Arts Major without Portfolio. How can this work?

Applying to College
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I spent a good amount of time trying to figure out where to post this, but I still don’t really know. Please move this if it’s in the wrong place!

I recently fell in love with the “Industrial Design” or “Product Design” major offered by many schools across the U.S. (CMU, UDub, ASU, Pratt, UofM, Stanford, etc). The problem is, I am by no means an art student. I’ve done online high school and have no kind of a portfolio that these schools ask for. I am interested in this major because it isn’t the typical ‘arts’ class and has more of an entrepreneurial aspect to it. It would teach me how to pursue my ideas in a great environment with plenty of opportunities. I would say I’m creative, but I was never interested in videography or art, hence the lack of a portfolio.

So, is there any way that I can be an Industrial Design major without an art portfolio? Surely there are some of these programs that don’t require a portfolio? Maybe something similar to it?

Thank you!

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are you a junior? if so, you have lots of time to develop a portfolio. i felt similar in my junior year, but i spent a lot of time developing my portfolio and how have a lot of options for top design schools! do lots of research and start sketching!

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@elenadel Congrats on your admissions!

Yea, I’m just finishing up my junior year. The problem is, I don’t have a big interest (or talent) in actual art. I never really draw or create videos or anything like that. You might say that I’m not right for Industrial Design then, but I would disagree. Everything about this program is really appealing to me, I just don’t have the CAD or drawing or editing skills yet, ergo my portfolio is trash. I’m not looking to design art, but rather entrepreneurial products.

I don’t think I’ll have a portfolio, even if I theoretically have the time. I’m just not too into that aspect of art.

Not too sure if that means I can’t get into any product/industrial design programs or not :confused:

Thanks for the help!

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Why do you need a portfolio?

What is your interest in Industrial Design? Have you looked at schools that offer a BS in Industrial Engineering? Drexel and James Madison are 2 off the top of my head.

I’m not suggesting this school for an Industrial Design, but look at the various majors at Columbia College of Chicago. They have some nuanced majors with a great website that may help you zero in your focus of design.

If you don’t want to put together a portfolio, you surely don’t want to take art/drawing classes so before applying to any colleges, drill down to the classes required at each school

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of course! im a theatre designer and im also not super interested in traditional art :slight_smile: But none of my portfolio included that! i found this pdf from Montclair that might help you! https://www.montclair.edu/profilepages/media/986/user/INDUSTRIAL_DESIGN_PORTFOLIO_REQUIREMENTS_(undergraduate)0.pdf
admittedly, i dont know much about your major, but im confident that you can build your portfolio and also submit applications to non-portfolio schools!

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@Longhaul

Before I begin, I would be completely open to learning how to draw. I just don’t have the time to learn how to draw and then create a ton (15+) pieces of work. It’s not that I hate drawing prototypes or anything like that, I just don’t want to draw/paint/film/CAD a bunch of art. For me to be able to do something effectively, I have to see a purpose in it. With that said, I would be completely open to learning how to draw during this major.

Honestly, I don’t know. I looked at a few of the programs (ID) and all of them required portfolios, so I figured they all would. I’m so uninvolved with the college application process, being an online student. Nobody else I know is going through this process and I don’t even live in a place where there is a big university, let alone live in the United States.

My interest in Industrial Design was the entrepreneurial, creative side to it. Essentially, I can have all the resources to build whatever I want from start to finish. I have so many different ideas, I want to be able to be creative, I want to work with people that share similar interests, and I think I would be great and do great in product development. I haven’t considered IE because ‘engineering’ is stereotypically really difficult to get into and to maintain. What interested me more was the ‘design’ aspect of Industrial Design-- I actually first looked at product design, which I later found out was the same thing. I’ll look more into IE; however, it seems like those graduates work in factories and are more ‘build’ rather than ‘create.’

Columbia College looks fantastic. I’ll add it to my list. There are a lot of cool programs there, such as Design Management, Interaction Design, and Game Programming. Not sure how I feel about living downtown in a big city, but it’s not going to be a deciding factor.

@elenadel

Oh! Okay. That seems a lot more doable. I’m still not sure if I would be able to/want to do it, however. It requires “a heavy time commitment;” I’m not sure if I want to do a heavy time commitment to my portfolio when I’m already busy as is (near full APs, college applications, ACTs, SAT IIs, etc.). Also, in that specific school’s requirements, I believe specific pieces are required: lighting, furniture, transportation, and consumer products. I wouldn’t know where to begin, considering I don’t have time for any art classes to learn this stuff.

Thank you, both!!

EDIT: I also want to mention I have a near 5.0 GPA and 35 ACT score. I think I want to focus on finding a school that offers ID without a portfolio rather than trying to create a portfolio. The reason I mentioned my stats was that I was blessed with the opportunity to get into some great schools; if I can only get into a mediocre art school with a mediocre portfolio, I’d pass on that opportunity because I have a better one in a more-typical major.

