UNSW Portfolio Entry Early Conditional Offer Scheme
You're so much more than an ATAR.
You're so much more than an ATAR.
With UNSW Portfolio Entry, your pathway into uni is unique - just like you.
Here at UNSW, we want to reward your passion, creativity and potential to succeed in your degree area. The UNSW Portfolio Entry Scheme offers early conditional offers, giving you the opportunity to demonstrate your passion and talent alongside your ATAR. Successful applicants will receive an early conditional offer with an adjusted ATAR entry requirement up to 10 ATAR points below the lowest selection rank for a specific degree or range of related degrees.
If this sounds like you, we want to see your portfolio submission. It’s an easy, online process and can only ever boost your chances of admission. What you submit in your portfolio will depend on which degree you’re interested in. Please submit your UAC application prior to your UNSW Portfolio Entry submission.
Applicants who are eligible to apply for both the Gateway Admission Pathway and Portfolio Entry Early Conditional Offer scheme are recommended to only submit an application via the Gateway Admission Pathway, as this scheme provides the most advantageous benefits for applicants. For more information, visit Gateway Admission Pathway.
Looking to apply through Portfolio Entry for our Term 1 2025 intake? Join us in-person or at our online information evening to learn how you can best demonstrate your passion, talent and potential with your submission.
Tuesday 12 November | Online info evening - Arts, Design & Architecture and Engineering degrees | Register now
Wednesday 13 November | In-person workshop - Arts, Design & Architecture degrees only | Register now
What you need to submit will depend on the degree you're interested in. It may include a creative portfolio, cover letter, personal statement, interview, school report and/or a short video.
If your Portfolio Entry submission is successful, you'll be issued an early conditional offer with an adjusted ATAR requirement.*
*If successful for an early conditional offer, you must meet the adjusted ATAR and list your preferred degree as your highest eligible preference for the specified UAC offer round to be eligible to receive a firm offer.
^Your UAC application must be complete and submitted before you apply via Portfolio Entry. This includes payment of the UAC application fee.
All domestic applicants who are applying for an eligible degree and expecting an ATAR within 10 points of the lowest selection rank for your degree (unless stated otherwise).
UNSW Portfolio Entry is one, easy, online process. You'll select a preferred degree that you're interested in and be guided through what you need to submit.
What you submit in your portfolio will depend on which degree you're interested in. Read through the requirements below so you can be prepared early. Remember, anything you submit must be all your own work.
At UNSW’s Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture, you’ll find the freedom and support to design the future you want. An Arts, Design & Architecture Portfolio Entry submission will demonstrate your passions alongside your best work to boost your chances of admission to a bachelor’s degree of your choice.
Your submission will include:
In addition to a letter of introduction, your portfolio submission will need to meet the criteria for your chosen degree(s):
Criteria A
Criteria B
The following degrees require criteria A for your submission:
The following degrees require criteria B for your submission:
*Portfolio entry submissions for double degrees only require you to include to criteria for the degree with the higher entry requirement.
**While most early conditional offers will include a range of degrees students are eligible for, due to competitiveness applicants will only be considered for an early conditional offer that includes the Bachelor of Architectural Studies if they select this degree as their preferred option when applying via the Portfolio Entry portal.
^Please note that acceptance into the Music specialisation requires you to meet the adjusted ATAR requirement in your early conditional offer and to also successfully complete an audition. For more information, visit UNSW Music auditions.
At UNSW Engineering we strive for a better world, driven by our graduates who are passionate in creating solutions for humanity through their diverse perspectives. Complete a FEAS submission to demonstrate your passion for engineering and performance in relevant subjects.
Your submission will need to include:
Your video submission is used to evaluate your ability, attitude and motivation for engineering studies, while your year 12 report supplements this information. We do not take individual course marks into consideration.
Video submission
Upload a 4 - 5 minute video demonstrating how and why you would be a successful UNSW Engineering student. See below for further details:
The video must begin by identifying yourself to camera stating:
Some questions you could consider when creating your video:
You can also talk about:
Your video submission will be assessed on its content, not the video or editing quality. Beyond ensuring the above mandatory format requirements are met, applicants can respond to the video prompt freely. Examples might include:
Please consult the most recent UNSW Handbook to confirm intake period.
