Applying to UCLA’s Design | Media Arts
Sharing my accepted portfolio, application, and advice as a first year applicant!
If you have stumbled upon University of California, Los Angeles’ School of Arts & Architecture’s Design | Media Arts major and are here, chances are you’ve fallen in love with it ~ just like me when I was a high school senior!
You’re scouring the internet for more information you can find, example portfolios, essay responses, anything you can learn about what it takes to get into DMA. You’ve already seen Dyllen Nellis’s video and read JOANNA CHEN’s article on her application experience (I did too!). But … you need more … and you’ve found yourself here. Yay!
Allow me to share my experience and advice with the internet and you curious cats 💜
Meet UCLA’s Design | Media Arts!
UCLA had been my dream school for the longest time (not that I even knew what major I wanted to do, just that it was in LA and that sounded awesome!) ~ but as the summer before senior year approached and I began building my college list, UCLA solidified itself as my dream school.
I’m a design nerd and enjoy everything about it. I’ve been obsessed with fonts and typography since elementary school (hello, 2007 Microsoft Word) and absolutely knew that I had to apply to be a design major. I already knew that I wanted to explore the intersection of cognitive science / technology and design, which is why I chose not to apply to strictly art schools (I love science, too!).
As an in-state, San Diego resident, the UC system (California’s public university system) was my best bet for an affordable but high-class education rounded in both the arts and sciences.
However, only two UC’s offered a design major:
- UC Davis: Design, B.A.
- UCLA: Design | Media Arts, B.A.
I’m guilty of being a perfectionist and I knew that if I was going to apply to a design major, I wanted to do it at the #1 public school and #1 public art school (UCLA ‼️) and nowhere else (with the exception of maybe USC 😅). I also knew that if I got into DMA, I definitely wanted to double major in Cognitive Science so I could continue exploring my passion through the intersection design and technology so I could do what I loved to do most ~ UI/UX design.
So, I pulled up their website, and UCLA Arts’ website and began reading. I found the supplemental worksheet for my year, too! (The supplemental worksheet for the application year is usually posted around mid-September).
The portfolio part of the supplemental application for DMA every year consists of:
- A self portrait (not literal, they recommend abstract)
- Word project (they give you a word and you have to create a piece for it)
- Book cover (redesign a book cover for a book of your choice)
- Self-Chosen Best Work (what you think is your best work)
- Five portfolio pieces
- (Optional) Multimedia Submission
The portfolio pieces sounded daunting. The deadline came on December 15, and to create these pieces all while keeping up with school and extracurriculars, and staying sane was a crazy thought.
Upon reading UCLA’s major information, I learned that they didn’t look at your alternate major if you applied to a specialized college within the university (ie. School of Arts & Architecture), unlike the general College of Letters and Sciences (and even that was not guaranteed). I struggled for the longest time debating whether I should apply to the College of Letters and Sciences as a Cognitive Science major and then attempt to add DMA as a double major, or apply to the School of Arts and Architecture as a Design | Media Arts major first.
But, UCLA’s DMA had already won my heart ~ and I just knew that if I attended UCLA, screw it — I wanted to get in as a design major and nothing else.
Aside: It is extremely difficult to add DMA as a double major or switch into the major because of class prerequisites and limited class size, transfer acceptance rate is ~1%. I recommend Joanna’s article above and Nikki’s video for their experience as a transfer / change of major applicants :)
✨ Special shoutout to the UCLA Arts staff who helped me get access to my application portal after it closed! Because of them I am able to share screenshots of what I submitted 💜
Submitting that Application
Before You Begin…
Before you start inputting into the supplemental application, take a moment to read through the entire supplemental FAQ page. Read anything that may even vaguely be related to you! It is so incredibly helpful and will leave you feeling prepared and knowledgeable.
Supplemental Essays
Please, please, please plan ahead and make sure that you are able to finish everything before the deadline. Plan for the worst — your application might not go through, file sizes might be too big, your computer might take a long time to export — anything can happen. Even if you’re not directly working on your portfolio, think of ideas of what you can do for it!
Tip: Portfolio applications are a lot of work! Even though you may already have pieces you’re ready to use, you want to make sure that you write the best caption you can, the best documentation you can take, and do absolutely everything you can in your application to present your work in the best light it can be 🌞
The supplemental worksheet released sometime in mid-September should have everything you need to know to prepare your portfolio before the supplemental application opens up.
