National Portfolio Day
What is 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.
NPD at RIT
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 can receive constructive feedback on their portfolios and learn more about academic programs and potential career paths.
Pre-register for RIT's NPD event
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. Optional 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 during morning programming. The full-day schedule is below:
RIT College of Art and Design Tours
9:00-11:00 a.m. — Tours leave from University Gallery (Booth Hall, second floor) every half hour
Admissions and Financial Aid Presentation
10:00-10:45 a.m. — Webb Auditorium (Booth Hall, first floor)
*While pre-registration is available online, registration is also available the day of the event starting at 9 a.m. in University Gallery (Booth Hall, second floor).
Portfolio Reviews
12:00-4:00 p.m. — Gordon Field House (building code GOR/024)
*Registration for portfolio reviews begins at 11:30 a.m. in Gordon Field House
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.
Other schools attending NPD at RIT
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
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
What other cities will RIT be in?
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 portfolios@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
About the National Portfolio Day Association
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.