Scholarship Opportunities

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 President’s Scholarship in Fine Arts.

The President's Scholarship in Fine Arts is renewable for all four years, and recipients must declare a major or minor in Art by the end of their second year at Whitman and maintain a departmental GPA of 3.0 in order to keep their scholarship.

To be considered for this scholarship, incoming students must apply with:

• 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).

Please refer to the Merit and Talent Awards webpage for the link to apply, and for details on deadlines.

Tips for a Strong Application

Showcase Your Strongest Artwork

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

The application will ask you to select which media you primarily use. This just helps guide the reviewers when they look at your examples, but it doesn’t commit you to any particular medium if awarded 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 straight forward, 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 the rearen'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.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, please reach out to our Talent Scholarship Coordinator, at talent@whitman.edu.

Current Scholarship Recipients

Students who have received a President’s Scholarship in Art are not required to take an art class each semester, or to take specific classes related to the medium they selected when they submitted their application. Students must major, or minor, in art. Talk with your advisor about declaring a major, or, for students interested in an art minor, please contact the art department chair for more information.