Please note, most FEAS degrees require a minimum ATAR of 83.00.
*To be eligible for this degree you can have a minimum ATAR of 80.00
^Please note that acceptance into the Music specialisation requires you to meet the adjusted ATAR requirement in your early conditional offer and to also successfully complete an audition. For more information, visit UNSW Music auditions.
+While most early conditional offers will include a range of degrees students are eligible for, due to competitiveness applicants will only be considered for an early conditional offer that includes Computer Science if they select these degrees as their preferred option when applying via the Portfolio Entry portal.
All domestic applicants who are applying for an eligible degree and expecting an ATAR within 10 points of the lowest selection rank for your degree (unless stated otherwise). This includes current Year 12 students and non-recent school leavers who have completed tertiary study.
No. Applicants who apply for both the Gateway Admissions Pathway (GAP) and Portfolio Entry, and who are competitive for an early offer for both schemes will only be issued one early offer/early conditional offer. This offer will be for the Gateway Admissions Pathway as this scheme provides the most advantageous adjusted entry requirements for applicants who are eligible for both schemes.
As such, applicants who are eligible to apply for both schemes should only submit an application via the Gateway Admission Pathway, given this scheme provides the most advantageous benefits for applicants.
You can reach out to our knowledgeable Future Student Advisers for further information on the eligibility requirements for both schemes.
No, unfortunately only domestic applicants can be considered through the Portfolio Entry Early Conditional Offer Scheme.
Once your portfolio has been submitted, applicants are unable to edit their submissions. Please ensure your application is complete before submitting. Please note only the first submitted application will be assessed. Any additional applications will not be assessed.
Yes. An application for Portfolio Entry is not an application for admission to UNSW. You must complete a UAC application by the due date.
Note: You must have applied via UAC and provide your correct UAC ID to UNSW for your Portfolio Entry application to be assessed and to be eligible for an early conditional offer.
If successful for an early conditional offer, you’ll need to meet the adjusted ATAR requirements and list an eligible UNSW degree preference as your highest eligible preference in UAC for the specified UAC offer round to receive a firm offer.
For information on UAC and applying for admission to UNSW, visit the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) website.
At UNSW’s Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture, you’ll find the freedom and support to design the future you want. An Arts, Design & Architecture Portfolio Entry submission will demonstrate your passions alongside your best work to boost your chances of admission to a bachelor’s degree of your choice.
Your submission will include:
In addition to a cover letter, your portfolio submission will need to meet the criteria for your chosen degree(s):
The following degrees require Criteria A for your submission: | The following degrees require Criteria B for your submission: |
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Crafting your portfolio
Your digital portfolio submission is the main component of the application. Your portfolio is a summary of your best creative work and provides evidence of your creativity and technical skills. The portfolio can showcase a range of different mediums including photography, sculpture, digital artworks, paintings, drawings or previously undertaken design work. Include the written or visual work that best captures your creative approach and technical abilities. The portfolio should be a maximum of 5 x A4 pages. Hard copies or physical pieces cannot be accepted - the portfolio is a digital submission, which is limited to 100MB.
Your portfolio should be curated and crafted to showcase your best work in an interesting and engaging way. We want to see your individual style and creative approaches in the portfolio. We encourage risk taking and originality. Be sure to consider how you’ll lay out and organise your work – you’ll be assessed on the quality and interest of the work submitted as well as the visual quality of the portfolio. Use the portfolio as a way of communicating your creative process, not just the final outcome. We’re interested in seeing the process sketches, technical drawings, prototypes and drafts to communicate the design process, rather than just the outcome.
We want to see your unique and inquisitive mind, your original work, and your best technical and crafted work.
If you’re interested in more than one degree, you’ll be prompted to submit a separate personal statement and portfolio for each degree. They may share some content, but you should ensure that they’re tailored to each degree.
Critical review topic
Imagine you’re a critic for a newspaper with an educated but non-specialist audience and you need to write a review of a current temporary exhibition or festival program. You can choose broadly, including art and design exhibitions or new media displays. The purpose is to inform your audience and to provide some context or background for the work. You’ll need to both describe and comment on the work. The purpose is to foreground your interpretation - you’re not required to do any additional research or provide biographical details for the artists or producers.
