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Portfolio Instructions 2024/25

Your submission must include one PDF portfolio of your artwork, and you can choose to add MAXIMUM two extra video (MPEG, .MOV or MP4) files to show moving image, performances, sound, videos of sketchbooks, but this additional file is not a requirement.  DO NOT include links to online platforms such as YouTube, TikTok or Vimeo to show us films or performances, as we are not allowed to click external links in our selection processes.

Please note: due to the number of applications, we do not provide 1-2-1 portfolio guidance.

Essential Technical Specifications and Instructions for your submission (portfolio + optional showreel + optional sketchbook video)

  • One PDF file, containing up to 20 pages. The maximum size of the PDF is 450MB. Please note: each image should ideally be 300dpi or greater.
  • Two optional videos, up to 450 MB per video, 5 mins duration per video. The first video is your selected media work (showreel) and the second can be a video of flipping through a sketchbook.
  • Please note we are not able to accept any other file formats. We can only accept PDF and for video, MPEG, .MOV and MP4 formats.

For further guidance, please see below:

PDF guidance

  • You have 20 pages in total for your PDF portfolio of your work, maximum file size of the PDF is 450MB. Please note: each image should ideally be 300dpi or greater. Our advice is to make a portfolio presenting one finished artwork per single page. We are keen to view page-sized images of finished work. We think a maximum of 3 images per page is a good guide. This helps us see the detail of works. However, if you feel that you need to make pages with multiple images, to represent, for instance, documentation of performance, installation, sculpture, sound work or time-based processes, that is fine. You must represent your work as you think best.
  • Good practice is to include an image of the final piece, and close-up details if you think needed. Sometimes a close-up detail helps us understand the materials and surface of a work. We also recommend separating research documentation from finished works, giving them separate pages, so we can clearly understand what is presented as resolved work.
  • Titles should be included for each image if a work has a title. Please write "Untitled' if a work is without a title. 
    Please including the following: the date the work was made, its size, materials or processes, and a very short artwork description if applicable. The size of text needs to be readable and on the same page as the work being referred to.
  • We are keen to see project work but also think about whether to include, in your folio, any artwork you make outside of school projects and that you think important and represents your interests in making art.
  • The PDF should be labelled clearly, e.g. NAME_Portfolio.pdf

Video guidance

  • Applicants with film, time-based work, documented performance or sound work may include a showreel with selected extracts from works, uploaded as one video file (MPEG, .MOV or MP4 only). The showreel can be a maximum of 450 MB and have a maximum duration time of five minutes.
  • Applicants can also upload a second video file (MPEG, .MOV or MP4 only) that feature pages from sketchbooks if you think it would be useful to help us understand your work. If you make paintings or sculpture but feel that your sketchbook or contextual research is important, then please use the sketchbook video file option to share filmed notebooks or sketchbooks. If needed, you can also use this second MP4 file as a second showreel/film instead of a sketchbook video. This second video file can be a maximum of 450 MB and have a maximum duration time of five minutes.
  • Each file should be labelled clearly, e.g. NAME_showreel.mp4 

Portfolio Guidance Questions

Can I apply straight from school?

Many candidates apply to the Slade from a Foundation Diploma Course in Art and Design, this is a one year, specialist course that enables students to develop a portfolio of work. Foundation courses are free of fees (if you are under the age of 19 years on the 31st August of the year you start your course).

Foundation courses introduce students to a wider range of art and design options such as fashion, illustration, 3D design and fine art, before each student goes on to chose one of these specialist areas. A Foundation course is not a requirement for application to the Slade, but the majority of our successful candidates will have undertaken a Foundation course. 


What are we looking for in your portfolio?

When you apply to the Slade you will be asked to send a digital portfolio of your work. 

A portfolio needs to tell the story of your development so far.

You can present work chronologically, or the work you value most at the front.

General tips:

  • Focus on key works, it is good practice to start with your strongest work first.
  • Show your skills and experience of working with different methods and mediums.
  • Sketchbooks can be presented online by uploading a film of the pages of your sketchbook being turned by hand.
  • If you are applying straight from school, include work you have made in your own time. We are interested in your interests and passions.
  • Work does not have to be polished, we are also interested in seeing how you make work, what your processes are and your use of different material and experimentation.

Labelling and annotation

  • Title of work
  • Year and month the work was made
  • Dimensions
  • Materials and duration, if relevant
  • Keep it concise

Please can you give advice on how to make a successful digital portfolio, especially if I am applying straight from school?

If you are applying straight from school, your portfolio has to demonstrate ideas and a scope of work that extends your A level or your IB projects. Although your coursework will form a large part of your portfolio, we would like your portfolio to show independence of thought, experimentation and in-depth investigations of ideas that really interest you.

If you decide to apply without a Foundation Course, then please be aware that A level and IB worksheets do not always reproduce well online, and it can be very difficult to understand which is the final work and which is the supporting material. We recommend that single images of final pieces make up the majority of your portfolio.

Uploading your portfolio

Please see the Portfolio Upload page for a step-by-step demonstration regarding uploading your portfolio to our system.

Interviews

In-person interviews for applicants based in the UK

The Slade will be returning to in-person interviews for applicants who are based in the UK.  
We have decided to do this because we have found that in-person interviews allow us to get the best out of each candidate. We value seeing actual work and its materiality and meeting candidates in person.

If invited for interview, you will be receive a tour of the studios and facilities led by a current UG student, who you can meet with and ask questions. This allows candidates to really get a feel for the course and for the ethos of the school, and to help establish if it might be the right environment for you.

This means that if selected for interview, and you are based in the UK, we will ask to see a selection of physical work that you bring to interview. We will look at the physical work alongside your application digital portfolio that we will have up on a screen in the interview room. The physical work can include original paintings and sculptures, printed out hard copy images of new large-scale works, sketchbooks, sound, maquettes, examples of materials or processes.

Please note: Whilst we appreciate the time and effort put into completing your application, regrettably due to the number of applications we receive we are not able to provide feedback to candidates who are not invited to an interview.