TMU Photography Media Arts admission requirements: the twelve-work portfolio and two written statements

Photography Media Arts is a four-year Image Arts BFA. Ontario applicants need an OSSD, six Grade 12 U or M courses and a 70% overall minimum. Grade 12 U English must be at least 70%, with ENG4U or EAE4U preferred. The program displays a historical 70 to 75% admission range, while warning that the academic average needed changes with competition. Meet the academic rules and complete the non-academic file; neither replaces the other.

The Grades-Plus label matters here. A generic guide to TMU's Grades-Only creative degrees won't describe the assessment you face. Photography's visual work is central to the application, and following the instructions is itself part of the assessment. A strong overall average isn't a reason to omit a statement or submit the wrong file. Applicants from other education systems must check TMU's matching requirements. These Ontario percentages don't establish an international equivalency or a portfolio scoring cut-off.

The first portfolio part asks for six images created around a single theme you choose. It can be interpreted literally, broadly or metaphorically. Lens-based work can incorporate mixed or hybrid media. The university gives possibilities, but it doesn't assign every applicant the same subject. Choose a theme grounded in work you have made and can explain, rather than borrowing a ready-made concept from a reviewer.

Introduce the sequence with a statement of no more than 250 words explaining the theme and its meaning to you. A cover or title page is encouraged. This statement belongs with the thematic sequence; it isn't the separate statement about your interest in the degree. When editing your own selection, consider whether the six images communicate a connected idea and whether their order helps the viewer follow it. That is planning advice, not a hidden university rubric. Keep the original files and your process notes so the final selection remains an accurate record of your creative decisions.

The second part asks for six of your best visual works. They don't need to share a theme, and the allowed media are broader than photography alone. TMU lists examples including video, painting, drawing, 3D graphics, sculpture and installation, with mixed or hybrid work also possible. This part can show capabilities that aren't visible in the thematic sequence.

You're encouraged to demonstrate a broad range of skills. You don't have to invent an unfamiliar technique just to fill a supposed checklist of media. Make a selection that lets the school see work you actually created and how you use visual tools. Both portfolio parts give an image limit of 2000 by 1500 pixels at 150 dpi. Treat those as submission instructions, not as a demand to change the underlying artistic idea. Check the legibility and image quality of the exported document before uploading. There are twelve examples across the two parts; don't confuse that total with twelve images for each part.

Clearly label the visual examples and combine them into one PDF for the ChooseTMU Applicant Portal. A maximum of three videos is accepted. The instructions require video uploads to Vimeo, with the links pasted into that same portfolio PDF. Read the current page's access/privacy directions if you include video, and test the links before final submission. A private upload that the assessors cannot open doesn't communicate your work.

The written statement and resumé are separate PDF uploads. The statement must stay within 250 words. The resumé is limited to two pages and may cover education, creative experience, skills, software familiarity, employment, volunteering and awards. Include only things you've done and can describe accurately. A short factual resumé is more useful than an embellished list of credentials. If the portal can't be used, TMU directs applicants to contact the School of Image Arts to discuss another submission method. It doesn't authorize replacing the portal with an unsolicited attachment sent anywhere you choose.

Your separate statement addresses your interest in photography, what you hope to gain from the program and/or your goals in photography and media art. It must not exceed 250 words. Use it to connect your own interests with the BFA, while the thematic statement explains the six-image sequence. Repeating exactly the same response twice would miss the different purposes of the documents.

The checked public instructions require work you created; they don't state a blanket prohibition on feedback. A permitted review can check clarity, document limits and whether you answered the actual item. You still write the statements and choose the images. We don't supply a theme, fabricate an artistic background or write an applicant's response. If your portal supplies additional integrity directions, follow those item-specific instructions. Portfolio feedback should help you assess your existing work, not replace it with work you can't claim or explain. Keep those authorship boundaries in place when asking a teacher, family member or adviser for a review.

The non-academic deadline is February 1, 2027 or ten business days after the application submission date, whichever is later. That relative-date rule matters for a later application; it doesn't remove TMU's separate February 1 guaranteed-consideration date for complete applications. Submit early enough to resolve access or payment problems.

The assessment fee is $50 CAD and must be paid for the submission to be reviewed. TMU directs you through the portal to the eForms Centre and Non-Academic Fee Form. Keep the fee and upload receipts. Portal setup begins with the student number in the application acknowledgement and activation of your online identity; the instructions say to wait 24 hours after activation before accessing ChooseTMU. For readmission or reinstatement, the program gives a different instruction: non-academic material isn't required, but you must tell the department your intentions by the stated deadline. The decision-release page gives mid-March as the first-round guideline for Photography Media Arts, subject to change.

The published first-year sequence includes MPS 106 and MPS 206 production, MPS 107 digital imaging, MPC 103 art history, MPC 101 compositional design and MPC 201 contemporary-art concepts. This isn't limited to operating a camera. The course mix places production beside visual interpretation and the history or theory of art.

For the Fall 2025-and-after cohort, later examples include photographic print, time-based media, studio practice, histories of photography and critical debates. The last year includes two senior-project courses and professional creative practices. These examples help you compare the BFA with Film or a vocational photography credential. Ask how projects use still, moving and digital imagery, and how critique contributes to production work. Read the Photography sequence inside the Image Arts calendar; the same page also includes Film, whose required courses shouldn't be copied into your Photography timetable. Confirm the actual entry-year curriculum before registration.

The admission page identifies internship opportunities and access to The Image Centre, as well as darkrooms, editing facilities and other image-making resources. It doesn't publish a universal paid co-op route for every Photography student. Ask how internship approval works and whether the particular experience is paid or credit-bearing. Don't borrow the mandatory internship language from Sport Media or GCM.

For tuition and university funding, use the TMU overview and its official 2026-27 fee links. Ask Image Arts which materials or equipment you must obtain and what can be accessed through university facilities. These are better questions than assuming you need to purchase every camera mentioned in a program description. When comparing schools, consider the range of image-making taught, senior-project expectations and access to critique or exhibitions. The listed career directions include commercial photography, visual art and curation; they don't guarantee employment or a particular income from creative work.