Admission to the Institute of Design is highly competitive. Our faculty admissions committee reviews portfolios and applications on a rolling basis. There is no specific standard "type" of applicant; we encourage diversity and evaluate each applicant on an individual basis. We do seek a mixed group of people with varied backgrounds and experiences.

It is important that applicants demonstrate, through their previous academic work and other experiences, intellectual achievement, motivation, discipline, responsibility, imagination, perception and an open mind. Projects and experiences are judged not only on their intrinsic qualities and demonstrated promise, but also on evidence of the applicant's ability to initiate and follow through on work that is personally meaningful.