Part 1: Academics & Extracurriculars
As part of your application, you will need to include academic history of your schools from grades 9–12 and input the classes that you are currently taking.
It will look like this! I entered my class names as they appeared on my transcript to avoid any potential confusion.
After that, you will be asked to enter your planned coursework.
After you fill in your academic information, there is a space to input your extracurricular information. Fill in anything you think will be helpful, I inputted absolutely everything I did. I do want to note that I had never tried to get my art featured in galleries or exhibitions — and that's perfectly OK. Don't get intimidated by the category options they have.
There is a section for Arts related extracurriculars and Non-Arts. I feel like I over-killed my list in regards to how many things I inputted, but just know that quality matters over quantity. Even if you have two activities, it doesn't put you at any disadvantage.
I also want to note that I kind of messed up my dates because I got confused with MM/YY versus MM/DD (messed up my internship and some other dates like this) — but I think they looked over that. If I could go back and submit my application again, I would just type out the name of the month or just put in a random date so I could have consistency.
Also! I never submitted my art or designs for YoungArts or Scholastic Art contests. Though these are highly prestigious contests, I was able to get into DMA without holding any awards from those contests…and honestly in my opinion, I believe that the contests are overrated if you are able to demonstrate skill or a level of professionalism in your portfolio! You do not need awards to get in ~ though if you have them, they will definitely help :)
Part 2: Unofficial Transcripts (PDF)
Finally, submit your transcripts!
For my fellow dual-enrollment students: If you read the FAQ like I suggested earlier, you may have come across this tidbit…
I wanted to be SUPER cool so I uploaded multiple copies of my transcript highlighting the different courses 😎 ✨
Part 3: Department Statement
As a first year applicant, we had to write a 500 character response to why I wanted to study at UCLA's DMA program.
There's no right or wrong way to approach this statement. Be yourself and explain why you're applying to DMA and what you hope to accomplish! Keep it specific to yourself and don't be influenced by what I wrote. The DMA faculty like to see what's unique about every applicant, and you want to share your own story.
Part 4: Influences
Once again, be yourself! If you are having trouble coming up with ideas, brainstorm a list of anything you turn to when you're looking for inspiration, or of anyone’s work that inspires you. You can be specific, like specific people, or you can be broad — like companies or other content producers.
(I totally recommend checking out all of the influences I shared, they’re all so wonderful and have such happy vibes!)
Part 5: Portfolio (CUE OMINOUS MOOSIC 🐮🎵)
And…it’s time for the portfolio! Yay!
As a DMA student told me when I got in contact with them for advice, I would like to preface this section of the article with this: Please take my portfolio with a grain of salt. DMA is not looking for a class of all the same types of people. They’re looking for diversity and to build a class of different creatives. Show what you like to create and be yourself. Don’t overthink your pieces or force yourself to create things only for the sake of wondering what you think they will like.
Forcing yourself outside of your creative zone to experiment with new media is one thing, but don’t try to fit yourself into a box of what you think will get you accepted. Your documentation and professionalism when it comes to your craft is key!
With that, here’s what I submitted.
Self Portrait
Only you can come up with something that reflects who you are. This is one of those pieces that you will probably need to think about over some time to really figure out how to best represent yourself. Remember that you can also create multimedia file (audio and/or video!) so if that helps convey who you are, go for it!
Desktop.png | 2022
Description: ‘Officially.’ As a Word-obsessed 3rd grader, it was my favorite word to type as I wrote stories, to watch the ‘ffi’ unite into a ligature. As I ventured outside of Word, VS Code, Photoshop, and Procreate became my new loves. I wouldn’t be who I am today without my older, nonverbal autistic brother. He shows me the power of visual communication and of not being afraid to stand out. These are windows into my world, united in one desktop. They are what make me officially ‘me’ — ligature included!
Digital, Figma
1920.00 X 1200.00 X 0.00 PX
Variable: N
Tip: Something you probably noticed in my description is the weird “‘” and “’” “&mdash”, etc. This is because the application software does not accept punctuation marks such as dashes, quotation marks, or even apostrophes. The application allows you to preview how your description will look like after submitting — I just took a chance hoping it was a glitch on my end…which it totally wasn’t. Now you know! Avoid using unacceptable punctuation to avoid your descriptions looking like that unreadable mess.
Word Project
The word for our application year was ‘Instigate.’ I had been thinking since September what to create, and it took me so long to come up with ideas. This is why I think it’s extremely important to start early and be able to think in a relaxed state and give yourself time to naturally develop your thoughts at your own pace!