Crafting your portfolio
Your digital portfolio submission is the main component of the application. Your portfolio is a summary of your best work and provides evidence of your ability and interest in studying your chosen degree(s). The portfolio can include written articles, essays, blogs, social media posts or campaigns, built websites or webpages, photographs, videos, a school report or letters of recommendations. The portfolio should be a maximum of 5 x A4 pages. Hard copies or physical pieces cannot be accepted - the portfolio is a digital submission, which is limited to 100MB.
Your portfolio should be curated and crafted to showcase your best work in an interesting and engaging way. We want to see your individual talents and abilities. We encourage risk taking and originality. Be sure to consider how you’ll lay out and organise your work - you’ll be assessed on your innovation, creativity and project skills. Use the portfolio as a way to communicate your technical proficiency in your chosen field. We’re interested in seeing the process and drafts to showcase your project skills, considerations and experimentation, rather than just the outcome.
Critical reflection
A reflection is a form of personal response to experiences, situations, events or new information. It’s a 'processing' phase where thinking and learning take place. There are no right or wrong ways to be reflective - just questions to explore. In your 500-word critical reflection, you should reflect on a problem you've faced and tackled, and describe the impact you had on the outcome. Your reflection should include description (what, when, who) and analysis (how, why, what if). This could be done by discussing a problem that you set out to solve in a relevant subject, drawing from your experience at school, work, family or in the community.
Consider including answers to questions such as:
The critical reflection is your opportunity to demonstrate your writing skills and help make comparisons or connections between what you’re learning and your prior experiences.
*Portfolio entry submissions for double degrees only require you to include to criteria for the degree with the higher entry requirement.
**While most early conditional offers will include a range of degrees students are eligible for, due to competitiveness applicants will only be considered for an early conditional offer that includes the Bachelor of Architectural Studies if they select this degree as their preferred option when applying via the Portfolio Entry portal.
^Please note that acceptance into the Music specialisation requires you to meet the adjusted ATAR requirement in your early conditional offer and to also successfully complete an audition. For more information, visit UNSW Music auditions.
At UNSW Engineering we strive for a better world, driven by our graduates who are passionate in creating solutions for humanity through their diverse perspectives. Complete a FEAS submission to demonstrate your passion for engineering and performance in relevant subjects.
Your submission will need to include:
Your video submission is used to evaluate your ability, attitude and motivation for engineering studies, while your year 12 report supplements this information. We do not take individual course marks into consideration.
Video submission
Upload a 4 - 5 minute video demonstrating how and why you would be a successful UNSW Engineering student. See below for further details:
The video must begin by identifying yourself to camera stating:
Some questions you could consider when creating your video:
You can also talk about:
Your video submission will be assessed on its content, not the video or editing quality. Beyond ensuring the above mandatory format requirements are met, applicants can respond to the video prompt freely. Examples might include:
Please consult the most recent UNSW Handbook to confirm intake period.
Please note, most FEAS degrees require a minimum ATAR of 83.00.
*To be eligible for this degree you can have a minimum ATAR of 80.00
^Please note that acceptance into the Music specialisation requires you to meet the adjusted ATAR requirement in your early conditional offer and to also successfully complete an audition. For more information, visit UNSW Music auditions.
+While most early conditional offers will include a range of degrees students are eligible for, due to competitiveness applicants will only be considered for an early conditional offer that includes Computer Science if they select these degrees as their preferred option when applying via the Portfolio Entry portal.
We’re interested in your reasons for applying for UNSW Engineering. If you’re interested in a particular area of engineering, then this should be reflected in your FEAS application and your UAC preferences.
However, you can indicate a generic interest in engineering. The Faculty of Engineering has a flexible first year program (UAC code: 425000), following which you can elect to study the engineering discipline of your choice* from Year 2 onwards. If you’re undecided, let us know and we can discuss your choices and interests.
