ID Photos for Student ID or University Card

The photo required for the online registration of candidates for universities is one of the key required attachments in the process of getting into university. Many future students have problems creating the appropriate digital version of the photo, which must be uploaded to their university’s system. The issue is not helped by the fact that there is no single nationwide standard of photos set, e.g. by ordinance, for all universities and colleges.

Sometimes there is even the incredible situation where different photo formats are required for faculties within the same university. It is important to submit a good picture early on during the registration process, as it will later appear on the electronic student ID that the student will use until the end of their studies.

Requirements for a photo for a student ID are set by the university or college that issue the documents. There is a trend of unification of requirements regarding the size of the photo, how to frame the face and other details. Increasingly, universities explicitly indicate that the photo for an ID or for uploading to the candidate's profile should be exactly the same as for a passport.

This means that such a photograph should be a passport size rectangle and present a face looking straight ahead, evenly illuminated and placed on a uniform, bright background. Such a photo should also have good focus and natural colours. Particular attention should be paid to make the eyes clearly visible, especially the pupils, when photographing. This information is important for women and men with long hair or a fringe.

Most universities expect the ID photo to be attached electronically in the initial admissions process. In the case of file weight and number of pixels, different schools have different specifications. Sometimes the size of such a photograph should be 300 x 750 pixels and weigh up to 50 kilobytes, other times the minimum resolution will be 492 x 633 pixels and up to 2.5 MB.

However, for virtually all universities the online version of the photo is sufficient and the candidate will at no stage be asked to provide a paper copy. It is worth emphasizing once again, as for some new students this can be a surprise, that a photo submitted during the admissions process will also automatically become the student’s ID photo (which is often used during these 3 to 4 years of study).