Evaluating franchise opportunities include finding out more about all of the following except

If you've excelled in architecture, creative writing, dance, music, theater or visual arts, and would like us to consider your talent as part of your Princeton application, you are welcome to submit an Arts Supplement. Details for Arts Supplement submissions are found below.

Princeton values the arts in all forms. We cannot, however, evaluate areas outside those in which our faculty have expertise.

Please read the descriptions for each area for further guidelines on how to submit your supplementary materials.

Deadlines

  • Single-Choice Early action optional Arts Supplement is due on or before Nov. 7 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

  • Regular decision optional Arts Supplement is due on or before Jan. 9 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

  • Transfer optional Arts Supplement is due on or before March 8 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Instructions

  • On the Common or QuestBridge* Application, please indicate your intention to submit an Arts Supplement in Princeton’s member questions. You will be able to access the link to submit an Optional Arts Supplement in your Princeton Applicant Status Portal.

  • Please keep in mind that you need to submit your application to Princeton University before you can submit your optional Arts Supplement on your Princeton Applicant Status Portal. 

*For students who are participating in the QuestBridge College Match, we will be unable to consider the optional Arts Supplement given the timeline of the review process.

Helpful Tips

As one of your media uploads, we encourage you to include a résumé if you think that will add to an understanding of your training and experiences. Please keep in mind, information you provide in your arts supplement will only be read by the arts faculty evaluating your supplement unless you submit it as additional information along with your application to Princeton.

Changes cannot be made to the optional Arts Supplement after submission. If you wish to include an arts letter of recommendation, it must be requested prior to submission and an arts résumé must be included as one of the media uploads, if you wish to submit one.

We only accept one submission per program.

Your completed arts supplement will be reflected on your Princeton Applicant Status Portal within 24 hours.

Documents (for example, additional academic information, research papers, etc.) should not be uploaded with your arts supplement. You may upload those materials through the additional information section of the application or on your Princeton Applicant Status Portal.

If you have excelled in an area of the arts not covered by our supplement, we are still interested in seeing how your talent and expertise might enhance our community. You may submit additional materials or links to your work through your application or on your Princeton Applicant Status Portal. Although we cannot guarantee that the Admission Office will have time to review your work, we will include it in your file.

For questions related to the Princeton optional Arts Supplement, please email .

Acceptable Formats:

We support media files as large as 5GB, but please be advised that larger files will take longer to upload from your Internet connection and may stall if you are on a wireless connection or one that cannot sustain a connection for the necessary period of time. We support the following file formats:

  • .3g2, .3gp, .avi, .m2v, .m4v, .mkv, .mov, .mpeg, .mpg, .mp4, .mxf, .webm, .wmv
  • .aac, .m4a, .mka, .mp3, .oga, .ogg, .wav
  • .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .tif, .tiff
  • .doc, .docx, .odg, .odp, .odt, .pdf, .ppt, .pptx, .rtf, .wpd

You may also include external media from YouTube, Vimeo and SoundCloud.

Supplement Type, Category and Description of Acceptable Submissions:

Architecture

Submit samples of your work in architecture or design, including blueprints/plans, drawings, renderings, 3D models, photographs or video.

Creative Writing

Categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translations

Include a portfolio of your work in any or all of the following media, totaling no more than five pages: poetry, short stories, novel excerpts and translations. Please do not submit journalism samples or complete books.

Dance

Categories: Choreography, Performance

Include a digital video of one or more solo performances of contrasting styles (modern, improvisation, hip hop, contemporary, ballet) and/or of your choreography (no more than five minutes total). Please do not submit group work unless you have a prominently featured solo or you are the choreographer. Art Supplements for dance should be accompanied by a personal statement related to your interest in the arts, and how you would like to integrate dance into your studies at Princeton (no more than 250 words). Please contact the Dance program office during business hours at (609) 258-3017 for more information or questions about the program.

Music

Categories: Classical Instrument, Classical Voice, Composition, Electronic Music, Jazz, Piano

The Princeton musical community is rich in many kinds of music. This includes non-Western classical and popular music of many types. The Department of Music, however, can provide evaluations only of the performance genres for which formal instruction is offered. For further information or questions about the program, please direct emails to Greg Smith at . 