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totally understandable! this process is overwhelming but you’ll find the perfect school! good luck!

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U of Cincinnati has a top-tier ID program with no portfolio requirement http://daap.uc.edu/academics/sod/programs/BS-industrial It’s considerably more competitive than the university as a whole but you’d be a great candidate. Check out Purdue and Virginia Tech as well. For Georgia Tech the portfolio is optional - not sure how submitting it or not affects an applicant’s chances, but you’re at least allowed to apply without one and I’d think your stats would give you a shot. The Cal State schools with ID programs - Long Beach and SJSU if I remember correctly - don’t accept portfolios. You might also check out the Multidisciplinary Design program at U of Utah.

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College Navigator finds 66 places that offer bachelor degrees in industrial and product design, so it would not take very long to check them all for application requirements.

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Since our kids are doing all those same things, PLUS the time suck that goes with being in a bricks & mortar school PLUS structured ECs (sports teams / student clubs / performance arts), your claim that you ‘just don’t have the time’ to actually try out this area you have suddenly developed an interest in seems a bit of a stretch. Before you hare off choosing a college based on a course about which you know rather little, why not, oh say, take an online course? (it sounds as if you are not in the US, or I would suggest heading down to your local community college and taking a clas there).

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@aquapt
Incredible! Thank you so much. I’ll be sure to check out all of those schools.

@happymomof1

Never heard of college navigator before! I’ll check it out along with the application requirements. Thank you for the help!

@collegemom3717

I said “I am already busy,” implying that I do not have time for courses. Why don’t I have time for these courses? Maybe I’m prioritizing time with my dying family member. Or maybe I have a fulltime business that I am running. What if I just want to enjoy the short time left I have living in Canada with my family? You don’t know my life nor my aspirations, so I don’t appreciate you making such strong, hateful accusations about my life before judging how I live it. What you inferred was “there is no time for courses;” I have time for these courses, but I am prioritizing other activities.

Not everyone on this forum has the sole priority of making it to their dream school; I understand why you would think that, but it’s just not me. I don’t understand your hostile tone, considering I didn’t say anything about you, your children, or anything of the sorts. I simply said that I do not have time (I am prioritizing other things over it, sure) for building a full art portfolio.

Also, I said above that my main interest in this major was not the artistic side of it, but rather the creativity and the ability to plan, design, create, and market my ideas. Taking up a full time drawing course would help, sure, but I’d rather just find a school that doesn’t accept portfolios because they would be better for my intentions in the course and would give me hundreds of hours of my senior year back. If you don’t agree with that decision, I respect your opinion, but I am not going to change it.

My interest was in no way sudden. Since I was a kid I’ve been thinking of new products. I’ve almost always pursued them by doing material research, market research, PPAs, and more. The ‘sudden interest’ was in the major, which has all of my since-birth interests within it.

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Check out this subforum http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/

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Actually, I wasn’t recommending a ‘full-time drawing course’, nor was I recommending “building a full art portfolio”- I was suggesting a single design course- online, even, of the kind you would take in your proposed major.

I am sorry that you found my post ‘hateful’- it certainly was not intended to be. There were no ‘accusations’ either. I try to be helpful, and to stick closely to what the poster has actually said (which is why I quoted you). That there are other things going on in your private life is fair- obviously, readers can only work with the information available.

Even so,I stand over my recommendation, because you are looking at some very specialized programs without much background in these areas (as it relates to college programs/majors). Finding a way to get some exposure to what those courses- and the roles that follow- is (imo) particularly important when choosing a specialized area. So, if not (say) a summer course, perhaps an internship in a local company doing the kind of work you are looking at. The goal is simply to help you identify programs that are likely to be a good fit- and having some direct exposure could help better recognize which ones those are. It can also minimize the chances that you could find yourself in a program that isn’t at all what you expected and doesn’t work for you. That is not particular to you- spend enough time on CC and you see many, many students who realize that they aren’t happy with their choice and are looking for help figuring out ways to fix the situation.

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@collegemom3717

Fair enough! My apologies for misinterpreting your message. Through text, it is difficult to determine a person’s tone./ Comments like “Before you hare off choosing a college based on a course about which you know rather little, why not, oh say, take an online course?” seem pretty hostile to me, but I trust that you didn’t mean that.

I’ll definitely consider your suggestion and look more into the major! Thanks. I have to be honest, I can’t see myself not enjoying this major. Every other major I’ve had my doubts about, but this major is essentially what I’ve always wanted to do. Even if I don’t enjoy, say, drawing, I should be more than fine with the overall program. I do, however, recognize that there is still a chance that I won’t like it at all, so I will be sure to look over the program in more depth and look into some classes or internships!

Appreciate the help, and sorry for the misunderstanding!