Optional Arts Supplement

The optional Arts Supplement is for students who have devoted a significant amount of time and energy to one or more art forms and who wish to have their work considered as part of their application. If you've excelled in architecture, creative writing, dance, music, music theater, theater or visual arts, and would like us to consider your talent as part of your Princeton application, you are welcome to submit an Arts Supplement.

Submission Guidelines

Princeton values the arts in all forms. We cannot, however, evaluate areas outside those in which our faculty have expertise. Please read the descriptions for each area for further guidelines on how to submit your supplementary materials.

Deadlines

Single-Choice Early action optional Arts Supplement is due on or before Nov. 6 at 11:59 p.m. (applicant's local time).
Regular decision optional Arts Supplement is due on or before Jan. 8 at 11:59 p.m. (applicant's local time).
Transfer optional Arts Supplement is due on or before March 7 at 11:59 p.m. (applicant's local time).

Instructions

On the Common or QuestBridge* Application, please indicate your intention to submit an Arts Supplement in Princeton’s member questions. You will be able to access the link to submit an Optional Arts Supplement in your Princeton Applicant Status Portal.
Please keep in mind that you need to submit your application to Princeton University before you can submit your optional Arts Supplement on your Princeton Applicant Status Portal.

*For students who are participating in the QuestBridge College Match, we will be unable to review the optional Arts Supplement as part of the Match application review process, given the early timeline.

Helpful Tips

As one of your media uploads, we encourage you to include a résumé if you think that will add to an understanding of your training and experiences. Please keep in mind, information you provide in your arts supplement will only be read by the arts faculty evaluating your supplement unless you submit it as additional information along with your application to Princeton.

Changes cannot be made to the optional Arts Supplement after submission. If you wish to include an arts letter of recommendation, it must be requested prior to submission and an arts résumé must be included as one of the media uploads, if you wish to submit one.

We only accept one submission per program.

Your completed arts supplement will be reflected on your Princeton Applicant Status Portal within 24 hours.

Documents (for example, additional academic information, research papers, etc.) should not be uploaded with your arts supplement. You may upload those materials through the additional information section of the application or on your Princeton Applicant Status Portal.

If you have excelled in an area of the arts not covered by our supplement, we are still interested in seeing how your talent and expertise might enhance our community. You may submit additional materials or links to your work through your application or on your Princeton Applicant Portal. Although we cannot guarantee that the Admission Office will have time to review your work, we will include it in your file.

For questions related to the Princeton optional Arts Supplement, please email uaoffice@princeton.edu.

Acceptable Formats:

We support media files as large as 5GB, but please be advised that larger files will take longer to upload from your Internet connection and may stall if you are on a wireless connection or one that cannot sustain a connection for the necessary period of time. We support the following file formats:

.3g2, .3gp, .avi, .m2v, .m4v, .mkv, .mov, .mpeg, .mpg, .mp4, .mxf, .webm, .wmv
.aac, .m4a, .mka, .mp3, .oga, .ogg, .wav
.bmp, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .tif, .tiff
.doc, .docx, .odg, .odp, .odt, .pdf, .ppt, .pptx, .rtf, .wpd

You may also include external media from YouTube, Vimeo and SoundCloud. Please do not upload links to personal websites.

Supplement Type, Category and Description of Acceptable Submissions:

You can submit a minimum of 3 samples of work, but there is no limit to the amount you can include. Your work can be any medium (architecture, design, painting, ceramics, sculpture, printmaking, photography, woodworking, etc.), but does not have to include all types. We encourage you to submit portfolios, however, singular images uploaded separately are still acceptable.

All submissions should include:

A brief description (no more than 100 words)
Date completed
If the piece was created for a class, include a brief description of the assignment (1-3 sentences)

Most importantly, you should submit work that represents yourself and your interests.

Categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translations

Include a portfolio of your work in any or all of the following media, totaling no more than five pages: poetry, short stories, novel excerpts and translations. Please do not submit journalism samples or complete books.

Categories: Choreography, Performance

Include a digital video of one or more solo performances of contrasting styles (modern, improvisation, hip hop, contemporary, ballet) and/or of your choreography (no more than five minutes total). Please do not submit group work unless you have a prominently featured solo or you are the choreographer. Art Supplements for dance should be accompanied by a personal statement related to your interest in the arts, and how you would like to integrate dance into your studies at Princeton (no more than 250 words). Please contact the Dance program office during business hours at (609) 258-3017 for more information or questions about the program.

Categories: Classical Instrument, Classical Voice, Composition, Electronic Music, Jazz, Piano

The Princeton musical community is rich in many kinds of music. This includes non-Western classical and popular music of many types. The Department of Music, however, can provide evaluations only of the performance genres for which formal instruction is offered. For further information or questions about the program, please direct emails to Greg Smith at gsmith@princeton.edu.

You may send submissions in the form of digital audio or video files. Please refer to the "Acceptable Formats" section above. Please attach a résumé that details your music training and accomplishments as a separate media upload. Additionally, include a personal statement explaining how you would like to integrate music-making, and your contribution to music department ensembles, into your studies at Princeton (no more than 250 words).

Classical Instrument (except piano) — Include a 10- to 15-minute submission of advanced solo work that shows contrasting examples of expression and technique. Do not submit orchestral or ensemble work unless you have a prominently featured solo.