Please attach a résumé as one of your media uploads that details your music training and accomplishments.

Classical Instrument (except piano) — Include a 10- to 15-minute submission of advanced solo work that shows contrasting examples of expression and technique. Do not submit orchestral or ensemble work unless you have a prominently featured solo.

Classical Voice — Whether you prefer solo repertoire, small group or large choral settings, Princeton offers countless learning and performing opportunities, and we are eager to hear you sing. Your supplement submission should contain at least two songs, totaling no more than 10 minutes, that best demonstrate your level of technical and musical accomplishment. At least one submission should be from western classical art song or operatic repertoire, and at least one submission should be in a language other than English. You may additionally submit small ensemble work if this is an area of interest.

Composition — Include a submission of one to three works that demonstrate your interests and abilities in composition. The Department of Music has a broad definition of composition, one that includes concert music, improvisational music, un-notated music, and while they don’t have the expertise to fully evaluate non-Western compositional traditions, these are also welcome. Submissions can consist of PDF scores or recordings; recordings or MIDI mock-ups of scored works are welcome if you have them but not required.

Electronic Music — Include a submission of a work that shows your skill in electronic music composition.

Jazz Composition and Arranging — Include a 10- to 15-minute submission showcasing arrangements of existing material and/or original compositions for ensembles of any size.

Jazz Instrument or Voice — Include a 10 to 15-minute submission featuring contrasting solo work as an improviser with live or virtual accompaniment of your choosing. Standard jazz material is encouraged, but original material is welcome. Please do not submit large ensemble (e.g., big band) work unless you have a prominently featured solo. Please do not submit performances of solo transcriptions.

Piano — Include a submission of work that best demonstrates your level of technical and musical accomplishment, preferably including one of each of the following: 1) the 48 preludes and fugues of J.S. Bach; 2) the first movement of a sonata by Mozart, Beethoven or Haydn; and 3) any 19th- or 20th-century solo work, not concerti.

Please send submissions in the form of digital audio files.

Theater / Music Theater

Categories: Performance, Writing, Design, Directing

Students may submit short videos, writing samples or portfolio images to demonstrate their efforts in acting, singing, writing, designing and/or directing. Arts Supplements for theater and music theater should be accompanied by a short personal statement related to your interest in the arts (no more than 250 words). Videos should be no more than five minutes in total length and should begin with a clear introduction of yourself and your role in the project shown. Performer’s videos could be two contrasting monologues, songs or other creative work. Writing samples should be no more than 30 pages long. We are more interested in getting a sense of you as an artist than in video production values. Further information or questions about the program may be directed by email to: .

Visual Arts

Categories: Drawing, Film and Digital Video, Graphic Design, Interdisciplinary (including Sound), Painting, Photography, Sculpture

We encourage applicants to include works that reflect experimentation and imagination rather than stylistic consistency. We also encourage including exploratory and/or preparatory works (such as sketchbook pages) to show how you think visually.

Whether you are self-taught or have attended art classes, please represent the breadth, depth and complexity of your efforts. Test your digital materials to make sure they are viewable in their entirety before submitting them.

If your portfolio includes work from more than one category, choose the category that is your predominant one, or submit under interdisciplinary. 

Drawing, Graphic Design, Interdisciplinary, Painting, Photography, Sculpture — Your portfolio may include 5-20 images of your most recent work in any medium or across media. For drawing or painting submissions, if possible, please include some examples that involve drawing from observation.

For interdisciplinary, you may include video in your portfolio as well, using the same submission requirements as film and digital video (see below).

Film and Digital Video — Submit up to a maximum of 10 minutes total of video, either from a single work or clips/excerpts from multiple works. Submit only as link(s) to YouTube or Vimeo (without any password protection). Files on Google Drive will not be reviewed. Include a Word document listing the title(s), running time, short description, your role in the production and the category: narrative, documentary, animation, experimental or interdisciplinary.