100% merit-based admissions. No letters of rec. Just a form, interview, and creative submission.
Next Cohorts Begin: April 15, 2026
To join 20/80, you don’t need perfect grades or a flawless resume. You need curiosity, initiative, and the courage to build your own path.
We look for creators who think independently, work hard, and care about doing things that matter. We don’t believe test scores measure real potential. What matters is taste, work ethic, and a drive to learn by doing.
If you apply, come ready to contribute to projects, to your peers, and to yourself. You’ll learn how to design, build, and launch real work into the world through client projects, collaborations, and travel experiences that connect education to life.
At 20/80, progress isn’t measured by time spent in class. It’s measured by what you can do. Each student moves through six levels, designed to build creative, entrepreneurial, and technical strength in sequence.
Each level takes around six months to complete, but speed isn’t the point—skill is. If you can already demonstrate what we teach, you can move ahead. Students prove their ability through real projects, client work, and portfolio submissions, not written exams or theory.
We recognize that many of our students arrive with experience including freelance work, self-taught skills, or creative ventures that already reflect professional growth. If that’s you, you’ll have the opportunity to apply for a prior learning assessment as part of your application. This helps us place you at the right level before you begin.
Your education should reflect who you are and what you can already do. At 20/80, advancement is earned through action, not time.
Fill out our online form which gives us details about you, your academic history, and your readiness to begin our degree. We don’t evaluate students on standard metrics. We are evaluating your fit with our degree and culture.
There is a $75 application fee.
At the end of your online form, you’ll be prompted to schedule a 30 minute interview with one of our core team members. This is by far the most important part of our application process.
We ask all students to submit a simple creative project and write a 750-word description of their process to let us into your creative world. For more details, download our PDF in the request info page.
