FACULTY OF ART & DESIGN

All applicants are to demonstrate their artistic potential through portfolio submission/admission test/audition as specified in each programme, in order to be considered for admission.

Applicants may select either (A) Portfolio Submission or (B) Admission Test.

(A) Portfolio Submission

You are to submit 10-15 images of recent art or design work, which should include a range of finished artwork as well as development work in preparing the finished artwork (sketches, mood boards, etc). Portfolios are assessed with the aim of identifying your creative and technical potential to undertake a programme in art and design.

(Allowed image file types: .pdf,.jpg,.jpeg,.png,.gif,.tif,.tiff,.bmp. Maximum image file size: 10 MB)
(Allowed video file types: .mpeg,.mp4,.mov,.m4v,.avi,.wmv,.flv,.asf,.mpg,.mp3. Maximum image file size: 200 MB)

The work submitted should preferably be not more than two years old. It may be the result of assigned class projects or independent exploration. It is recommended that the selected examples of work reflect your interests, experience and competencies in art and design.

Your portfolio should contain your original works from at least two of the following categories: paintings, drawings, collages, posters, sculptures, digital images (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc), photographs, and/or video clips.

Guidelines on taking photographs of artworks:

 

• A clean background with no visual clutter distracting the artwork should be used.


• The artwork should be evenly lit and there should not be any shadows cast on the artworks

You are also expected to write a statement of intent of about 100 words, stating your reasons for pursuing a programme of study in art and design. Please include your goals, interests and aspirations for the future.

The outcome of your application will be sent to you in 4 to 6 weeks after submission of all supporting documents and portfolio.

(B) Admission Test

The test consists of three sections (test duration: 2.5 hours):

• Written Ability
  Ability to express and rationalise in writing
• Drawing from Observation
  Ability to draw from observation
• Creative Visualisation
  Aptitude in creativity and visualisation

Admission Test Date
23 January 2025
27 March 2025
29 May 2025

Please note that you will be notified of the confirmed admission test date upon submission of your application, all supporting documents and application fee payment.

The last admission test for August 2025 intake is on 29 May 2025. If you missed the last admission test, you are required to submit your portfolio here within the next 5 working days from the application date.

Selected applicants may be asked to attend an in-person or online interview.

Minimum Educational Qualifications Required

• Singapore-Cambridge GCE ‘O’ Level: Aggregate score of 25 points or better in 4 GCE ‘O’ Level subjects, excluding English.
  
  Applicants who are active in their Secondary Schools’ Co-curricular Activities (CCA) may gain up to 2 CCA points. The CCA points can be used to improve their EQ aggregate score for admission consideration.
  
  

  Types of bonus points	No. of bonus points awarded
  Grades of A1–A2	2 points
  Grades of B3–C6	1 point



• Singapore Integrated Programme: Successful completion of Year 4 or higher.


• School of The Arts (SOTA): Successful completion of Year 4 or higher.


• Institute of Technical Education (ITE):
  • Full-time Higher Nitec or Nitec
  • Part-time ITE certificate, with a minimum GPA of ≥ 2.0 for Higher NITEC holders or ≥ 3.5 for NITEC holders

Successful completion of at least 10 years of education.

Eligible international students will be able to use their mid-year examination results to apply for diploma programmes at NAFA. Applicants will be given conditional offer if they are successful in their portfolio interview/audition selection. Applicants are still required to submit their year-end examination results and meet the admission requirements of the respective programmes. Any applicant who does not meet the admission requirements will have his/her conditional offer revoked.

The minimum English Language proficiency requirement:

• Grade C6 at GCE ‘O’ Levels
• TOEFL iBT 50
• IELTS Academic Band 5
• SAT score of 480 (Evidence-Based Reading and Writing component)
• Duolingo score of 80
• Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) score of 42
• Qualifications equivalent to any of the above

Applicants with Higher NITEC or NITEC qualifications are deemed to have met the English Language proficiency requirement.

Recognition is accorded for prior achievements in areas relevant to intended studies.

NAFA has the Early Admissions Exercise (EAE) that allows graduating O-Level students, final-year Nitec and Higher Nitec students from the Institute of Technical Education and graduating Integrated Programme (IP)/ International Baccaularette (IB) Year 4 students to apply and receive conditional admission prior to receiving their final grades.

The application will commence in June for the following year’s intake. Please check this page again in June.

Applicants may receive module exemptions if they have taken and passed the same or similar modules in another institution. The granting of exemption and advanced standing may be subject to applicants passing a Portfolio Interview, Audition or Admission Test.

Applicants with the following qualifications are eligible to apply for module exemption:

Full-time NITEC or Higher NITEC
School of the Arts Singapore (SOTA) Year 4 or 5 or 6
GCE A-Level
International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma/IB Career-Related Certificate (IBCC)
NAFA School of Young Talents (SYT)

Please refer to the module exemption here for details.