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Tips for Art & Design Scholarships

Tips for Art & Design Scholarships

Posted by: / February 2, 2025
A student artist sits cross-legged on a floor in front of their artwork, which is a wide collage of sorts.
February 2, 2025

If you’re planning on majoring in Studio Art & Design and thinking about applying for one of PLU’s studio art & design scholarships (which range from $1,000-$7,500 per year), we’ve got some tips for you.

You must be a Design or Studio Art major to receive a scholarship

  • PLU offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) with a Graphic Design concentration, and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Studio Arts or Art History.
  • As an art student at PLU, you’ll get to take classes in a variety of artistic media, including ceramics, design, 3D modeling, photography, and printmaking, as well as in art history and theory.

Get your applications squared away (and tell us you’re interested in art)

  • To even get access to the scholarship application, you have to apply to PLU first.
  • Make sure that you’ve listed Art & Design or Studio Art (Visual Art) as an academic interest.

Complete the application by the deadline

  • You’ll find the Artistic Achievement Awards application on your PLU student applicant portal, under the ‘Application Checklist’ section.
  • Not seeing the application? Connect with your PLU Admission Counselor, who can add it to your portal.
  • There are three pieces to the application for studio art & design:
    • Digital Portfolio: Your portfolio should include 10-15 pieces – in any medium – from the past several years so that professors can get a sense of how it has developed over time. They would also like to see 1-2 pages of your sketchbook to get an idea of your artistic process.
    • Letter of Intent: In your letter, professors want you to write about why you chose to apply to PLU, how you see yourself as an artist and/or designer, why you make your artwork, what you hope to learn at PLU, and your vision of where you hope to go in the future with your creative production.
    • Artistic Resume: On this resume, include work and activities that you feel are relevant to your development as an artist.
  • The deadline to complete the application is February 11, 2025.

In-Person Portfolio Presentation (encouraged, but optional)

  • You’ll have the opportunity to present your portfolio and talk to art & design professors on campus February 22.
    • The whole process will take ~30 minutes. After your presentation (10-15 minutes), professors will have some questions for you, and you’ll get the chance to ask them questions.
  • Starting in January (if you applied early), the Department of Communication, Media and Design Arts will start scheduling and emailing you your presentation day and time.
  • If you decide not to do the presentation, professors will review just your application for the scholarship.

How we award Studio Art & Design Scholarships

  • Once faculty have made their decisions, your scholarship decision letter will be posted to your PLU student applicant portal.

Last Tip

  • Check your email regularly! Anytime a decision (scholarship, application, etc.) is posted to your portal, you’ll be sent an email from PLU Office of Admission (admission@plu.edu). The subject line starts with “An important status update has been made to your applicant portal”, and the “important” actually is…important.