School of Arts and Creative Industries portfolio review and audition guides

Here you can find some information on what to expect during your chat or audition, or what to include and how to submit a digital portfolio. Simply find your course below and read through the information.

Your portfolio review guide

This guide explains what to expect if your course includes a portfolio review, and how to prepare for this relaxed, creative conversation about your ideas and inspirations.

Your review might take place in person or online (if you can’t make it to campus). Don’t worry! All the details and joining instructions will be sent straight to your email.

These sessions are informal, friendly and centred around you and your creativity. There’s no need to feel nervous. Think of it as a relaxed creative conversation about your ideas, interests and inspirations. You’ll get to meet staff and current students, share your ideas, and get a real taste of what it’s like to study with us.

At the School of Arts and Creative Industries, we’re always excited to meet the next generation of creative thinkers, and we can’t wait to meet you!

Format and what to expect

Portfolio review process

Course introductions: a member of the course team will bring your chosen subject to life with an overview of what to expect.

Duration: approx. 5 minutes

Portfolio review activity: you’ll share your work and take part in a relaxed group discussion about your creative ideas and inspirations.

Duration: approx. 60 minutes (usually lasts around an hour, giving everyone time to present and receive feedback).

Turn the tables: your chance to ask questions! Ask staff and current students about their
experiences, what they love about the course and any advice they might have for you.

Duration: approx. 15 minutes

Preparing for your portfolio review

Your work doesn’t need to be complete; we’re interested in your ideas just as much as finished pieces. We still want to hear from you. Talk to us about your ideas, inspirations and what excites you about your chosen subject.

There’s no one ‘right’ way to present your creativity. You can share your work in a sketchbook, digital portfolio, or even through platforms like Instagram, YouTube or X. Pick the format that best reflects your style and personality.

Applied for more than one course?

If you’ve applied for multiple courses, you only need to attend one portfolio review session. You’ll have the chance to talk about all your creative interests. Just make sure to bring or present a range of work that reflects the different areas you’ve applied to.

If you’ve already booked your session and later apply for other courses, please let your tutor know so we can ensure all your applications are considered.

Online sessions

Courses

Acting for Stage and Screen BA (Hons)

Take centre stage

This session has two activities, which we hope will be interesting and engaging for both you and us.

Your individual audition will consist of a two-minute monologue of your choice. This can be either a contemporary or classical piece.

The speech should be from a scripted play and not one you have written yourself. If you choose a piece from a compendium of monologues, please make sure you have read the whole play and can talk about the speech in context.

After the audition, we would like you to take part in a group discussion covering topics such as:

why you chose that particular speech and how you prepared for it
recent stage performances that have left an impression on you
any actors or acting styles that you have followed or explored.

We want to hear about what motivates and inspires you, what plans you have for your study with us and why you think our course is the right one for you.

We recommend talking about your work with friends and/or family to practise for your audition.

Course lead: Daren Pickles

Animation BA (Hons), Games Art BA (Hons) and Games Design and Development BA (Hons) and Illustration BA (Hons)

Get in the game

Illustration and games are about storytelling and narrative.

All storytelling happens in spaces and places, so drawings that evidence characters or environments are key.

Storyboarding (thumbnail sketches) helps us to understand the story your illustrations are telling.

We would also like to see examples of work drawn to different scales. Life drawings and figurative drawings are a great way of showing your skills in proportion and perspective as are any 3D or digital works.

It’s important to evidence a broad variety of drawing styles and media, such as pen, pencil, collage, acrylics and cutwork.

Illustration BA (Hons) course lead: Sam Vale

Animation BA (Hons), Games Design and Development BA (Hons), Games Art BA (Hons) course lead: Bianca Wright

Architecture BSc (Hons) and Interior Architecture and Design BA (Hons)

Ready to build your future?

Space, scale and perspective are key to evidence in your work! You should aim to show your spatial understanding of exterior and interior spaces.

Examples of work could include expressive and technical drawings and photographs of any model-making/3D experience.

Models should show scale and volume. They can be very simple in construction, playful and innovative.

Course lead: Tulika Gadakari

Art, Design and Media Practice Foundation

Materialise your future

Showcase your ability to explore media, materials and your ability to create. We would like to see examples of your art and design including a range of ideas.

Don’t forget to include photographs of any 3D or large-scale work, or work that you are unable to bring.

A selection of work can take many different forms but generally we use these guidelines:

a range of clean and carefully presented 2D and 3D work
sketchbooks including evidence of research, both from historical and contemporary sources, idea generation and development through mark-making.

We want to get to know you and what inspires and motivates you in this subject.

Course lead: Sam Vale

Automotive and Transport Design BA (Hons)

On track for success!

Your work should include plenty of drawings, including:

We are looking for creative work that shows your understanding of perspective and scale through drawing and making. Strong sculpture, product design and architectural projects will demonstrate skills in shape, volume and space.

A broad range of media such as pens, ink, wax and graphite are needed to show your skills in scale, volume and perspective.

Course lead: Phil Perry

Digital Media BA (Hons)

Visualise your future

This is your opportunity to demonstrate your ability to come up with an idea and put it into action.

We would like to see samples of digital media you have produced or helped to produce. Examples can include projects developed during your academic experience or from real-world scenarios.

Your work could include any of the following:

We want to get to know you and what inspires and motivates you in this subject.

Course lead: Bianca Wright

Fashion BA (Hons)

Step into the world of fashion.

We are looking for students with a strong selection of individual/primary research including:

drawing
collage
photography
colour awareness.

We would also like to see concept/mood boards including life drawing or observational fashion illustrations. These drawings should display your experimental approach to fashioning the body.

