First-Year Applicants

Any student who wishes to highlight their extraordinary talent in the fine or performing arts is welcome to submit an Arts Portfolio. Arts Portfolio applicants have often received significant awards and honors at a state, national, or international level.

We understand many students are accomplished across a number of art forms. Candidates should submit a portfolio in the area that best represents their strength in the arts and the art form they are most likely to pursue in college.

If you submit an Arts Portfolio, you are not required to major in the arts.

If you do not submit an Arts Portfolio, you may still study or participate in the arts at Stanford and are encouraged to do so. We welcome the participation of all students in the arts.

No; transcripts, school reports, and teacher evaluations may arrive by the standard application deadline.

Students submitting a portfolio in Music or Theater and Performance Studies may include a letter of recommendation in their portfolio. This letter should come from an arts instructor/mentor who is most familiar with your artistic efforts. This letter is optional, and portfolios without one will not be at a disadvantage. Submission Instructions:

1. Select “I’d like to include an arts letter of recommendation” in the Arts Portfolio form.
2. Provide your instructor’s contact information and submit your form.
3. Your recommender will receive an email with instructions for uploading their letter.

The deadline for your recommender is the same as the earlier arts portfolio deadline above, and we cannot provide extensions. At this time, we are not accepting letters of recommendation for Art Practice and Dance portfolios.

The Arts Portfolio is an optional component in the application. Even if you indicated you would submit a portfolio, there is no obligation to do so.

You can let us know you will not be submitting a portfolio by logging in to your Stanford portal and selecting the “I am no longer interested in submitting an arts portfolio” checkbox. If the portfolio deadline has passed, the form and checkbox will no longer be available in your portal. No need to worry, and please know you do not need to follow up to let us know you will not be submitting a portfolio.