Application Process
Students interested in pursuing the Bachelor of Fine Arts or the 5-year BFA+BA/BS Combined Degree will apply to Tufts University using either the Common Application, the Coalition Application powered by Scoir, or the QuestBridge Application.
What's Different about a BFA or BFA+BA/BS Combined Degree Application?
Your application to the BFA Program or the BFA+BA/BS Combined Degree Program must fulfill all of the requirements for a Tufts application, with the following exceptions/additions:
- You must indicate on your application the program to which you are applying.
- Visual Art Portfolio: Required only for all students applying to the BFA or BFA+BA/BS Combined Degree programs, a visual art portfolio should consist of 15-20 images and/or up to 10 minutes of time-based work. The ideal portfolio will demonstrate your conceptual development while highlighting your technical abilities. We encourage you to submit work that you believe to be the strongest representation of your skills and experiences to date, regardless of medium. You will upload your visual art portfolio after submitting your application by logging in to your applicant portal. Find more information and resources about portfolio guidelines here.
- Tufts Short Answer Questions: All applicants to Tufts will respond to two short answer prompts. For BFA and BFA+BA/BS Combined Degree applicants, the second prompt will ask you to reflect specifically on a piece in your portfolio. Click here to find the short answer questions.
You can see the full list of application requirements here.
SMFA at Tufts Portfolio
Required for BFA and BFA+BA/BS Combined Degree applicants
All applicants to the BFA and Combined Degree (BFA+BA/BS) programs are required to submit a studio art portfolio consisting of 12-20 pieces of finished work completed in the past 2 years. A visual art portfolio can only be submitted via the Applicant Status Page, available within 24 hours of receipt of an application for admission.
The ideal portfolio will demonstrate your conceptual development while highlighting your technical abilities. We encourage you to submit work that you believe to be the strongest representation of your skills and experiences, regardless of medium.
Your portfolio may contain examples of work in any combination of mediums or in a single medium. If your practice includes time-based work such as film, video, or animation, you may include up to 10 minutes of video files. Individual clips should not exceed 2 minutes. If you are submitting exclusively time-based work, please include a minimum of 5 examples.
Artworks must be uploaded as individual files. For each file you upload, complete the ‘Edit Details’ section to provide Title, Year, Size, Medium, and Description. Use the Description field to tell us in 1-3 sentences about your goal for the piece and steps you took to make it.
Please do not include architectural plans, scripts, performing arts, industrial design, images of artwork that include embedded descriptive text, or multipage PDF files.
For any collaborative artworks, provide clear information on your role in the Description field.
Artwork created with generative AI (artificial intelligence) may not be submitted in your SMFA at Tufts portfolio.
How to Submit
- After submitting your application, you will receive an email with login information and a link to your applicant portal. Please allow for up to 24 hours after submitting your application to receive this email.
- Submit your portfolio by logging into your applicant portal and selecting the "Digital Portfolio" tab or navigating to the "Digital Portfolio" requirement in your applicant checklist, where detailed upload instructions can be found.
- Do not submit your portfolio as a single multipage file. Please upload each individual piece as a separate document with descriptions included in the 'Details' section.
Portfolio Submission Deadlines
| Early Decision I | November 4, 2026 |
| Early Decision II | January 6, 2027 |
| Regular Decision | January 6, 2027 |