Undergraduate Portfolios are due before 31 August 2024 for study in the year 2025.
When submitting your portfolio, please ensure that you also submit your UCT general application form to the Admissions Office via the online application portal.
Students must have applied to central admissions at UCT before 31 July 2024.
2023 Portfolio Development Workshop Opportunity
First year applications (2025)
Applicants are encouraged to submit only digital applications to the institution for the 2024 application period.
Applicants must submit the following items combined in a single PDF file, and not exceeding 20MB file size, via email to admissions.fineart@uct.ac.za:
- 4 original drawings (submitted digitally)
- A portfolio of 10 recent works (submitted digitally)
- A statement of motivation or 250-500 words (submitted digitally)
- BAFA Form - downloadable under the Downloads page
4 Original drawings (submitted digitally)
You are required to produce 4 original, monochromatic drawings on paper in at least two different media such as pencil, charcoal, pen or brush. These drawings must be submitted digitally with the rest of the portfolio and not in hard copy form as was previously the case. These drawing must be from life and NOT from photographs or be traced, and must include the following:
- Self portrait
- Still life
- Figure or animal study
- Architectural or landscape study
In this section of the portfolio we are looking particularly at observational skills, as these skills are crucial for the foundational phase of the degree. Through these drawings you are demonstrating to the portfolio committee that you have developed the skills required to draw accurately from life. We are looking for an indication that you have the capacity to work with the traditional elements of image creation - composition, proportion, perspective, line, mark, tone and shape. We kindly request that you do not deviate from this list of 4 required drawings.
Portfolio of additional works (submitted digitally)
The portfolio must include no more than 10 individual works in a range of media including colour (10 works and an optional 3 details of images). Each artwork must be labelled in the following format: Number Image; Surname; Title; Date of production; Size (cm); media
The following criteria will be taken into account when assessing this section of the portfolio:
- Creative thinking
- Observational skills
- Experimentation
This work including your name, title of each work and medium used must be submitted in a single PDF file not exceeding 20MB file size. Please check that your PDF is accessible and is formatted to be read on all computers (MAC and PC) BEFORE submitting it. Title your PDF in the following format: Name Surname - Online Application number - Date. When submitting your portfolio, please use the following subject format: Portfolio Submission – Surname – year of application. If you are unable to submit a digital portfolio, please contact: admissions.fineart@uct.ac.za. We kindly request that you take the time to create a single PDF, as it is the simplest way to ensure that your application is viewable by the committee in the same manner it appears on your screen. Submitting a series of images without a coherent structure, or alternative text formats that do not anchor the images in place, complicates the reviewing process. There are a wide range of online and offline methods to create a PDF, we encourage you to find one that suits your digital environment.
All portfolios must be sent to: admissions.fineart@uct.ac.za
Need assistance setting up your portfolio?
To download a PDF on how to take photographs for your portfolio click here
To download an example of a student portfolio click here