National Portfolio Day

National Portfolio Day (NPD) events are held annually in locations all over the country to help further the artistic development of young artists by bringing together experienced college representatives to review artwork and offer feedback. National Portfolio Days are about the exchange of information about prospective students’ work, college plans and concerns.

Acclaimed faculty in RIT’s College of Art and Design travel each year to dozens of cities as part of NPD, allowing prospective students to meet one-on-one with nationally-renowned artists, photographers, designers and filmmakers. Faculty at these events share information about our range of programs in the arts and sciences while reviewing and critiquing portfolios.

Portfolios should include your best and most recent work, but it can also include works in progress, sketchbooks, tear sheets and creative writing. No admissions decisions or scholarship awards will be offered at National Portfolio Days, but RIT’s College of Art and Design can accept your portfolio as the visual portion of your application.

A drawing current RIT medical illustration student Tirzah Pilet presented at a National Portfolio Day event several years ago.

RIT will host a National Portfolio Day event on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019, welcoming representatives from top art and design schools from across the country. In preparation for the college application process, students will have the opportunity to receive constructive feedback on their portfolios and learn more about academic programs and potential career paths. 

Those interested in having their work evaluated by an RIT representative can best prepare for a review by observing our portfolio requirements. Any questions about RIT’s participation at National Portfolio Days can be directed to portfolios@rit.edu. 

The portfolio review portion of NPD at RIT is scheduled for noon to 4 p.m. in Gordon Field House. Tours of the College of Art and Design and an Admissions and Financial Aid presentation in Webb Auditorium (Booth Hall, first floor) will be offered beforehand. Times are to-be-determined.

A pre-registration link for the event will be available in the fall. In addition to RIT, the below schools are scheduled to have representatives at RIT's NPD:

Alfred University School of Art and Design 

Art Academy of Cincinnati

California College of the Arts

Center for Art and Design at The College of Saint Rose

Cleveland Institute of Art

College for Creative Studies

Columbus College of Art and Design

Drexel University

Fashion Institute of Technology

Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University

Maine College of Art

Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Maryland Institute College of Art

Montserrat College of Art

New York School of Interior Design

OCAD University

Pratt MWP College of Art and Design

Pratt Institute

Purchase College

Ringling College of Art and Design

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

School of Visual Arts

Sheridan College

SMFA at Tufts

Syracuse University

The Cooper Union

University of New Haven

A charcoal self-portrait RIT medical illustration student Tirzah Pilet made as a high school student attending RIT's annual Pre-college Portfolio Preparation workshop. 

RIT has a coast-to-coast presence during the NPD season, from fall to winter. Our faculty are in many cities across the U.S. each year for both undergraduate and graduate NPD events. A list of which National Portfolio Days the College of Art and Design is attending during the 2019-20 academic year can be found below. Any questions about RIT’s participation at National Portfolio Days can be directed to npd@rit.edu.

For more information about the National Portfolio Day Association and its events, visit nationalportfolioday.org.

RIT's 2019-20 NPD Schedule

Sept. 14: Atlanta, Georgia 

Sept. 14: Nashville, Tennessee 

Sept. 28: Austin, Texas

Sept. 29: Dallas, Texas

Oct. 5: Denver, Colorado

Oct. 5: Richmond, Virginia

Oct. 6: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Oct. 6: Charlotte, North Carolina

Oct. 12: Hartford, Connecticut 

Oct. 13: Boston, Massachusetts

Oct. 19: San Francisco, California (graduate NPD event)

Oct. 20: Chicago, Illinois

Oct. 26: Boston, Massachusetts (graduate NPD event)

Oct. 26: New York City, New York

Oct. 27: New York City, New York (graduate NPD event)

Oct. 27: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Nov. 2: Chicago, Illinois (graduate NPD event)

Nov. 2: Toronto, Ontario

Nov. 2: Washington, D.C.

Nov. 3: Rochester, N.Y.

Nov. 3: Baltimore, Maryland

Nov. 9: San Diego, California

Nov. 9: Seattle, Washington

Nov. 10: Los Angeles, California

Nov. 10: Portland, Oregon

Nov. 16: Cincinnati, Ohio

Nov. 17: Cleveland, Ohio

Nov. 17: San Francisco, California

Jan. 25, 2020: Miami, Florida

Jan. 26, 2020: Sarasota, Florida

The National Portfolio Day Association was created in 1978, solely for the organization and planning of National Portfolio Days. The association consists of representatives from regionally accredited United States colleges and universities that are accredited institutional members of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) and Canadian colleges and universities that are members of Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) or that hold NASAD Substantial Equivalency status. NPDA is the only organization of its kind and membership represents the highest standard of visual arts education in the U.S. and Canada.