jefferson Architecture Program. Part of our criteria for admission is a clear demonstration of knowledge and skills related to the first two years of the Architecture Program curriculum. Specifically, your portfolio is intended to showcase your previous college work that has satisfied the academic requirements necessary to receive credit for specific architecture classes at Jefferson. Your portfolio should not include everything that you completed in class; therefore, some editing is suggested. Most projects (assignments) can be illustrated on one page. Additionally, work outside of the college setting may be part of your portfolio. 

Portfolios should have an overall organizing layout. It’s best to get another opinion to help you develop a well-ordered and concise presentation. Students may also find it helpful, before submission, to ask a mentor or community college instructor for guidance.

Portfolio Guidelines

Specific requirements for your portfolio are outlined below. It is important that you follow the instructions. The portfolio is limited to no more than 20 single-sided pages of images (this does not include covers, transcripts, table of contents and letters of recommendation) and the order of work shall be as listed below. (Note: Three-dimensional objects sent in addition to the portfolio are not permitted.) More pages may be requested after initial review if deemed necessary to review transfer or advanced standing credits.

Portfolio Order & Arrangement of Work

Portfolios should follow the guidelines outlined below. For all applicants seeking course waivers or transfer credit, arrange your work in the order classes were taken. Each work shall clearly indicate the class number, and the name of the class as listed on the unofficial transcript (ex. ARCH-101 Design 1). If a class is currently in progress you may include work in progress.

  1. Cover: Provide a cover page or introductory page. This page shall include your full name and the name of any colleges you have attended.
  2. Contents Page: Provide a Table of Contents in the order of exhibits. The table of contents should indicate the class number of each course and the college where it was taken.
  3. Class Work to Be Included in Your Portfolio: It is not necessary for your portfolio to include every architecture project that you have completed. It is most important that you include information from courses that are required with the first two years of our curriculum.

Additional Work: Your portfolio may include other examples of work (within the 20-page limit) that you have personally completed in related fields (for example, carpentry or ceramics), or while working professionally.

Showcase your talents: When submitting a portfolio, you must follow the directions. You should showcase your talents while highlighting any unique skills (such as computer knowledge, freehand drawing, craftsmanship, etc.) that you may have.

Transfer students seeking admission to the Bachelor of Fashion Design program must submit their application, all the required materials and a portfolio.

Portfolio Guidelines for Bachelor of Science in Fashion Design

A portfolio containing a minimum of 12 images of your art/design work via MyJefferson Portal in pdf format. This body of work can include 2D and 3D designs, drawings (life or fashion) and/or garments. To expedite an admissions decision, we recommend you upload your portfolio to MyJefferson Portal upon submission of your application.

Transfer students seeking admission to the 5-year Bachelor of Architecture and the 4-year Bachelor of Landscape Architecture programs must submit a portfolio with their application if they have completed design or studio coursework, technology classes, as well as drawings and computer classes. If none of these previous courses are completed, students are not required to submit a portfolio with their application.

What is a Portfolio? 

In general, the portfolio is a collection of your previous work that relates to the skills necessary to succeed in the Jefferson Architecture Program. Part of our criteria for admission is a clear demonstration of knowledge and skills related to the first two years of the Architecture Program curriculum. Specifically your portfolio is intended to showcase your previous college work that has satisfied academic requirements necessary to receive credit for specific architecture classes at Jefferson. Your portfolio should not include everything that you completed in class; therefore some editing is suggested. Most projects (assignments) can be illustrated on one page. Additionally, work outside of the college setting may be part of your portfolio. 

Portfolios should have an overall organizing layout. It’s best to get another opinion to help you develop a well-ordered and concise presentation. Students may also find it helpful, before submission, to ask a mentor or community college instructor for guidance.

Portfolio Guidelines

Specific requirements for your portfolio are outlined below. It is important that you follow the instructions. The portfolio is limited to no more than 20 single sided pages of images (this does not include covers, transcripts, table of contents, and letters of recommendation) and the order of work shall be as listed below. (Note: Three-dimensional objects sent in addition to the portfolio are not permitted.) More pages may be requested after initial review if deemed necessary to review transfer or advanced standing credits.

Portfolio Order & Arrangement of Work

Portfolios should follow the guidelines outlined below. For all applicants seeking course waivers or transfer credit, arrange your work in the order classes were taken. Each work shall clearly indicate the class number, and the name of the class as listed on the unofficial transcript (ex. ARCH-101 Design 1). If a class is currently in progress you may include work in progress.

  1. Cover: Provide a cover page or introductory page. This page shall include your full name and the name of any colleges you have attended.
  2. Contents Page: Provide a Table of Contents in the order of exhibits. The table of contents should indicate the class # of each course and the college where it was taken.
  3. Class Work to Be Included in Your Portfolio: It is not necessary for your portfolio to include every Architecture project that you have completed. It is most important that you include information from courses that are required with the first two years of our curriculum.

Additional Work: Your portfolio may include other examples of work (within the 20 page limit) that you have personally completed in related fields (for example, carpentry or ceramics), or while working professionally.

Showcase your talents: When submitting a portfolio, you must follow the directions. You should showcase your talents while highlighting any unique skills (such as computer knowledge, freehand drawing, craftsmanship, etc.) that you may have.

Submission of a portfolio with the application for admission is optional for all other design programs. Doing so will provide you the opportunity of having your work reviewed by Jefferson’s expert faculty. The portfolio will provide insights into your unique design lens and a more holistic presentation of your application credentials.

Applicant Resources

The process of submitting a portfolio is slightly different for applicants who apply to Jefferson via the Common Application vs. those who apply via the MyJefferson Application.

  • If applying via the Common Application: Once your Common Application is submitted, you will be instructed on how you can access your unique Jefferson application portal to track the progress of your application. At that time, you can choose to upload an optional portfolio directly into your application portal.
  • If applying via the MyJefferson Application: When submitting your MyJefferson Application, you will have the opportunity to upload an optional portfolio directly into the application system before completing the process. You may also choose to upload it later via your unique Jefferson application portal.

We support media files as large as 5GB, but please be advised that larger files will take longer to upload from your internet connection and may stall if you are on a wireless connection or one that cannot sustain a connection for the necessary period of time. Uploaded documents may contain no more than 75 pages. We support the following file formats:

Video: .avi, .flv, .m1v, .m2v, .m4v, .mkv, .mov, .mpeg, .mpg, .mp4, .webm, .wmv
Audio: .aac, .aif, .aiff, .iff, .fla, .m4a, .mpa, .mp3, .ra, .wav, .wma
Slide: .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .tif, .tiff
Document: .doc, .docx, .odg, .odp, .odt, .pdf, .ppt, .pptx, .rtf, .wpd