Pre-College Portfolio Preparation | College of Art and Design

Overview

Our School of Art's annual Pre-College Portfolio Preparation Workshop offers students an engaging and rewarding experience in a hybrid environment! Our summer 2024 workshop is scheduled for July 15-26.

The course, taught by RIT School of Art drawing and painting faculty, is an annual visual arts class designed to prepare the portfolios of rising high school juniors and seniors for admission to college art programs. Over the course of two weeks, students will produce high-level additions to their portfolios. In-depth investigations of media concept development and critical analysis are emphasized. Students will create still-life drawings, gesture drawings of the figure, self-portraits, and explore techniques for drawing the human head. Expressive art assignments, group and individual critiques, and visual research will help guide students through the process of portfolio selection and documentation.

*On-campus housing for in-person attendees is not available.

Gallery of previous workshops

A student and faculty member smile as they draw on a canvas.

Faculty Amy McLaren leads a drawing demo for a group of students.

A Zoom window showing a sketch of a skull.

A photo of a student making art via Zoom.

A charcoal self-portrait of a boy wearing a mask that covers his nose and eyes.

Faculty Gretchen Etlie instructs a student in an art studio.

A sketch of a giraffe head coming out of roots.

A detailed photo of a hand drawing with charcoal on a canvas.

A student draws with charcoal in an RIT studio space.

Cost and Application

The two-week workshop is offered in two modalities: virtually via Zoom or as an in-person experience on RIT's campus.

Tuition for in-person workshop: $950

Tuition for virtual workshop: $850

Scholarships are available! Applicants can apply for scholarships and submit supporting materials when filling out the registration form.

Scholarship application deadline: May 1

Scholarship notification deadline: May 15

Program registration deadline: May 15

Please email art@rit.edu with any questions.

Register

Prepped for Success

We want to see the students' own creations and drawings from observation. If we don’t typically see it in our reviews, we give those opportunities to the students for their portfolios — we’re trying to give them a leg up so they have more choices."

Denton Crawford

Workshop instructor since 2014

During the workshop, students complete a range of projects for inclusion in their portfolios alongside creative peers and RIT School of Art faculty. Students are provided the necessary tools and resources to take on assignments that cater to what college art programs are looking for in applicants.

In 2020 and 2021, the course shifted to an online-only environment for the first time due to COVID-19, still offering an engaging and rewarding experience for 35 participants. Since then, we have adopted a hybrid model, with online and in-person options for students. Video by Jesse Wolfe '22.

Testimonials:

Dylan D.

“I would tell anyone interested in art to take this course. I have had an awesome experience. Not only does it get you pieces for your portfolio, but it’s like a pre-college experience. It’s been a sneak peek at the future and I’m excited to go to college because of it.”

Juliet H.

“This program gives you a head start on the projects that you’re really going to want for your portfolio. It’s less of a stress because you have a head start from some of the stuff you’ll work on during the school year.”

Elizabeth L.

“Printmaking and figure drawing was something that I got to try for the very first time, which was really exciting. There are a lot of things that I’ve been able to experience and technical skills that I’ve learned during the course that are opening my eyes to bettering myself even more than I thought I could and getting me ready to handle college art.”