Thank you for applying to the BA (Honours) art or design programmes at Edinburgh College of Art. This site has been created to allow you to upload your 25 images and compile your mini-portfolio as explained in the guidelines for submitting supplementary visual evidence in support of your application.

It is vitally important that you read the guidelines carefully before uploading your images to this mini-portfolio site.

If you are using a specialist code W620 to apply for a Film & TV programme, then you do not need to upload a mini-portfolio. Instead, you will be asked to provide supplementary evidence in the form of answers to questions, which will be sent to you once we receive your application from UCAS. However, if you are applying for other art or design courses as well as Film & TV, then we will need a mini-portfolio and you should proceed to log in.

Please note also that no mini-portfolio is required for applications to MA (Honours) Fine Art joint degree, nor for undergraduate Architecture or Landscape Architecture programmes of study.

You cannot begin to work on creating your mini-portfolio until approximately five days after you have submitted your UCAS application form: this allows time for UCAS to send us your Personal ID number so that we can verify your mini-portfolio.

It is therefore really essential that you do not leave your application until the last minute. The sooner you can start uploading content the better, as this will allow time for you to experiment with a range of images and to make sure that the mini-portfolio gets to us in plenty of time. Remember that the College is closed for the Christmas and New Year holiday from 24 December until 5 January so, although you can continue to upload and submit your mini-portfolio as usual, we will not be able to answer any queries you may have as the helpline will be closed.

Uploading your mini-portfolio is a simple four-stage process.

prepare your images

Create your images, using a digital camera or a scanner if necessary, and save them as jpegs of about 200KB in size – you don’t have to be precise.

Give the image files sensible names and gather them together in one place.

Write your brief descriptions or comments for each one.

log in

Around five days after submitting your application form to UCAS, try logging in to create your account. Simply enter your UCAS Personal ID Number and your surname in the appropriate boxes, and you are ready to begin creating your mini-portfolio.

upload your images and text

The upload process is simple. You don’t have to create your mini-portfolio all at once. You can come back and add or replace images as you wish, and you can see how your images look at full size.

As explained in the guidelines, your images must be grouped into three categories: 10 images showing sketchbook/development work; 10 images showing resolved work; and five images showing the context for your work (The ‘context’ section is meant to contain images of whatever has inspired or influenced your work: people working in the same medium or for the same audience, now or in the past; people interested in the same subject or theme, now or in the past; natural or man-made phenomena, objects, places, events which have inspired or provoked responses; etc, etc. So not images of your own work, but those of other people, places, things . . .).

submit your mini-portfolio

When you are happy that your mini-portfolio is complete, or when the deadline for submission approaches – (please don’t wait until the last minute!), please submit your work.

Remember, you need to upload all 25 images before you can submit your mini-portfolio. We cannot see your mini-portfolio unless you have pressed the ‘submit’ button and, without it, we cannot consider your application to study at Edinburgh College of Art.

If, at any time, you are unsure what to do, please email us at miniportfoliohelp@eca.ac.uk