Illustrate Your Professional Journey
UW-Stout Polytechnic's Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in Illustration merges a strong foundation in art fundamentals and visual storytelling allowing students to develop a personal style through specialized courses. Our curriculum provides a foundational understanding of the basics of art, design, color, and figure drawing, along with critical thinking and visual storytelling. Students work closely with award-winning faculty to find their unique illustration voice and prepare for success in creative industries.
Career-Defining Illustration Curriculum
Our illustration majors take courses in both traditional and digital media, and design their studies around their own creative interests. The program is designed to provide the versatile skills needed for success as visual storytellers in a variety of creative fields, such as publishing, advertising, and the entertainment industry.
Program Overview
What Makes Illustration Unique at UW-Stout Polytechnic
- Experienced Faculty: Energetic and engaged faculty with wide-ranging professional experience.
- Collaborative Environment: A cross-disciplinary environment with frequent opportunities for collaboration.
- Diverse Elective Offerings: Choose from a broad selection of electives to support your educational journey and expand your creative toolkit.
- Concept Art: Choose to emphasize coursework in concept art and visual development for entertainment fields such as film, animation, and the games industry.
Use the Request Information form to receive a program summary and learn more about the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration.
Request Information
Art School Accreditation
UW-Stout Polytechnic's School of Art & Design is accredited by the National Association for Schools of Art and Design.
Pre-B.F.A. Experience
Every UW-Stout Polytechnic B.F.A. program starts the same way—with a first year built to sharpen your skills and build the portfolio that drives your degree.
Do More in Our Illustration Labs & Studios
Portfolio of Illustration Student Work
Application
To apply to this degree program, you need to apply to UW-Stout Polytechnic.
Financial Aid
Students who are attending another institution, but are planning to receive their degree from UW-Stout Polytechnic, may be eligible to receive aid from UW‐Stout Polytechnic. In these cases, UW‐Stout Polytechnic is considered the Home Institution and the other campus is considered the Visiting Institution.
Transfer Students
New First-Year Students
All incoming first-year students admitted to a Pre-Bachelor of Fine Arts (Pre-BFA) program will begin their journey in the School of Art & Design’s First-Year Experience (FYX)—a common foundation designed to help you build the skills and portfolio needed to apply to your intended BFA major.
What Is a Pre-BFA?
When you’re accepted to UW-Stout Polytechnic, you’re automatically placed into the Pre-BFA version of the program you chose on your application. During your first year, you’ll complete FYX courses that help you prepare for a successful portfolio review.
Two Pathways to a BFA Major
Starting with incoming first-year students for fall 2026, you have two potential pathways into your BFA major:
- Pathway 1: Submit a Portfolio Before Enrolling in Your First-Year Coursework.
Before the start of school, you may submit an independent portfolio for review. If successful, you will be approved for direct-entry into your BFA major and will not be required to apply for the major later. You will still complete the School of Art & Design’s First-Year Experience (FYX) regardless of that outcome. If your portfolio review is unsuccessful, or if you choose not to pursue this pathway, you will still enroll as a “Pre-BFA” in your chosen BFA major. Deadlines and requirements are below. Ready to apply or have questions? Email artdesign@uwstout.edu. - Pathway 2: Submit a Portfolio During or After Your First-Year Coursework.
You enroll as a “Pre-BFA” student and develop a portfolio from the School of Art & Design’s FYX to apply for formal acceptance into your BFA major. After enrolling at UW-Stout, you have two opportunities to apply for acceptance.
What do I need to get accepted into my BFA program?
Pathway 1: After Admission to UW-Stout, Submit the Following by Feb. 1 (Priority Deadline) or April 1 (Regular Decision).
- Your portfolio is the most important part of your application. It is evaluated on artistic and conceptual content, design, composition, technical skill, and creative potential. Your portfolio should contain 12 examples of your best and most recent work that showcases your technical skills and idea development. Select works that demonstrate the depth and breadth of your creative experiences and interests. Your portfolio may include works in a variety of media, including two-dimensional work, photography, three-dimensional work, design, architectural renderings, interactive media, websites, video and animation. Portfolio samples may come from formal assignments or outside of an art class.
