Scholarship Requirements for Art and Creative Media

The College of Fine Arts annually awards scholarships to prospective students who are pursuing studies in one of our Art and Media programs. These awards are based on talent and/or academic achievement and are renewed each year a student remains enrolled in the College of Fine Arts. 

To apply for the College of Fine Arts Scholarship in Art and Creative Media, you must:

1. Be admitted to Millikin University as an Art, Art Education, Art Therapy, Graphic Design, Film and Video Production, Multimedia Communication, or Arts Technology major. 

2. Submit the scholarship application.
Admitted students can submit their application on their  page.

3. Submit the Personal Statement
Write a brief Personal Statement (200-500 words) that reflects your unique artistic vision and passion for art and creative media. 

Consider the following questions to guide your writing:

Why did you start making art? What themes, experiences, or ideas inspire your work? What materials or techniques do you prefer to work with, and why? How does your work incorporate elements of innovation, and technology? What artists, movements, or cultural experiences resonate with you? How do you hope your art connects with others? What message or emotion do you want to convey? How are storytelling, publishing, and/or technology integrated into your work (if applicable)? What do you hope to achieve through your education in the School of Art and Creative Media? How does your major relate to your future goals? What does it mean to be a leader in the discipline, classroom or on campus?

3.  Submit Your Portfolio 
Once you have been accepted into the university you will be sent a link to submit your portfolio and other application materials in a form.

4. Student Works
6-20 creative works that showcase your existing skills and talents with art and creative media. Quality over quantity of pieces shown is appreciated.

Portfolio Guidelines:

  • Drawings, sketches which indicate an applicant鈥檚 aptitude in the following areas: observation (work done from still life, photos, etc.), and creativity (work done from imagination, invention) are highly valued.
  • Design projects, which indicate aptitude, involving an applicant鈥檚 skills in use of the visual elements: shape, line, texture, value, form are also highly valued
  • Applicants are welcome to include these optional materials, if appropriate: examples of Painting; examples of Photography; examples of 3D work.
  • Arts Technology applicants are welcome to focus their portfolio towards one of the intended concentrations of Arts Technology study (, , or ).
  • For students considering Audio Production, showing a playbill that documents their participation or performance as a sound designer or audio producer for an event is welcomed as a portfolio piece. 
  • applicants are welcome to also include photo/video/audio or written journalism pieces.
  • Podcasts, programming, and/or web design and development pieces, are also excellent examples for creative media majors as they allow reviewers to see your existing technical knowledge. 
  • Use of AI to create the form on any pieces must be disclosed in the application noting the specific piece referenced along with a description of what tool was used and why/how it helped push the creative boundary of art or it will be disqualified. Only one sample using AI technology can be submitted in one鈥檚 overall talent portfolio.
  • If more than 20 pieces are submitted, only the first 20 will be reviewed. 
  • If you have participated in an arts club or related group, please mention that in the online form. 

Portfolio Formatting Requirements:

  • 2D physical or 3D works should be photographed or scanned.
  • Each work submitted should have a title and a description of the assignment, personal goals, and/or concept displayed.
  • All files must be provided digitally. 
    • Options Include: 
      • A single PDF or zip file with all images of work included and a document with the required work title and description.       
      • Or a URL to the personal portfolio website or hosting platform (such as Google Drive) and include a document that notes which images are to be reviewed (6-20). Another option is a link to a Behance page.
        • One can quickly create a free digital portfolio on 
        • Behance allows for users to embed images, videos, sound files etc from the following third party sites and should cover most display needs: Vimeo, YouTube, SoundCloud, Issuu, InVision and more.