The portfolio is a component of the Meadows Art application. More information about portfolio requirements are in item # 3 on this page.

• Early Action & Early Decision 1 — Submit Meadows Art application and portfolio by November 15
• Regular Decision & Early Decision II — Submit Meadows Art application and portfolio by February 1
• Transfer (Spring) — Submit Meadows Art application and portfolio by November 15
• Transfer (Fall) — Submit Meadows Art application and portfolio by August 1

Which is right for me: Early Action, Regular Decision, or Early Decision?

Early Action: Apply to SMU by November 1, submit your Meadows Art application and portfolio by November 15. The benefit of applying Early Action is that a student will receive their portfolio results and their SMU admission decision by mid-December. If you apply Early Action, but do not submit your portfolio by November 15, your application to SMU will be deferred until Regular Decision. Early Action is not binding.

Regular Decision: Apply to SMU by January 15, submit your Meadows Art application and portfolio by February 1. Regular Decision applicants typically receive their portfolio results in mid-late February and their SMU admission decision by late March.

Early Decision is a binding application whereby students commit to attend SMU if admitted: Be sure to review the Early Decision FAQ. 

Early Decision I: Apply to SMU by November 1, submit your Meadows Art application and portfolio by November 15, receive portfolio results and SMU admission decision by mid-December. 

Early Decision II: Apply to SMU by January 15, submit Meadows Art application and portfolio by February 1, receive portfolio results in mid- to late February and SMU admission decision by early March.

Note: SAT and ACT scores are optional for all students applying to SMU for Spring 2021 and the following Fall 2021 admission. Read more about SMU's Undergraduate Temporary Test-Optional Policy.

Information for transfer students:

Fall Transfer: Apply by April 1, submit your Meadows Art application and portfolio by August 1

Spring Transfer: Apply by November 1, submit your Meadows Art application and portfolio by November 1

Note that all transfer students are required to complete college algebra or a college-level math course before transferring to SMU. We strongly encourage you to plan ahead and check with your transfer admission counselor to ensure that you have satisfied admission requirements. Plan ahead to optimize your possibility of earning a Transfer Scholarship, and check out the Transfer Equivalency Guides.

Information for International Students:

In addition to your art portfolio, please be sure to complete all SMU application checklist items for international students listed here.

Portfolio Guidelines

All students applying for study in the Division of Art for the B.A. or B.F.A degree programs must submit a digital portfolio within the Meadows Art application. Include 15 to 20 works. The works can be from direct observation and your imagination; work that shows your experience with different media; and work that demonstrates both your skills and interests. This should include work based in school assignments as well as work done on your own.

Note that within the Meadows Art application you will be asked to provide additional information about the artwork and answers to the following questions:

1. With what media are you comfortable? What media would you like to explore? This includes both traditional media as well as experimental and digital media. How do you see that exploration as important to your study? 
2. Tell us something about one of your works in this portfolio. Why is it important to you? What were the obstacles you encountered working on this project? What inspired it? Is it an individual investigation, a response to an assignment, a work within a larger series?
3. Why are you interested in the study of art, in general and at SMU? Do you have any specific interests you’d like to explore? Is there something specific about our program at Meadows that will aid that exploration?

Before starting your Meadows application, read through the navigation instructions:

1. The Art portfolio submission field is found inside the Meadows Art Application. 
2. When you click on the “Start Your Meadows Application” button below, it will take you to a page titled “Your Application to SMU.”
   • If you have submitted an SMU application and have previously logged in to your personal status page, click on “Log in” under “Returning Users,” using the same username and password.
3. If you have not yet applied to SMU and therefore have not received your SMU personal status page login credentials, see “First-time users” and click on “Create an account” to log in.
4. After logging in, scroll to the bottom of that page: 
   • Select “Start New Application”
   • In “Select application type,” choose 2021, then in the drop-down menu select “Meadows Art Application”
   • Click on “Create application”