Undergraduate Application Process

Undergraduate Application Process

First Year Student Application Overview

Student in class working on a laptop

Welcome to UConn's Department of Digital Media & Design! We are excited to meet prospective students and invite them to learn more about our DMD program! Learn more from our Online Brochure.

First-year admissions to the School of Fine Arts as a Digital Media Design Major is a two-part process. You must submit:

  1. An application to the University of Connecticut online through either the Common Application or the Coalition Application. There is no preference in application choice and only one application is required. For more info, visit the Undergraduate Admissions Office
  2. An online portfolio through Slideroom.

Your application to UConn DMD will not be complete until you upload your Slideroom portfolio.

UConn offers B.A. and B.F.A. in Digital Media Design degrees at the Stamford campus. Residential housing is available in Stamford, a growing campus located just 45-minutes from NYC, in close proximity to DMD industry partners. You will be asked to choose a first-choice campus and major (Digital Media Design (B.F.A.) or Digital Media Design (B.A.) in your application. You must choose Stamford as the first choice campus as the Storrs deadline has passed.

 

Deadlines

ALL FIRST-YEAR APPLICANTS to Digital Media & Design: 

  • December 1, 2024 - Priority application deadline for merit & honors consideration
  • January 15, 2025 - STORRS deadline for Common Application and online portfolio uploaded to Slideroom
  • February 15, 2025 - FAFSA Deadline for Financial Eligibility
  • March 1, 2025 - Admissions decision notifications begin
  • March 15, 2025 - STAMFORD Slideroom Portfolio Deadline**
  • May 1, 2025 - STAMFORD Campus Application Deadline**
  • **Students requesting Stamford housing should apply as soon as possible.

*Regional campus admission decisions are made on a rolling basis.

*The Digital Media Design major is not an option for Early Decision applicants (those who apply early decision to UConn by November 1.) However, students who apply to UConn Early Decision can submit their DMD portfolio and be reviewed for DMD during the regular application process timeline indicated above.

All interested students may contact the University Admissions Office for more information at BeAHusky@uconn.edu or at (860) 486-3137.

 

Portfolio Requirements

The portfolio items below are to be uploaded to the Media section of Slideroom:

1) Create a 1-Minute VideoStudents Collaborating

Create a 1-minute video that tells your personal story of engagement with, and affinity for, Digital Media and Design. Share your thoughts and reflections about the digital medium and why UConn is the place for you to advance your studies. We ask that you produce your video as simply as possible (use a smartphone or webcam) and keep the focus on you - we want to meet you and get to know more about you through your video. Your video will be judged on substance (what you have to say), not on production values (how you shoot or edit) so don’t worry about making the coolest looking video. Instead, focus on making a video that tells your personal story. Also, we will watch only 60-seconds of your video, so running longer than 1-minute will not help your application. The file format for all video submissions should be: .mov, .mp4, or .wmv.

2) Your Artistic Portfolio

All Applicants (B.A. and B.F.A.) Must Upload a Portfolio to Slideroom.
A portfolio is a collection of the strongest creative work that represents you - your artistic interests and experiences in art, digital media, design, and related areas. It should contain the best creative work you have made including: films/videos, animations, digital imaging, traditional art (drawings, paintings, photography, sculpture, mixed media), web design, creative blogs, writing samples, and even work in math, science, technology, business, music, or other areas.  You may want to  compress or zip your files prior to uploading if you think your files are too large. The portfolio must include:

- Five or more samples of creative work in various media

  • For each, please add these captions:
    • Title of Work: (required)
    • Medium: (required)
    • Description (list your role if collaborative): (required)

Provide up to 7 files/ items. Your portfolio can include process work with more than one image on an individual item.

Size limits: Images (up to 10MB each), Video (up to 500MB each), Audio (up to 60MB each), PDFs (up to 20MB each), Models (Sketchfab) and Other Types (.doc, .docx, .rtf, .xls, .zip, .ppt and .pptx) (up to 20MB each). You may also link to media from YouTube, Vimeo and SoundCloud.

New England Regional Student Eligibility

The University of Connecticut participates in the New England Regional Student Program. The New England Board of Higher Education provides New England residents with a tuition reduction when they pursue certain majors at New England public colleges and universities. Due to its unique nature, UConn’s Digital Media & Design (BFA & BA) is one of the approved degree programs. Students from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont are eligible for a significant discount on out-of-state tuition (175% of UConn's in-state tuition cost) when they choose Digital Media & Design as their major at UConn.

Other Info2019 Design Thinking

Please keep in mind that we DO NOT accept USB drives, CDs or DVDs – only digital files uploaded to SLIDEROOM.

Please Note:  All students are required to come to class with an appropriate portable computer.  Please see the specifications here.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Only applicant portfolios that have been reviewed through Slideroom, in accordance with the deadlines indicated, will be considered for admission into the Digital Media & Design program for the following fall semester. Portfolios received outside of these processes or after the indicated deadlines will NOT be considered. We do not schedule private review sessions.