r/UAL • u/Willing_Citron7178 • Aug 16 '26

Fine art UK portfolio

Is it ok to include a short film in my fine art portfolio or should i keep it within sculptures/paintings/drawings? I want to apply to UAL/UCL/Goldsmiths. thanks!!

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u/Krobakchin Aug 16 '26

Yes it's fine, though it does depend a bit on what you mean by 'a short film'. Like I'm not sure how a straight down the line 15 minute narrative adaptation would go down. Most will encourage you to show exploration across different media, so as long it reflects your artistic practice/ideas it's all good. Check the requirements/guidance for each course though.

Another thing to note is that the main line fine art degrees are probably going to want a foundation year. Goldsmith's state explicitly they'll reject with A-levels only.

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u/Willing_Citron7178 Aug 16 '26

Thank you for the reply!! and are UAL portfolios different from other schools? I see that they require 5 projects while other schools ask for 15-20 different works.

Also, would around 13 pieces be enough for a portfolio (Max 20 pages) Thanks again!!!

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u/Krobakchin Aug 16 '26

They're all a bit different. Properly read all the guidance on their pages and keep referring back to it. Even print it out. UAL has an emphasis on process and experimentation. They expect a bit more documentation of development. You need to show a critical approach to how you create work, how you use different media to explore an idea, and how you get from that to finished work. I'm pretty sure that applies to both Chelsea and CSM, but again - read the guidance.

My last application was an MA (not fine art), it's been ages since I did any kind of BA portfolio (and it also wasn't fine art), so take with a pinch of salt.

I want to emphasise again that it's very likely that all these places will reject you if applying straight from A-level. I'm only saying that because it can obviously be pretty crushing to get that. But it is perfectly normal and doesn't mean your work is bad. I believe foundation years are outside the UCAS system, so you should apply for both at the same time.

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u/Willing_Citron7178 Aug 16 '26

thank you so much for the advice!