Applicants are required to submit a portfolio and a written statement of intent.  The statement of intent should be connected to the work submitted in the portfolio and the applicant's interest in the program.  The successful portfolio and application should include 10-20 examples of work that shows excellence as an artist and a desire to work with electronic arts tools. The portfolio should represent what the applicant considers to be their best work in any medium. Prepare a digital portfolio of your creative work, containing multimedia projects, digital video clips, audio recordings, or still images.  Students may submit a portfolio of drawings, paintings, slides or scores, etc. in addition. 

Preferred Portfolio Format:

Incoming Students (Freshmen and External Candidates):  Rensselaer strongly recommends that you use the online portfolio system to upload your portfolio with digital files. The online portfolio system supports the following formats for each genre:   

Images (5MB each: jpg, png, gif)
Videos (60MB each: mov, wmv, flv)
PDF (10MB each: pdf)
Audio (10MB each: mp3)

If the online portfolio system does not support your desired submission format, applicants can also submit their digital portfolio on CD or DVD. Do not submit original work with your application. Your CD or DVD portfolio should be mailed to:

Rensselaer Admissions
Undergraduate Programs
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
110 8th Street
Troy, New York 12180-3590

Current Rensselaer Students:  Prepare a digital portfolio of your creative work on CD or DVD, containing multimedia projects, digital video clips, audio recordings, or still images.  Students may submit a portfolio of drawings, paintings, slides or scores, etc. in addition.  Please do not submit original work with your application. 

The following formats should be used for specific genres:   
Audio:  .mp3 or AIFF or WAV files
Video:  Quicktime or Windows Media Player
Still images/Photos:  JPEG