- Submit an essay, saved as one PDF, that includes responses of 150 words or less for each of the three prompts below. Incorporate terms and concepts learned to discuss your work.
- Please tell us about your pre-college background, including your experience with making art or design, your educational experience, and influences.
- Tell us about a single project this year that has been included in the portfolio. Why did you include it? What skills did you learn from this project (technical, critical, creative/process)? Which of your strengths do you think it highlights?
- Give us a vision for your future self: What areas will you improve on? What opportunities have been revealed with your learning at Stout? Describe your career objectives.
- A $10 application fee is assessed at the time you electronically submit your portfolio.
Pathway 2: Commonly submitted during the second semester at UW-Stout.
- 2.0 or higher UW-Stout Polytechnic cumulative GPA and a grade of C or better for all art, art history, and design courses
- Submit an essay using the same instructions above
- Your FYX portfolio, including a maximum of 12 high-quality images representing your original artwork. Artwork should include 3-4 drawings from Drawing I and II, 3-4 items from 2D and 3D courses, and 3-4 items of your choice, with emphasis on work related to your desired major.
Transfer Students
- Transfer students are admitted as Pre-Bachelor of Fine Arts (Pre-BFA) students. Upon admission to UW-Stout Polytechnic, information will be provided on how to submit a portfolio and essay for review by School of Art & Design faculty, who will determine direct admissions into the BFA major of your choice on a rolling basis. If a transfer student does not submit the materials or if they are not approved for the BFA program after submission, they may apply for a change of major in subsequent semesters, depending on available openings in the program. If needed, BFA Foundations courses will be available to Pre-BFA students pending seat availability.
A $10 application fee is assessed at the time you electronically submit your portfolio.
AI Policy
We discourage the use of AI-generated content in admissions portfolios. Any AI-assisted artwork must include clear citation and explanation of why AI was chosen as a tool. UW-Stout Polytechnic places a high value on artistic integrity and individual voice and expects student work to be a reflection of their own ideas, expression, and skill.
Upon completion of the B.F.A. in Illustration, graduates will be able to:
- Establish a personal illustration style and technique that uses both traditional and digital media fluency to develop a flexible practice-based approach to the craft of illustration.
- Think critically, solve problems creatively, and demonstrate professionalism.
- Demonstrate an awareness of the culture at large, including historical and current contexts relevant to individualized creative practice.
- Apply historical and cultural perspectives, art and design history, global culture, and literature in producing work for effective visual storytelling.
- Demonstrate the ability to meet current standards as a working professional in relation to conceptual development and final execution of creative projects.
- Create portfolios with industry-oriented professional goals: toward the entertainment industry, editorial publications, in sequential work, and/or in graphic design and advertising.
- Research, visualize, and develop creative illustrated solutions for purposes of visual communication.
Advisory Committee Members
| First Name | Last Name | Title | Organization |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lindsay | Gruetzmacher | Lead Designer | Harvest Group (Target Team) |
| Brianna | Capra ('24) | Illustrator / Lecturer | |
| Mary | Climes | Assistant Professor | UW-Stout |
| Aaron | Durst | Associate Dean; Director, School of Art & Design | UW-Stout |
| Ebonee | Estrella ('19) | Illustrator / Designer | HarpyCraft, Red Line Editorial |
| Erik | Evensen | Professor | UW-Stout |
| Michael Iver | Jacobson | Illustrator | |
| Sam | Kalda | Lecturer | UW-Stout |
| Shelley | Pecha | Chair, Design Department | UW-Stout |
| Bryan | Ritchie | Chair, Visual & Performing Arts Department | UW-Stout |
| Jason | Schmitt | Dean, College of Arts & Human Sciences | UW-Stout |
| Eliza | Wheeler ('06) | Illustrator | Wheeler Studio |