You should also include evidence of materials manipulation and textile experimentations if available.

Course lead: Rebecca Ryder-Caddy

Film Production BA (Hons) and Media Production BA (Hons)

Bring your vision to life

We want to see your passion for media and film production, that you are keen to learn new skills and can collaborate in a group to make great content.

Please provide a selection of your creative work including individual or group projects.

Examples can include work from school or college, or that you have produced outside education.

Examples could include:

artwork
a short film
a music video
a script
a storyboard.

You could include supporting work such as links to websites or social media platforms where you have contributed to or have written work on a relevant topic.

We are not testing for high levels of technical expertise. We are looking for evidence of your interest in making compelling creative media.

Please be ready to talk about your chosen pieces.

What has influenced or inspired your work?
Can you explain your creative process?
Was the end-product what you planned?

This is your opportunity to show us your understanding of current trends in film and media.

Course lead: Daren Pickles

Fine Art BA (Hons)

Your future is your canvas

Evidencing your idea generation and concept is crucial. Try to demonstrate ‘how you think’ throughout your work.

Your talent and specialisms should be supported by your thought process and analysis of creative decisions.

Your selection could include examples of:

We would like to see a broad spectrum of your creative interests so bring evidence of other forms you have worked in such as performance, music/audio, writing, textiles, design etc.

Course lead: Sam Vale

Graphic Design BA (Hons)

Design your future

Give us a sense of your technical skills and an understanding of your design in context.
Examples of your work could include type/font combined with imagery, photography, drawn image or collage. This could be your imagery on a poster, product or brand.

Show us these skills in the context of commercial design or social positive activism, for instance.

We are looking for evidence of your ability to develop a design from concept to delivery. Drawing, sketching, photography or digital work are all important examples of your creative process.

Course lead: Phil Perry

International Fashion Business BA (Hons) and Fashion, Brand and Communication BA (Hons)

Fashion your future

We’re interested in your passion for the fashion industry and your approach to learning. We would like to understand what motivates and inspires you to engage with fashion branding, styling and business. You can show concept or mood boards, photoshoots and design work.

If you don’t have a creative background/examples of work, please provide three images or articles saved as a screen print or a jpg file.

These examples should focus on a brand or designer that inspires you, a trending social media account or a topical issue in the fashion industry.

We would like to hear about why they inspire you, including some industry insights from your research.

Course lead: Rebecca Ryder-Caddy

Media BA (Hons) top-up

Tune in for an exciting future in media

You will need to have completed either a foundation degree, Higher National Diploma (HND) or two years of study at the diploma level in media or design for entry onto this BA (Hons) final year degree.

We would like to see a selection of your creative work, preferably carried out in your two previous years of study.

Examples of work may include:

This exciting top-up degree offers the opportunity to develop the above skills and enhance your portfolio, giving you an edge in an increasingly competitive graduate market.

Course lead: Daren Pickles

Music and Audio Production BSc (Hons)

Compose your future

This is your chance to showcase your potential as a music producer or sound engineer.

We want to hear a selection of recorded music that you have produced or helped produce. Examples can include projects developed during school or college, or from outside education.

Please provide at least two original audio files which you have recorded, mixed, composed or arranged - in any music genre or style you choose.

We recommend that you share these via a media hosting site such as YouTube or Soundcloud.

You should also be ready to give a brief description of your role(s) in the recordings.

Are you the performer, composer, producer or recording engineer?
Is the music a cover, remix or original composition?
What technology did you use in the creation of the recording?
What did you learn in the process?

Make sure you include any supporting work, if you have it, such as:

music events you have organised or promoted
written or creative contributions to websites, YouTube or Instagram etc.

We want to know what makes you tick and how we can help you learn and develop in this exciting field.

Course lead: Daren Pickles

Photography BA (Hons)

See your future through a different lens

We would like to see a selection of your photographic work, together with any available supporting evidence such as sketchbooks and written work.

Your photos can encompass any style or subject matter. We are more concerned with the way you have thought about presenting your work to us. We will be looking at the sequence of your items and the overall impression. Do they show how you have explored and developed a subject or theme?

Show us your passion for the subject matter and the research you put into it, as well as any influences and processes that you follow. We want to know that you can analyse images and that you are aware of current debates in photography.

Your level of technical expertise is not as important as you being able to show that you have grown in your work.

Course lead: Sam Vale

Popular Music Performance and Songwriting BA (Hons)

Find your beat

During this session, we would like you to demonstrate that you can play a musical instrument or sing to a reasonable standard. Show us your enthusiasm to develop your skills and tell us why you think this course is right for you.

Applicants should have reached Grade 5 Music Theory standard or equivalent.

As part of your audition, you will perform two pieces of music in contrasting musical styles. Each piece should last a minimum of three minutes. Your performance can be instrumental or vocal.

Recordings or examples of compositions may also be provided.

Please be ready to talk about your choice of music, the music and artists that inspire you and your ambitions for the future.

We want to know what makes you tick and understand if we can help you to learn and grow in your chosen field.

Course lead: Daren Pickles

Product Design BA (Hons)

Your future, your perspective

Creative problem solving and context is key to product design. You could discuss a service or product that you believe could be improved in interesting ways.

Try to include plenty of drawings in your selection such as:

These drawings should show your spatial awareness and understanding of perspective and proportion. We would also like to see your creative process through visual recordings of your production skills.

Please also include models or examples of any 3D experience. Prototypes of sculpture, ceramic and engineering projects will demonstrate an understanding of material use.

Course lead: Phil Perry