It obviously depends on the school but most universities have a limit to number of projects and a format that they want. Check the school's websites to see what their requirements are. I remember most wanted 10-12 works on A4 size sheets. A couple would allow up to A3 size.

They want to see that you are creative and a critical thinker. Any field sketches, drawing, photography, sculptures etc would be great to include as long as they are thoughtful and well done. Architecture work is great too if you have some experience. Only show your best work. I would include a Title, medium, and short description of each project. I did mine in Indesign. However, I saw some accepted portfolios that were just print outs on a black paper background in a folder. As long as the work is remarkable you should be alright.

Here is a link to my portfolio. I designed it for job applications as I am already graduated but it may be of some use. The .pdf download is free.
Lucas Gray's Portfolio

damn dude, 163 MB? wtfffff?

Its a high quality version for printing. I have a smaller file size that I can email to people but it isn't online. Sorry.

btw do you print double-sided?

60 pages of porn. grad schools love it.

cfso1952: I printed double sided.

Hi Rexxer,

I'll preface my several cents by saying that I was admitted for the 3 year MArch I program at UC Berkeley, where I will be starting this fall. I came into the portfolio/application process with no architecture experience whatsoever.

I would agree that your best bet is to put in your strongest work, regardless of medium - the impression I got was that reviewers are much more interested in evidence of creativity, critical thought, and an ability to think and communicate visually than anything else. My background is in photography, so my portfolio consisted entirely of photographs. I met a MArch I student at MIT last year who was a carpenter prior to arch school - her portfolio included woodworking projects, work spaces, custom-built tools, and construction sketches. Anything goes.

That said, don't just throw it all in there in a pile. The best piece of advice I received while working on my portfolio was to think of it as a narrative. Place the works in relation to one another, to yourself, and to your goals for architecture school and design generally. For me, this meant using thematic groupings and text to contextualize my photos in a way that related them to architecture school.

My impression is that when applying to an MArch I program, it isn't particularly better or worse to have or not have architecture to show. The nature of the program is that you don't have any prior design training, right? So it's just about showing them that you have the desire, perspective, and intellectual tools to apply your prior experiences to architecture.

As for brass tacks, my portfolio was 22 pages long, of which 18 pages were creative work, 1 page was table of contents, 1 page was CV, and 2 pages were introduction. I put it together with Illustrator (I found it easier for working with all my photos, and adding shapes, layers, etc.), and had it printed at a local printing shop for around $25 per portfolio.

The exception to all of the above was Berkeley, which demands digital portfolios of no more than 10mb. So for them I had to re-format it with all the photos at lower quality.

Sorry for the lengthy response, hope it helps. Good luck!

@www.talkitect.com

I am also looking for a job right now, and I was just wondering if you find a job. Yes, job market is not looking great though.

btw, your works looks great.

: hoho, you studied at McGill.....shake hands