Well Im not sure what country you are from but in America 9x12 is not a standard size I think you would have to print on legal size paper and then cut it... And that's more expensive .. You should do 8.5 x 11 bc that's standard and will be easy to print or smaller.. Mine is 8x8 bc lulu.com will print that size..for a pretty low price like 13 USD per copy..if it has like 40 pages..

Ms. Winston, I would like to ask whether the 8,5x11 size can be 11-inches-long x 8,5-inches-high (landscape format) or not ?

Thank you for your tip, I'll follow the 8,5x11 size.

Unless it's specifically prohibited by a school's instructions to applicants (which it sounds like it isn't in your case), landscape format should be fine. The size limit is used to ensure that all the application materials will easily fit into a standard size file folder, so as long as your pages aren't too big, it won't matter to the school whether your portfolio is in landscape or portrait format. When I applied (five years ago), I laid out my portfolio on 8.5" x 11" landscape and none of the schools had a problem with the page orientation.

Thank you so much for your reply snarkitekt !

which architecture school still requires you to submit a printed portfolio?  excuse me for my naivety, it's been a while since i've applied to school, but I would assume most schools now want pdfs.

in which case, you could go down one of two routes:

16:10 aspect ratio is standard for widescreen on computer monitors and 4:3 is typical for a standard format.  here's a conversion chart for figuring out the dpi.  http://directedge.us/node/36

or  

2048 x 1536 pixels at 264 dpi for viewing on an ipad

i stand corrected.  even sci-arc, which touts itself as a technically advanced school, requires a digital portfolio, as well as a printed and bound portfolio for march and advanced placement barch.

since you're using imperial, i assume you're applying to schools in the US.  in which case 8.5x11 would be correct, as the above posters said.  i dont think 9x12 is standard, either.  both portfolio or landscape should be fine, however i believe most are oriented landscape since that better corresponds with drawings and render/camera orientations. although, if you have really nice images, it might be interesting to go for the 11x16 double spread.  but only if you have really nice images that look good full bleed at that size.

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jplourde,

Thank you for your detailed respond, I've decided to follow the landscape format (8,5x11).  And yes, I'm preparing to apply to schools in the US.  Double spread layout would definitely be much more eye-catching, but maybe it's just suitable for non-symmetric images, in which the most important part of the content is not at the center.  This is because of the gap or the fold line.

Thank you again.

Ms. Winston I'd like to point out that since the dimension of your portfolio is largely a personal choice, one will have to decide whether or not to create a portfolio that is more than $13, which largely is on the inexpensive side (I've heard seen pretty excellent portfolios ranging all the way up to $80.

Also, WRT the 9"x12" size, this is a common max size for many schools. It is not a standard printing size, and because of this, it is quite common to print your own portfolio and cut it down to size, especially when you're working with full-bleed images. That makes a pretty great portfolio, and the greatness of it is usually reflected in those kind of qualities. The point is that in cases like these, cutting the page size down would be a strategic move.

When submitting portfolio online as a pdf, are the pages viewed fit to width or height          (depending on the orientation) ? If so, then the size requirements mentioned by the school, like a3 in gsd's case and 10"x12" in upenn's case will eventually be reduced to the screen size, right?