Classical Voice — Whether you prefer solo repertoire, small group or large choral settings, Princeton offers countless learning and performing opportunities, and we are eager to hear you sing. Your supplement submission should contain at least two songs, totaling no more than 10 minutes, that best demonstrate your level of technical and musical accomplishment. At least one submission should be from western classical art song or operatic repertoire, and at least one submission should be in a language other than English. You may additionally submit small ensemble work if this is an area of interest.

Composition — Include a submission of one to three works that demonstrate your interests and abilities in composition. The Department of Music has a broad definition of composition, one that includes concert music, improvisational music, un-notated music, and while they don’t have the expertise to fully evaluate non-Western compositional traditions, these are also welcome. Submissions can consist of PDF scores or recordings; recordings or MIDI mock-ups of scored works are welcome if you have them but not required.

Electronic Music — Include a submission of a work that shows your skill in electronic music composition.

Jazz Composition and Arranging — Include a 10- to 15-minute submission showcasing arrangements of existing material and/or original compositions for ensembles of any size.

Jazz Instrument or Voice — Include a 10 to 15-minute submission featuring contrasting solo work as an improviser with live or virtual accompaniment of your choosing. Standard jazz material is encouraged, but original material is welcome. Please do not submit large ensemble (e.g., big band) work unless you are prominently featured. Please do not submit performances of solo transcriptions.

Piano — Please submit solo recordings that demonstrate your current level of technical and musical accomplishment. We recommend that you include works of contrasting styles. 10 - 15 minutes of music is plenty, but you may submit more if you wish.

Categories: Performance, Writing, Design, Directing

We invite you to introduce yourself as a theater-maker by letting us know (in no more than 250 words) how you imagine you might participate in theater making and/or scholarship during your time at Princeton. In addition to this statement, you are welcome to submit short videos, writing samples or portfolio images to demonstrate your prior theater making or theatrical scholarship (in performance, writing, designing, producing, directing, theater criticism and/or scholarship). Video submissions should be no more than five minutes in total length; should begin with a clear introduction of yourself and your role co-creating the project/s shown; and, when possible, should provide a multi-faceted view of the kind of theater you have made (i.e. contrasting samples, songs or monologues). Writing samples should be no more than 15 pages long. When compiling your supplement, we encourage you to focus on giving us a clear sense of you as a human being, and not to worry about video production values. Further information or questions about the program may be directed by email to: jfonseca@princeton.edu.

Categories: Film, Digital Video and Animation, Graphic Design, Interdisciplinary (including Sound), Painting and Drawing, Photography, Sculpture

We encourage applicants to include works that reflect experimentation and imagination rather than stylistic consistency. We also encourage including exploratory and/or preparatory works (such as sketchbook pages) that convey how you think visually.

Whether you are self-taught or have taken art classes makes no difference; please represent the breadth, depth and complexity of your efforts. Test your digital materials to make sure they are viewable in their entirety before submitting them.

If your portfolio includes work from more than one category, choose the category that is your predominant one. If you are intentionally working in more than one category, submit under interdisciplinary.

Graphic Design, Interdisciplinary, Painting and Drawing, Photography — Your portfolio may include 10-20 images of your most recent work in any medium or across media. For painting and drawing submissions, please include some examples that involve drawing from observation if possible.

For interdisciplinary, you may include video in your portfolio as well, using the same submission requirements as film, digital video and animation (see below).

Film, Digital Video and Animation — Submit up to a maximum of 10 minutes total of video, either from a single work or clips/excerpts from multiple works. Submit only as link(s) to YouTube or Vimeo (without any password protection). Files on Google Drive will not be reviewed. Include a Word document listing the title(s), running time, short description, your role in the production and the category: narrative, documentary, animation, experimental or interdisciplinary.

Arts Programs

Architecture

The School of Architecture, Princeton’s center for teaching and research in architectural design, history, and theory, offers an undergraduate major and advanced degrees at both the master’s and doctoral levels.

Creative Writing

The Program in Creative Writing offers Princeton undergraduates the opportunity to craft original work under the guidance of some of today’s most respected practicing writers including Michael Dickman, Aleksandar Hemon, A.M. Homes, Christina Lazaridi, Yiyun Li, Paul Muldoon, Kirstin Valdez Quade, and Susan Wheeler.

Dance

The Program in Dance welcomes all students to engage and experiment with dance. At the core of the program is the belief that dance fosters an integration of mind and body that allows for a greater connection to ourselves and our communities. The program provides a depth, diversity, and flexibility of offerings that nurture beginners and challenge pre-professionals. While pursuing a liberal arts education, students have the opportunity to undertake demanding courses with professional choreographers, dancers, interdisciplinary artists, and scholars.

Music

As a Music Major, you can engage in independent work in musicology or composition while diving into the intersection of making, studying, and writing about music. Whether our concentrators ultimately choose to make music, to research and write about it, or do both, they are encouraged to develop independent work that moves across traditional disciplinary or methodological boundaries.

Theater/Music Theater

The purpose of the Program in Theater is to engage Princeton students of all kinds in the making of theater with significant artists, faculty members and each other, through studio classes, and through our theater season. The Program in Music Theater brings together students, faculty, staff and guest artists in the creation, study, and performance of music theater.

Visual Arts

The Program in Visual Arts introduces students to the studio arts in the context of a liberal arts education. Offering courses in painting, drawing, graphic design, photography/digital photography, film/video, and sculpture, the program provides enrolled students extensive contact with an accomplished faculty as well as access to technical, analog, and digital labs including darkrooms, ceramics facilities, welding and mold-making areas, a letterpress studio, film editing bays, and a renovated theater for 35 mm and 16 mm film projections.