Western Arts and Humanities admission requirements: EA, Studio Art and SASAH are different choices

Western's September 2027 program overview distinguishes broad Arts and Humanities entry under EA from direct-entry BFA Studio Art under EAV. SASAH applicants also apply to the faculty through EA, then complete the school's selection process. These aren't interchangeable codes for the same application. Choose the route that matches what you intend to study and check whether it has an extra assessment.

For Ontario high-school entry, the framework requires the OSSD and six Grade 12 U or M courses. ENG4U is the named Arts and Humanities prerequisite. Western states a 70% overall minimum and at least 70% in required courses; the faculty's low-80s guideline describes competitive planning, not a guaranteed offer. The Ontario requirements page says the other Arts and Humanities programs have no supplemental requirements. A student aiming for literature, philosophy or languages therefore shouldn't inherit the Studio Art portfolio simply because those subjects share a faculty. Applicants outside Ontario need the university's matching educational-system rules.

EAV applicants submit a portfolio and personal statement by February 15, 2027, according to Western's Ontario requirements. The Visual Arts department asks for twelve recent pieces showing a range of approaches, subjects, techniques or media. Traditional work, photography and digital audio/video are welcome. Arrange the portfolio chronologically, emphasizing recent work. Independently made work is eligible; you don't need every piece to originate in a formal art class.

The statement is 250 to 500 typed words about your creative interests, influences and goals. The department's criteria value creative curiosity, ideas and material abilities, including experimentation. That is useful evidence when selecting your own work, rather than trying to make every image look commercially polished. Audio/video material must stay within five minutes in total. The submission page also gives technical file guidance, so check it while preparing your final files. The current portfolio instructions are for the undergraduate Studio Art BFA; don't use an upper-year portfolio or another university's item count.

The department requires an online SlideRoom portfolio and tells applicants not to send materials directly to the department. The current page names the Undergraduate BFA Studio Art 2027 destination. It lists a US$12 submission fee and warns that pending or unsubmitted portfolios won't be reviewed. Once you submit, you cannot edit the file, so check the correct program and final contents before that step.

Portfolio review starts in January, with early offers possible when both the academic criteria and portfolio assessment are met. This isn't a promise that every early upload receives an early decision. If your Grade 12 preparation includes a special Studio Practice Program, the faculty overview says you may be eligible to take 1.0 credit of 2000-level Studio Art in first year instead of the foundation studio. Ask Western to assess your preparation; don't assume any high-school art course qualifies for that arrangement. The academic application, portfolio receipt and any course-placement decision have different purposes.

The SASAH application page is explicitly for 2027-28. It describes a small direct-admission program taking 25 to 30 students a year and considering academic achievement with extracurricular accomplishments. You apply to Arts and Humanities on OUAC and send a 750-to-1,000-word statement of interest as a PDF to the school by February 28, 2027.

Its questions cover your reasons for choosing SASAH, academic achievements, recent extracurricular activity, a risk you learned from and a collaborative project. It also asks about an influential artefact or event you didn't help produce. Those prompts require your own experiences and reflection. The statement must be in your own words. The school shortlists candidates for an interview; a strong written response doesn't bypass that stage. An optional three-minute video can show creative work, an interest or your reasons for considering SASAH. The listed video submission window is January 5 to February 28, 2027, via WeTransfer. The written statement is sent separately by regular email.

SASAH is taken with another major in Arts and Humanities or another faculty. It provides interdisciplinary breadth while the second field supplies subject depth. The faculty overview lists first-year Arts and Humanities 1020E, later digital-literacy work and a capstone seminar among its examples. SASAH also requires 1.0 experiential-learning credit through an internship or community-engaged project.

The overview's second-year conditions include no first-year failures, at least 70% across 3.0 principal courses, at least 75% in Arts and Humanities 1020E and 2.0 additional courses. It also states that principal-course marks must not fall below 60%. Read those university progression rules separately from the Grade 12 entry guideline. You must apply to the second module after first year, and that field has its own requirements. A SASAH admission offer doesn't make every possible second major available regardless of your course selection or results. Ask the school to check your intended pairing before choosing the first-year timetable.

The faculty's examples span English, Classical Studies, philosophy, languages and creative practice. Classical Studies lists introductory ancient Greece/Rome study and later work on Greek epic, technology or popular culture. Creative Arts and Production is shared across Arts and Humanities, Music and Information and Media Studies, with examples involving creative production, sound/image/text and intellectual-property questions. Black Studies is taught across Arts and Humanities and Social Science.

These examples show why broad EA entry is not a single fixed major. Western organizes degrees through modules, including majors, specializations and honours specializations. You explore in first year while taking the prerequisites for modules you may want later. Compare two plausible subjects and ask which first-year courses preserve both choices. A studio preference leads to different preparation from a language or philosophy interest. Don't choose all your courses from whichever subject name is most familiar. The module rules determine progression, and sample-course lists aren't a guarantee that every named course is offered in the same term.

The faculty internship program is available to eligible second-, third- and fourth-year students in a major, specialization or honours specialization. Its cumulative-average requirement is at least 78% in second year and at least 70% in third or fourth year, with no failures or academic offences under the published criteria. A student moving into second year must wait until all first-year results are available for the average calculation.

For 0.5 credit, the placement minimum is 120 hours; for 1.0 credit it is 240 hours. Part-time internships can run in fall, winter or summer; full-time options run in summer. The page describes in-person, remote and hybrid opportunities. This is a credit-bearing internship structure, not the same optional paid co-op schedule used by Social Science. Ask about departmental approval, preparation modules and the placement search. The internship rules don't apply as Grade 12 admission minimums, and the existence of the program doesn't establish pay for every opportunity.

Western lists January 15, 2027 for equal consideration of full-time undergraduate applications. Within Arts and Humanities, Studio Art's February 15 portfolio and SASAH's February 28 statement are additional dates. Put the appropriate one beside your actual route, rather than completing both without a reason. Use your applicant account for documents and eventual offer conditions.

University-wide tuition, scholarships and offer timing are summarized in the Western overview. Its linked 2026-27 fee schedule is a dated planning reference, not a future-year quote. For the selective paths, ask about studio-material costs or experiential-learning expenses as appropriate. At an information session, bring a specific comparison: EA literature study versus EAV studio practice, or SASAH plus your intended second module. You can seek permitted review of an applicant-written statement; neither checked selective page states a blanket feedback ban. You create the work and write the response, including every description of your achievements or influences.