Something cool about this prompt is I can only imagine how many different interpretations and depictions of this word there were! You want to show what informs your perception of the word.
(go off with a) BANG | 2022
Description: Columbine, the first mass shooting of its kind, instigated the rise of over 60 similar school shootings, but also the rise of millions of citizens. Victims and students rallied together for better gun reform laws, for an end to violence. Flames were lit beyond memorial candles; they were lit within the hearts of emboldened protestors. The duality of our human nature allows us to create love and hate; to make change and ignite passion as we fight for what we believe. What will you instigate?
Digital, Photoshop & Procreate
900 X 1200 X 0 PX
Variable: N
Book Cover
The book cover for me was kind of difficult to choose and think out. There are so many book options, and as a massive, massive bookworm I felt totally overwhelmed. Ultimately, I went with The Help, a book I like to call my comfort book — one that I can read over and over again and enjoy it as if it was my first time reading it.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett | 2022
Description: Contrasting black and white, this cover symbolizes racial divide during the 1960s. The help are forced to conform to white society?s standards of colored people when in service, but can be themselves in their own community, as symbolized by the distorted text. Representing a shift of power in the novel, the pie here also represents the separation felt by the maids and a breaking societal structure. The type is set in Corona 3 Typewriter, a lookalike of one of the main character?s typewriter.
Digital, Figma and Adobe Illustrator
900 X 1200 X 0
Variable: N
Self-Chosen Best Work From Your Portfolio
This was a piece I made specifically for the DMA portfolio! I was originally going to use it as my selected five works to demonstrate some diversity in my media since my entire portfolio was digital, but changed my mind when I learned that the five pieces did not get a description. I felt that this piece deserved a written explanation to help it shine!
Shoutout to my brother for being my model on a moment’s notice 😩
Synesthesia | 2022
Description: Synesthesia: a trait in which the stimulation of one sense causes the automatic experience of another sense. For this piece, I represented the experience of those who see colors and shapes as they listen to music. I visually emphasized the connection between audio and sight by placing the headphones over the eyes. By desaturating the photo and decreasing the brightness, I placed higher emphasis on the colors and organic shapes. This is my self-chosen best work for its mixed media approach and creativity! I enjoyed taking the photo and being able to add extra depth and meaning through the addition of digital art. To me, this is the beginning of many more creations where I can continue combining my passions and unite my interests of digital art and photography!
Digital, Photo and Procreate
900 X 1200 X 0
Variable: N
Unique Works
Here I repurposed some of my older work! Most of my DMA portfolio, however, I created for the application. These unique works do not allow space for a description, so you can only title your pieces and that’s it.
I created Donut and Ready to Space OUT for the portfolio to add some diversity to my completely digital application. Donut was my first time using Blender, so it was some learning curve. Only after submitting did I realize I made two pieces with donuts and it might be a little overkill, but they’re yummy and visually pleasing, what can I say 😋
Frosted Doughnuts UI Design | 2021
Digital, Figma
1200.00 X 1200.00 X 0.00 PX
Variable: N
Abhinaya for Goddess Lakshmi | 2022
Digital, Procreate
1552.00 X 1200.00 X 0.00 PX
Variable: N
Archimedes UI Design + Code | 2022
Digital, Figma and Visual Studio Code
1200.00 X 1200.00 X 0.00 PX
Variable: N
Donut | 2022
Digital, Blender and Procreate
1200.00 X 1200.00 X 0.00 PX
Variable: N
Ready to Space OUT | 2022
Digital, Procreate
900.00 X 1200.00 X 0.00 PX
Variable: N
Part 6: Multimedia (OPTIONAL)
I originally wanted to submit some clips from the video editing for my application to USC, but I had really procrastinated on my DMA application due to creative block. I ended up submitting my application at 11:45ish PM the day it was due, 15 minutes before it closed.
I had finished making my pieces and speed typing my descriptions (I literally do not recommend this I was so scared and angry with myself for rushing the application to my dream school like that). With fifteen minutes left, I didn’t want to risk cutting my video and it taking the time to download and then upload to the application website.
So…I didn’t submit the multimedia piece, though I feel I should’ve so they could have seen my ✨ video editing skillz ✨ (but it’s alright! It worked out totally fine without it 😝)
After speed checking and panicking, I hit submit.
