<p>I want to major in graphic design but I was wondering do I need Graphics in my portfolio for most schools because I dont have any graphic design software like CS4.</p>
<p>P.S. Im applying to MassArt, Montserrat, Syracuse, RISD(reach), MICA, and the art institute in boston</p>
<p>Each school should give you specifics for what they require for a portfolio and the format in which it should be sent.</p>
<p>My daughter is majoring in Graphic Art now, but during the application process it was pretty confusing. She chose a lot of schools that did not require a portfolio and only ended up applying to one school that needed one. Most require a lot of drawing, photography and graphics. My daughter basically is not much of an artist… but is excellent in the other two areas so she was pretty nervous!</p>
<p>Are you looking for a fine arts major? When we went to Syracuse we went to the fine arts department and they have a graphic design major that required a lot of drawing for the portfolio, but if accepted the first year of college was all art classes. My daughter did not want that, but when she took a tour w/a photo major of the school and asked her what she wanted to do, she replied layout and design for a magazine. He sent her to Newhouse School of Communication which is part of Syracuse, and they have the graphic arts major. It is still a graphics major, but the rest of the curriculum is basically from the arts and science area of the school. This required no portfolio. She chose that option and is a sophomore and loving it. </p>
<p>I wish you the best of luck in all your applications!</p>
<p>My daughter applied to MICA, MassArt and Syracuse (visual arts dept) for graphic design 2 years ago. She had no graphic deisgn pieces in her portfolio but was accepted to each of these schools. She did portfolio reviews with each of them at National Portfolio Day. After the reviews she received letters from both MICA and Syracuse asking her to apply (she had already applied to MassArt at that time).</p>
<p>Her portfolio was mostly paintings, with some drawings, and photgraphs. She had done the RISD summer program with painting as her concentration.</p>
<p>She ended up at MassArt. She wanted to be in a city. We live in NYC so she wanted to go elsewhere and fell in love with Boston. After the freshman foundation year (where she barely got a chance to dabble much with GD), she switched her concentration to Fashion design.</p>
<p>//I want to major in graphic design but I was wondering do I need Graphics in my portfolio for most schools because I dont have any graphic design software like CS4.//</p>
<p>No one is interested software skills, so whether you have this application or that one, or this version or another is irrelevant. Nor is it necessarily important to include graphic design pieces even if it is the aspiring student’s area of interest. Generally, Freshmen take foundations level courses - which may not be specific to any particular major - their first year and declare a major prior to their sophomore year, and it is not unusual for students to change their minds after the first year…so schools really don’t necessarily require an applicant to submit pieces relating to the possibility of a future career choice.</p>
<p>At the undergraduate level, applicants should place the best work in their portfolios regardless of possible future interests. Graphic design or whatever pieces may certainly be included if they are among the best work possible.</p>