Transfer Applicants: Visual Arts & Design

Please ensure that your address stays active for at least one year, as we will use it to communicate with you throughout the application process. Use the same email address for all VCU business. Check your email frequently for updates on the status of your application.

Applicants must use VCU’s online application for admission found here: vcu.edu/admissions/apply/transfer/.

Applicants may only submit one application to one major. Admitted students can request additional major/minor(s) during their first semester.

After you submit your transfer application, create a SlideRoom account.

Upload your portfolio to SlideRoom here.

Submit 12 to 16 works of art that you have created within the past two years that show your promise in visual art and design. Your portfolio should present work from your prior institution and/or personal work created within the last two years. Your work must demonstrate technical ability in the fundamentals of drawing, design, color, 3D, and 4D (time-based) to earn transfer credit for the Art Foundation requirements. It may also showcase work for your intended major and should indicate your potential to succeed in VCUarts’ rigorous programs.

Acceptable media in your portfolio can include any of the following, but is not limited to:
Ceramic, glass, metal or wood projects; clothing, furniture or jewelry designs; graphic design; illustrations; mixed-media works; paintings; photography; sculpture; sequential art; sound art; theatrical sets or costumes; videos.

• Images may be submitted in the following formats: .JPG, .JPEG, .PNG, .GIF, .TIF, .TIFF, .BMP, .TGA.
• Images can be up to 5 MB each.
• Videos may be submitted in the following formats: .M4V, .MOV, .MP4, .WMV, .FLV, .ASF, .MPEG, .MPG, .MKV.
• Video files can be up to 250 MB each, and each video must be less than 3 minutes.

If you are a Virginia Community College System (VCCS) transfer applicant, your portfolio must show work from each VCCS studio course taken. Applicants should identify the studio course in the SlideRoom description for each piece. When uploading your portfolio to SlideRoom, please include a brief description of each piece, its title, and dimensions. Additionally, you must include the medium and/or software used to create the work, including any use of artificial intelligence (neural network) programs that create images (e.g., Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Dall-E, Wombo).

Schedule a one-on-one meeting with a VCUarts representative virtually or meet with us at a National Portfolio Day for individualized feedback on your portfolio.

Please note: you may submit your admission application prior to submitting your portfolio, but your application will not be reviewed for admission until you have submitted your portfolio.

Due to the sequence of the required courses in the majors below, students may only begin coursework in the fall semester:
Art Education
Fashion Design
Graphic Design
Interior Design
Kinetic Imaging
Photography + Film

Transfer applicants must submit an official transcript from each previously attended college or university, including summer schools. If less than 30 semester (45 quarter) hours have been completed, applicants also must submit high school transcripts.

Official transcripts must be delivered to the Office of Admissions unopened and sealed in their original envelope.

Transcripts should be sent to:
VCU Office of Admissions
Box 842526
Richmond, VA 23284-2526

VCU does not require applicants to submit recommendations. If you choose to submit recommendations, please send them to arts@vcu.edu.

Applicants should review VCU’s Student Financial Services’ financial aid checklist, available here.

Applicants are encouraged to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Completing the FAFSA form allows you to be considered for federal student aid. States and colleges also use FAFSA information to award grants, scholarships and loans.

The FAFSA form is available starting December 1. To be considered, complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by the priority deadline of February 1.

VCUarts will accept up to 14 studio transfer credits for Art Foundation courses as well as 6 Art History transfer credits in which you have received a grade of “C” or higher from an accredited college or university.

The Art Foundation department will review your transcripts to determine if you have completed the Art Foundation course equivalents. If so, your application and portfolio will be forwarded to your intended major department for further review.

If you do not have 14 credits of the transfer equivalents of Art Foundation studio coursework, your application and portfolio will be reviewed for admission into the Art Foundation Program. Upon admittance into Art Foundation, each studio course will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, utilizing the portfolio and course descriptions to award transfer credit for the Art Foundation studio coursework. Accepted applicants may need to provide additional work examples.

You may review Art Foundation requirements and course descriptions here.

Use the transfer course equivalents tool to check if courses you’ve completed at other institutions will transfer to VCU.