CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES

Admission to the photography BFA is competitive. Work closely with photography faculty during classes and signal your interest. We rarely accept students without having worked with them in a class context. To be accepted as a major in the Photography BFA program a student must provide evidence of the following:

  • A portfolio showing solid knowledge of basic photographic techniques and procedures and the ability to make good aesthetic judgment.
  • The ability to achieve expertise in an advanced area, such as view camera, color, digital or non-silver work.
  • Some knowledge of historic and contemporary photographic activity and an understanding of professional standards of quality.
  • The demonstrated ability to understand and discuss concepts relative to photographic criticism and issues in the field.

It is recommended that a student have taken at least 1 photography course beyond Basic Digital Photography at SUNY New Paltz, preferably more.

In order to apply, the student must turn in the material listed below. Deadline is usually on the Monday two weeks before pre-registration (Rooms 204 and 204a). See notes posted in Old Library or email Nadia Sablin at sablinn@newpaltz.edu or Andrea Frank at franka@newpaltz.edu for specific dates and times or with any questions you may have. We strongly encourage you to attend the Photo BFA info meeting with photography faculty and current BFA students, which is scheduled every semester several weeks before the application is due. Specific dates are posted in the OLB hallways.

  • A concise portfolio of 20 prints – any size is fine, submit very large work rolled up.
    Your portfolio should be labeled with your name on the cover and consist of your strongest work, well printed and finished and accompanied by short project/class assignment descriptions. We are interested in seeing your voice and technical, artistic, and conceptual qualities in your work.
  • A completed application form with required statements.
  • A transcript and/or progress report.

Download application form here: BFA-Photography-Application


YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AS A PHOTO BFA

  • You agree to maintain a responsible leadership role in the program. We expect you to be the best and most committed student in your photography classes.
  • Attend and/or participate in all extracurricular educational opportunities offered by the photography program including all scheduled BFA critiques, field trips, guest lectures, workshops, visiting artists, etc.
  • You are expected to be the most responsible user of the labs and to aid both the professors and the head technician in running the labs. We entrust you with aspects of running the labs by allowing you to work unsupervised during after-hours.
  • We highly recommend you participate in the Photographers Association and the Student Arts Alliance. Connections forged there will last a lifetime.
  • Maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better.
  • There are a lot of great artists and photographers practicing today. You will need to work hard to achieve your fullest potential and to be a skilled and competitive professional as you leave this college. We will help you to our fullest in attaining your educational goals. We will advise you at length, find and support internships and independent studies, and create extracurricular educational opportunities as mentioned above.

After your graduation, we commit ourselves to helping you with entering employment and graduate school. And we hope you will be a productive alum who becomes a credit to this program and keeps in touch with us.