While most early conditional offers will include a range of degrees students are eligible for, due to competitiveness applicants will only be considered for an early conditional offer that includes Computer Science if they select these degrees as their preferred option when applying via the Portfolio Entry portal.
*Subject to academic performance and available places in preferred program.
You can only submit one application across both rounds. Any additional applications will not be assessed.
If you change your mind about what you want to study, you can select an alternate degree from the list of eligible degrees within your Early Conditional Offer letter. To be eligible for an offer, you will need to have met the ATAR requirement listed and ensure this is your highest eligible preference for the December Round 2 UAC offer round (or January Round 1 for interstate/IB applicants). Offers may be issued in subsequent UAC offer rounds subject to availability of places.
If you would like to select a degree program other than those listed on your Early Conditional Offer letter, then you will need to list this as your highest eligible preference in UAC for the applicable offer round and meet the Lowest Selection Rank (ATAR + Adjustment Factors) in order to be competitive for an offer.
Unfortunately, you cannot defer your early conditional offer. This will only be valid for the UAC offer round specified on your early conditional offer letter.
However, if you receive a firm offer to UNSW, then for most degrees you can defer your start date. For information regarding the deferral process please visit our Deferral website.
Applicants can only receive one early conditional offer through UNSW Portfolio Entry. This will specify an adjusted ATAR requirement for either a single degree or a range of related degrees.
A Portfolio Entry early conditional offer is an offer with an adjusted ATAR requirement. You need to meet the adjusted ATAR requirement in order to be eligible for an offer to a specific degree or range of related degrees.
If you meet or exceed the adjusted ATAR requirement and list an eligible degree as your highest eligible preference in UAC for the specified UAC offer round, you’ll be issued a firm offer to that degree.
There are many pathways to studying your dream degree at UNSW. You can visit our this page for more information regarding admission pathways into UNSW or reach out to one of our knowledgeable Future Student Advisers.
No. Adjustment factors awarded under other schemes such as the HSC Plus, the Elite Athletes, Performers and Leaders Scheme, and the Educational Access Scheme (EAS) don’t contribute towards the adjusted ATAR requirement you need to meet as part of your Portfolio Entry early conditional offer. Applicants are assessed on their raw ATAR issued by UAC (without adjustment factors).
Arts, Design & Architecture Portfolio Entry
*Portfolio entry submissions for double degrees only require you to include to criteria for the degree with the higher entry requirement.
**While most early conditional offers will include a range of degrees students are eligible for, due to competitiveness applicants will only be considered for an early conditional offer that includes the Bachelor of Architectural Studies if they select this degree as their preferred option when applying via the Portfolio Entry portal.
^Please note that acceptance into the Music specialisation requires you to meet the adjusted ATAR requirement in your early conditional offer and to also successfully complete an audition. For more information, visit UNSW Music auditions.
FEAS
^Please note that acceptance into the Music specialisation requires you to meet the adjusted ATAR requirement in your early conditional offer and to also successfully complete an audition. For more information, visit UNSW Music auditions.
*While most early conditional offers will include a range of degrees students are eligible for, due to competitiveness applicants will only be considered for an early conditional offer that includes Computer Science if they select these degrees as their preferred option when applying via the Portfolio Entry portal.
There are several double degrees included in UNSW Portfolio Entry, which you can preference via UAC. Check the lists of included degrees above.
If you're considering a double degree that's not included, you'll need to meet the entry requirements for that double degree, independent of UNSW Portfolio Entry.
Depending on your ATAR results, you may also consider entering an eligible single degree through Portfolio Entry and then applying via UNSW’s Internal Program Transfer (IPT) scheme to transfer into your preferred double degree after completing a minimum number of units of credit, subject to meeting eligibility criteria and your academic performance.
Applicants can apply for one degree or a double degree as part of UNSW Portfolio Entry and must select this when first completing their application.
If your application is successful, your early conditional offer letter will specify the adjusted ATAR requirement you need to meet for either a single degree or a range of degrees related to your original selection.
Due to the volume of applications received, applicants are unable to change the initial degree selected after they’ve submitted their Portfolio Entry application.
Get personalised advice from our friendly Future Student Advisers. Connect with us by phone, chat with us online or send us an enquiry.