September–October
(This September-October timeline is for full-year and first-semester courses. For second-semester courses, you’ll complete these steps when your course begins.)
- At the start of the school year, sign in to My AP to join your AP Art and Design class section using the join code your teacher gives you.
- Look at sample portfolios from real students—find them under “Portfolio Preparation” on your course’s portfolio page:
- Get familiar with the AP Art and Design Selected Works and Sustained Investigations Rubrics (.pdf/199KB).
- As you create your works throughout the year, document your thinking, learning, and creative processes.
- Start capturing digital images of your artworks—students usually take photos or use a scanner. Make sure your images meet the requirements for file format and image size.
November–February
- Log in to the AP Art and Design digital submission web application as soon your teacher—or AP coordinator, if you are homeschooled or not working directly with a teacher—provides access information.
- Make sure to select the correct type of portfolio (AP 2-D Art and Design, AP 3-D Art and Design, or AP Drawing). It’s important to select the correct portfolio type—it affects how the portfolio is scored.
- Begin uploading images as soon as possible after accessing the web application, so that both you and your teacher can monitor the development of your portfolio. You can always delete, add, or rearrange images later.
March–April
- Make sure you know the deadline to submit your final digital portfolio to your teacher (or AP coordinator). This is a different deadline than the final portfolio due date, which is the date the AP coordinator must send your portfolio to the AP Program for scoring.
- Submit your final digital portfolio to your teacher or AP coordinator by their established deadline.
- After you forward your portfolio to your teacher or AP coordinator, sign back in to the web application occasionally to see your portfolio status and to make sure your AP coordinator forwards your portfolio to the AP Program by 8 p.m. ET on May 7, 2021. Only AP coordinators can take this final step, and only portfolios that have a "Sent to AP" status at the time of this deadline will be received by the AP Program and scored.
May
- Your teacher will forward your completed digital portfolio to the AP coordinator before May 7.
- Your AP coordinator will forward your digital portfolio to the AP Program, using the web application, by 8 p.m. ET on May 7.