Prospective students must apply for general admission to The University of Texas at Austin and also submit the Creative Design Prompt in order to be considered for admission as a Design major. We do not require or accept formal portfolios for first-year applicants. Whether you have a formal background in design or not, we hope this prompt will give every applicant a chance to show creativity.
When filling out the UT Austin application, select your first-choice major as B.A. Design or B.F.A. Design under the College of Fine Arts. All students are encouraged to highlight their other design-related experiences, creative involvements, and coursework within their UT application materials and essays. Since all of these materials will be taken into consideration during review, be sure to put as much thought and time as possible into each of these requirements.
Important things to note:
August 1 - December 1
Priority Deadline January 15 (Applications still accepted after this date)
2-3 business days after UT Austin Application is submitted
Follow Directions within MyStatus portal
September 1 – December 11*
No later than March 1
*For Fall 2025 applicants: UT will accept all required additional materials through December 11th for those applying by the December 1st Regular Deadline.
To apply to the B.A./B.F.A. Design program at UT Austin, you need to submit a response to this year’s Creative Design Prompt. This should include a final creative work based on the provided prompt guidelines and a short video essay. The prompt allows you to showcase your interests, skills, and creative thinking. We recommend spending no more than 6 hours on your submission.
Design is a broad field that can be practiced in many ways for many purposes. As designers, we might create projects that:
As an aspiring designer yourself, create a new work using ONE of the approaches listed above.
When creating, keep in mind the context of this new work. It can be based on your identity and experiences, current or historical topics you are interested in, or even the ways you think about the future. You can use any medium or format you prefer, and create using any available tools, technology, or materials. The prompt is purposely open-ended so that you can choose to showcase your creativity in any medium that helps you thoughtfully compose your project.
In addition to uploading your Final Work, you will also create a short (maximum 60 seconds) "Behind-the-Scenes" video essay. Describe your motivations, intentions, and the story behind your Final Work. Show not only the "how" but also the "why" behind your design choices and goals. You don't need to have advanced video editing skills; we're interested in understanding your thought process and approach.
You can create your video using any accessible method, such as iMovie, TikTok, or simply your smartphone camera. Here are some other additional tips:
Keep in mind these technical requirements for upload. Additionally, feel free to explore various free/low-cost design software alternatives to the Adobe products here.
The external transfer process is for any non-UT Austin student who has taken college-level courses post-high school or after receiving a GED and applying to enter the B.F.A. or B.A. Design major. Admission to the Design program is highly competitive and selective.
When filling out the UT Austin application, select your first-choice major as B.A. Design or B.F.A. Design under the College of Fine Arts. All students are encouraged to highlight their other design-related experiences, creative involvements, and coursework within their UT application materials and essays. Since all of these materials will be taken into consideration during review, be sure to put as much thought and time as possible into each of these requirements.
The School of Design and Creative Technologies accepts applications for fall semesters only.
August 1 - March 1
Priority Deadline January 15 (Applications still accepted after this date)
2-3 business days after UT Austin Application is submitted
Follow Directions within MyStatus portal
Follow Directions within MyStatus portal
To apply to the B.A./B.F.A. Design program at UT Austin, you need to submit a response to this year’s Creative Design Prompt. This should include a final creative work based on the provided prompt guidelines and a short video essay. The prompt allows you to showcase your interests, skills, and creative thinking. We recommend spending no more than 6 hours on your submission.
Design is a broad field that can be practiced in many ways for many purposes. As designers, we might create projects that:
As an aspiring designer yourself, create a new work using ONE of the approaches listed above.
When creating, keep in mind the context of this new work. It can be based on your identity and experiences, current or historical topics you are interested in, or even the ways you think about the future. You can use any medium or format you prefer, and create using any available tools, technology, or materials. The prompt is purposely open-ended so that you can choose to showcase your creativity in any medium that helps you thoughtfully compose your project.
In addition to uploading your Final Work, you will also create a short (maximum 60 seconds) "Behind-the-Scenes" video essay. Describe your motivations, intentions, and the story behind your Final Work. Show not only the "how" but also the "why" behind your design choices and goals. You don't need to have advanced video editing skills; we're interested in understanding your thought process and approach.
You can create your video using any accessible method, such as iMovie, TikTok, or simply your smartphone camera. Here are some other additional tips:
Keep in mind the technical requirements for upload listed below. Additionally, feel free to explore various free/low-cost design software alternatives to the Adobe products here.
In addition to the design prompt, transfer applicants must submit up to 3 recent examples of your design work from any medium. One or two samples is fine, but please do not upload more than 3. These additional work samples should demonstrate your trajectory as an aspiring designer.
Please note that you do not need to have formally studied or practiced design to be considered for this program. We are interested in seeing evidence that you are a creative thinker who likes to make things and can solve problems.
This could include 2-D or 3-D art or design work, performance art, graphic design projects such as logo-design or yearbook layouts, application development, website design, robotics, coding or other digital concepts you’ve explored.
Give your works descriptive titles (“poster design,” “prototype for chair,” “wireframe for a productivity app,” etc.) and tell us what materials, techniques, and/or software you used to create it. Feel free to include sketches and process documents as well. All documentation, photos or scans of your work should have good resolution/clarity to show detail, be well-lit, and cropped appropriately.
Reference the approved file format list when uploading your work. If you have an online portfolio or other website with your work, you can choose to provide a URL in your transfer resume, but please upload your creative submission files separately through the instructions listed on your MyStatus portal.