Though it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, it also felt like sadness. I was upset with myself for not being more prepared and for procrastinating so much and I genuinely felt that I had ruined my shot at my dream school by completely speedrunning it the hour before it was due.
Looking at the DMA portfolios I found online, I couldn’t help but feel like my work was not as impressive as theirs, and being completely self-taught and not taking any art classes at school or outside until my senior year, I thought that they would think I wasn’t qualified enough or good enough.
But, as they say, comparison is the thief of joy. It’s difficult, but don’t compare yourself to other people’s work unless you’re trying to improve yourself. Everyone’s on their own journey of learning, exploration, and improvement, and often times we tend to compare our worst to someone else’s best. Sit back and relax. You deserve it.
The Decision
The day before UCLA’s decision came out, I completely broke down and cried in front of my family for fifteen minutes. I literally could not think about not being able to go to UCLA and study design — I was so scared of the rejection I thought I would be recieving.
The entire day of March 17 was so incredibly stressful. UC San Diego, UC Irvine, and UCLA were predicted to all come out that day. School was difficult to get through and I was counting down the minutes until I would be able to go home.
As soon as I got home around 4:00, I learned that the decisions were coming out.
UC San Diego came out first — and as a San Diegan, I was praying that I would get in. I had applied for Cognitive Science with the Specialization in Design, and I felt like I was fairly qualified for my major choice and had high hopes. However, I got waitlisted…which completely shattered my hopes for UCLA.
Luckily, UC Irvine came out around an hour after UCSD, and I learned that I had been admitted into Software Engineering! It was comforting knowing that I had a great option, but the UCSD waitlist had completely scared me and ruined all hope for UCLA.
Around an hour after UCI, UCLA released their decisions. My heart was racing and I felt ready to cry (again). My comfort laid in my twin brother, who opened his decision slightly before mine. I knew that worst came to worst, I could cry to him about it. I waited five minutes in tension and stress after decisions came out, too scared to click ‘Login.’
However, suddenly I thought ‘screw it’ and clicked the button bracing myself for the worst…BUT!
I got in!! I cried happy tears for the rest of the day 😆 I had avoided watching anything related to UCLA on YouTube or anywhere else for that matter so I wouldn’t get attached, but I let myself loose and binged as many vlogs as I could 😎
Final Words
And…there you have it! My entire UCLA DMA application experience. Though I initially thought I would get denied from the program, but I can see some positives in my application that hopefully will help you in your application 😅 And for the negatives, I hope you can learn from my misadventures 🤪
I do want to leave you with a couple of my observations that I hope you will take to heart:
- Be yourself.
You know this already, but don’t try to force yourself to be someone you’re not in your portfolio. While it is great to show diversity in your application, don’t make something for the sake of putting it in your portfolio to add diversity if you don’t enjoy making it. You want to make sure the DMA faculty can see what you will be exploring in their program. - Show what you want to do at DMA.
Demonstrate in your portfolio what you are interested in. In mine, it was clear that I was interested in UI/UX, illustration, and typography — I’m sure the faculty noticed that trend as well and could see how I fit into the DMA curriculum. Though you don’t have to box yourself into a quirky role that you don’t care for, what is the cohesive thread that drives you to do all that you do? Why do you love what you create? - Everyone’s perception is different, and that is awesome.
You want to share with DMA your voice and your art style. Your creations have to be something only you can create, informed by your experimentation, your thoughts and opinions, and your artistic sense. I write this article to contribute an example of what I submitted that got accepted into DMA, but it is by no means the ONLY way to get in. While it’s nice to see other people’s work, don’t let it shape the way you see yours in respect to this application 💙
Helpful Resources
- UCLA Arts Prospective Students Website
- Joanna Chen’s Accepted Portfolio & Transfer Advice
- Dyllen Nellis’ Accepted Portfolio & Advice
- Nikki’s Accepted Portfolio & Transfer Advice
- DMA Faculty Thoughts
And with that, I’m going to end this article ~ if you made it this far, thank you for reading (it took sO long to write, but totally worth it!)
There’s not that many resources available online, but let’s change that 👀
If my article helps you get in, I hope you can contribute your experience to the internet too 😁 💜
If you have any questions or thoughts, or just anything ~ feel free to message me @sahithi.png on IG or email me at sahilingampalli@gmail.com :)
I believe that you are going to do amazing things, and don’t be daunted by the seemingly scary process of applying to colleges. You never know what will happen unless you try, and sometimes the unexpected can happen!
Sending you all the love and luck,
Sahithi ✿
