Fine Arts Talent Scholarship

The Art Department invites all incoming students with exceptional talent, experience and demonstrated skill in fine arts, and who intend to major or minor in Art to apply for the four-year Fine Arts Talent Scholarship.

What It Means To Be a Scholarship Recipient

Recipients do not have to take an art class every semester at Whitman. However, they must declare as an Art major or minor by the end of their second year and maintain a 3.0 GPA in their Art courses to keep their scholarship.

They are encouraged to explore a variety of mediums and are not limited to the one they selected in their scholarship application. For guidance on declaring a major or minor talk to your advisor or contact the Art department chair for more information.

How to Apply

To be considered, applicants must include:

• A brief Personal Statement about your art background and future plans in Studio Art (300 words or less)
• An Art Portfolio consisting of 10 different pieces (compiled into a single PDF document).

More details and application materials are available in the applicant portal after you submit your Whitman admission application. Apply to Whitman.

Deadlines

If you are applying Early Decision, your scholarship application is due five days after the application deadline. If you are applying for Regular Decision, you have until Jan. 22, 2026, to get your scholarship application in.

• Early Decision I Talent Scholarship Application Deadline: Nov. 20, 2025
• Early Decision II Talent Scholarship Application Deadline: Jan. 15, 2026
• Regular Decision Talent Scholarship Application Deadline: Jan. 22, 2026

Transfer students interested in applying to the scholarship should reach out to Whitman’s Talent Scholarship Coordinator prior to their admission deadline.

Please refer to the Merit and Talent Scholarships webpage for more information. If you have any questions, please reach out to our Talent Scholarship Coordinator at talent@whitman.edu.

Tips for a Strong Application

Showcase Your Strongest Artwork

Select art that best demonstrates your skills, ideas, and talent. For some applicants, this might mean sending us a wide variety of media. For others, it might mean 10 pieces in the same medium.

The application will ask you to select which media you primarily use. This helps guide the reviewers when they look at your examples, but it doesn’t commit you to any particular medium if offered the scholarship. Students at Whitman explore a variety of materials and processes, and have a great deal of flexibility in the projects they make—especially as a senior Art major.

Submit Your Portfolio as a PDF Document

• You can download/save a Google Slide Deck or PowerPoint document as a PDF file. Most design programs can export files as PDFs.
• This Google Slide Deck Example Portfolio demonstrates strong and weak documentation.
• Each piece should be shown on its own separate slide.
• Each page should include an image of the artwork and information such as the work's title, size, medium, date completed, and your name.

Designing Your PDF

Keep the design of your PDF simple and basic.

• Images should fill as much of your page as possible.
• Use either a white or black background for the slide/page. Do not use any graphic elements on your PDF.
• Keep your image captions concise; this is not the place for an artist statement or explanation of the work.

Photo Documentation of Your Artwork

Photo documentation should be representative of the actual work of art.

• Photos of your artwork should have a plain/simple background and be straightforward, in-focus, and well-lit.
• Photos should use neutral lighting without dramatic shadows, unusual angles, or bold photo filters.
• Photographing work outside on an overcast day can be helpful in making sure there is even lighting and there aren't any strong shadows cast on the piece.
• If your current documentation photos do not fit this criteria, please re-photograph your work.

2D Pieces

Consider cropping the edge of your photo to the edge of the artwork so that no background is visible.

• Ensure that your photo is not skewed, stretched, or distorted, but that the flat work is square with the edges of the photo.

3D Pieces

Consider photographing on a neutral background (white, black, or grey fabric/paper/etc.)

• Unless the context of the pieces is important, it's usually best not to show the work on top of a distracting background, like grass, or alongside other items.