Undergraduate
Prospective undergraduate students interested in entering Art and Design Department's major and art minor programs at Buffalo State must apply through the Undergraduate Admissions Office.
Graduate
Prospective graduate students interested in entering the Art and Design Department's master's or post-bac programs at Buffalo State must apply through the Graduate Studies Office.
Special Admissions Requirements
Art Education (PK-12; Certification Only)
This program is for students who have already earned a B.A./B.F.A. degree in one studio area and are interested in earning art teacher certification.
The art education post-baccalaureate certification program offers a course sequence meeting the educational requirements for certification. Students are expected to complete the required sequence and are responsible for any additional certification requirements established by the New York State Education Department, Teacher Certification Division, including the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations, and the Child Abuse and Classroom Violence Seminars.
In order to be eligible for the program the applicants must:
- Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5, and a minimum GPA of 3.0 in the program, which includes fine arts, design and art education coursework
- Submit a completed SUNY application
- Submit a portfolio
Art Education (PK-12), M.S.
New York State Initial certificate for teaching art.
In order to be eligible, the applicants must*:
- Possess a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 (4.0 scale) and a minimum 3.0 GPA in the major area of study, or a combined score of 1,000 on the verbal/quantitative portion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
- Be interviewed by the Art Department chair
*Variances to these prerequisites may be appealed to the department chair.
Advisement: Advisers are assigned by the department. They should be consulted at all decision points. Students, however, remain responsible for knowing and fulfilling department and college regulations specific to the programs that are housed in the department.
Portfolios
First-year students applying for admission to the B.F.A., photography concentration, must state their intent to be accepted to the concentration.
A portfolio is not required.
Portfolios
Submitting Your Portfolio
Applicants for admission to the Art Education Program are required to submit a portfolio (at least twelve (12) and no more than twenty (20) pieces) of their best work. The portfolio should be submitted in one of the two following formats:
- A digital portfolio submitted on a CD. Follow the above guidelines and submit as JPEG files or as a Power Point presentation.
- Original artwork may be submitted, i.e. drawings, prints, watercolors, etc. These pieces are not to exceed 18” x 24”. Plastic or paper covers should protect original works.
Return of Your Portfolio
If the portfolio needs to be returned to you, you are responsible for either the postage, or the pick-up of the portfolio. A self-addressed, stamped envelope should be included for return of materials. Insurance, if any, is also the responsibility of the applicant. The department cannot be responsible for the cost of shipping.
Your work will be reviewed and returned to you with attendant comments (if any) as soon as possible. We look forward to seeing your work.
Submit your application to:
Portfolio Review - Art and Design Department
Buffalo State
1300 Elmwood Avenue
Upton Hall 402
Buffalo, NY 14222
The Ceramics concentration accepts high school Advance Placement (AP) test scores of 4 or 5 for the AP 15.2 Studio Art 2D Design and AP 16 Studio Art 3D Design as equivalent to our Foundation Studies program 3 credit AAD 102 Introduction to 2-D Design and AAD 103 Introduction to 3-D Design courses. Qualifying students will not have to take these courses. Scores of 3 on either AP test will be granted elective credit status.
There is no entrance portfolio review for admission.
All students enter as an Art and Design Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA-AS-AAD (CER)) ceramics concentration major and complete a selection of foundation studies and major courses after which a portfolio review will be conducted for continuation in the B.F.A. ceramics concentration degree program.
Transfer students are urged to submit their portfolios the semester before transfer in order to facilitate placement in departmental courses and/or for possible portfolio review.
To remain in the B.F.A. degree program, a 2.5 GPA in the major must be maintained.
As a condition of graduation, each B.F.A. ceramics concentration student will be required to mount an individual exhibition of his/her work and present a professional portfolio.
Prospective students interested in the Interior Design Program must complete these requirements to be considered for admission:
- Successful completion of the Skills Competency Exam following IDE 151, IDE 152, and IDE 153/ AAD 105. The one-day exam evaluates entry-level ability to visualize, design, and communicate spatial solutions to a simple problem through scaled drafting, rendering, and model-building.
- A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.6 after the freshman year.
- Transfer Students: Acceptance to the major is determined after an admissions review with the faculty of the Interior Design Program; transcripts, portfolio of work, and course syllabi are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Completing this course sequence could take a full four years and it should not be assumed that transfer students can graduate in two years of admission.
No entrance portfolio is required for admission of incoming students (including both First-Year and Transfer students). During their second year of the program, individual reviews will be conducted to assist students on their progress towards their degree.
Incoming students can declare their painting concentration during their admission application process without a portfolio review.
First-Year Students
First-year students applying for admission to the B.F.A., photography concentration, must state their intent to be accepted to the concentration.
A portfolio is not required.
Transfer Students
Transfer student who have studied photography, seeking advanced placement may be accepted directly into the concentration, but must show a portfolio of photographs to be evaluated by the Area Coordinator for appropriate placement in this program.
Portfolios must include:
- 10, silver black-and-white
- 8”x10” prints enlarged from film
- 10, 8.5”x11” color ink jet prints
Mail portfolios to:
Art & Design Department
SUNY Buffalo State
Upton Hall 402
Buffalo, NY 14222
Attn: Photography Coordinator
High School Advance Placement (AP) Credit
The Art and Design Department accepts high school Advance Placement (AP) test scores of 4 or 5 for the AP 15.2 Studio Art 2D Design and AP 16 Studio Art 3D Design as equivalent to our Foundations program 3 credit DES 101 Introduction to Design Two Dimensional I and DES 103 Introduction to Design Three Dimensional I courses. Qualifying students will not have to take these courses. Scores of 3 on either AP test will be granted elective-credit status.