Admissions for Fall 2025 now open

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Student Experience

Application Guidelines

August

Start preparing your application and begin working on your portfolio.

September

You can now begin applying using Common App and submit your portfolio using Slideroom 

If you’d prefer a little help on how to get started here’s a quick review of our step-by-step instructions.

BA applicants: Prepare your essay.

BFA applicants: ​Prepare your application and art portfolio; consider participating in a VCUarts Qatar Art Portfolio Development Course offered by the Office of Community Education; attend Admissions Workshops on “Preparing your Art Portfolio”; participate in the “Art Portfolio Review” session.
You can find information about our Portfolio Development Courses at this link. 

Please note: If VCUarts Qatar concludes, based on reasonable grounds, that an applicant has misrepresented his/her academic or artistic background or falsified any information presented to the University as part of his/her application for admission, VCUarts Qatar reserves the right to disqualify his/her application, revoke an offer of admission, or terminate the student’s registration.  

By January 15

Admission to VCUarts Qatar is highly competitive and all application materials must be submitted on time. Submit each of the application items listed below.

  • University preparatory curriculum
  • Strong results/grades:
    • Qatari independent schools (Thanawiya): Recommended: 80% or higher.
    • U.S. system: Recommended: 3.00/4.00 cumulative grade point average (GPA) or higher.
      Advanced Placement (AP) exam scores passed with 3-5 (depending on the course) have the potential to render college-level credits.
    • U.K. system: 5-6 International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and 3-4 Advanced Subsidiary (AS) or Advanced (A) Level subject exams.
      Recommended: A or B grades. Passing exam scores (depending on the course) have the potential to render college-level credits.
    • International Baccalaureate (IB): Recommended: Academic Score Total of 32+
      IB Higher Level (HL) exams passed with scores of 4-7 and Standard Level (SL) exams passed with scores of 5-7, both have the potential to render college-level credits.
  • Other school system/country’s grade requirements.
  • Transcripts issued in a language other than English must be accompanied by an official English language translation through an approved translation and evaluation company listed at NACES.org.
  • All students (including international students) are required to submit a Certificate of Equivalency from the Ministry of Education in Qatar (excluding graduates from Qatari Secondary/Independent Schools). International students will be required to submit the certificate after they have joined the course, and their resident permits are ready.

*College credit will be determined during the application review process and pending final submission of all final transcripts and official exam results. Note: detailed information on high school curriculums regarding VCU’s college credit evaluation standards can be found here.

For all students, and Qatar ID for Qatar residents

One recommendation is required. Must be completed by a teacher, advisor, or counselor who knows you and your work.

The language of instruction is English and you must demonstrate your proficiency (Passport holders of native English speaking countries are exempted)

  • Required of all applicants. Some exceptions may apply (See FAQs for details).
  • TOEFL: Recommended: 550 (paper-based), 213 (computer-based) 80 (internet-based), or higher.
  • IELTS: Recommended: 6.0 overall band score, or higher.
  • SAT Reading and Writing Test: Recommended: 500 score, or higher.
  • Duolingo: Recommended: 105 score, or higher.
  • Official test scores should be sent by the testing center directly to VCUarts Qatar. Additionally, students are asked to submit a copy of their Student Test Score report with their application.
  • VCUarts Qatar’s TOEFL institutional code is 8753. IELTS does not have institutional codes.
  • Applicants must make test-arrangements directly with ETS (for TOEFL) or the British Council (for IELTS).
  • Test scores must be within two years of your application date.
  • Official test scores for Duolingo can be shared directly from the website, Please see here to know more.

All applicants are required to upload a portfolio of their own creative artworks, along with the required university application materials, to VCUarts Qatar’s online admission system.

Know more

Essay Question: “Tell us about a time when you had a meaningful personal experience with a work of art or architecture. This can be in a museum, at a historical site, at an art gallery, or at a monument. How did this experience help develop your interest in the discipline of art history?”