Art Directors use design, layout, color, typography and other creative tools to produce visuals for advertisements. To succeed as an Art Director, students must demonstrate artistic talent, creativity, determination and working knowledge in the Adobe Creative Suite. The prerequisites are designed to help students build those skills and competencies. After completing the 1000-level and during their 2000-level courses, specifically ADV 1001 Intro to Digital Design Tools and ADV 2151 Intro to Art Direction: Visual Communication, students will submit their portfolios for review. 

The program is competitive with no guarantee of acceptance. Only students who have enrolled or been admitted to Temple University qualify. There is a $5 application fee.

Art Direction Track applications are accepted twice per year, August 15 and January 15. Decisions will be distributed mid-semester (first week of October in Fall and March in Spring), in time for registration. (i.e. Apply in January, to register for 3000-level Art Direction Track classes the following Fall.)

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Portfolio

Four to 10 works created at any stage of a student's life and for any purpose are acceptable, including but not limited to works created in high school classes, college classes, workshops or as self-initiated projects.

There is a strong preference for works of visual communication art (ads, logos, brochures, illustrations, websites, etc.), but fine art (paintings, sculptures, photographs, etc.) is acceptable for consideration. 

IMPORTANT: Works involving copyrighted characters and clip art will NOT be considered.  It is expected that all work is original to you.  You may use logos for existing brands in advertisements you have created for these brands.

Statement of Intent

The Statement of Intent should be approximately 200-500 words and should include the following elements: your interest in the Art Direction program, your career goals and your academic and artistic achievements.

List of college/s attended (Transfers only)

A list of the college/s attended, majors, and degrees earned if applicable.

Other considerations

The student's GPA within the Department of Advertising and university-wide cumulative GPA will be taken into consideration.

Please Note:

Students who are not accepted into the Art Direction Track, are encouraged to select another track such as Copywriting, Account Management, Research and Strategy, or Media Planning. No application is required for the other tracks. Students who are not accepted may apply again at a later date. Those who want to reapply should meet with a SMC Academic Advisor to discuss this decision as it could influence graduation date.

TRANSFER STUDENTS
Students who transfer from other departments, schools and universities are advised to apply at the earliest possible deadline. On a case-by-case basis, deadline extension may be granted to transfer students who commit to Temple University after the deadline, but before the review process is complete. Contact artdirectiontrack@temple.edu to request a deadline extension.

Separate from the application, transfer students should also book an appointment to meet with Professor Tracy Agostarola for faculty advising at the earliest convenience. Students do NOT need to delay their application for this meeting.

Please note, if you leave the major for any reason, you must reapply to the art direction track.

Still have questions?  Please contact artdirectiontrack@temple.edu

Best of luck!