Arts/Design
{Alfred University} Portfolio Preparation for College Bound Artists
This co-ed, overnight art camp is an intensive program in establishing a body of work in portfolio preparation. The goal of the program is to expose campers to a variety of media, to allow for exploration of personal art themes and provide a sound foundation in the vocabulary of art and art-related pursuits. We encourage campers to bring a portfolio* for review and you will receive constructive advice on how to accomplish the best college application portfolio you can. (*flash drive and/or original work are all welcome) With our dynamic, engaging, talented and caring faculty; terrific facilities; and lovely surroundings, "Portfolio Preparation for College Bound Artists" could make this your best summer ever!
{California College of the Arts} Pre-College Program
This summer, approximately 250 high school students -- makers, designers, DIYers, and original thinkers from all over the Bay Area and beyond will convene on CCA's Oakland campus and engage in an authentic art-college experience, including residing in CCA housing. You will immerse yourself in a college-level curriculum studying art, architecture, design, and creative writing as you discover what makes the San Francisco Bay Area so ideal. By completion, you will have strengthened your portfolio, deepened your craft, expanded your knowledge, and grown as an individual -- all while becoming an integral part of a creative community that embraces risk-taking in the pursuit of purposeful work.
{Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp} Summer Camps
After fifty-six years, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp still provides a unique experience for its campers. Blue Lake’s impact on shaping young lives is defined by our past students and the thousands of dedicated counselors, staff, and faculty who have served Blue Lake since its inception. Our original mission to inspire young artists to achieve their potential has not wavered since our first day of camp in 1966. Now more than ever, the constant distraction of cell phones and social media pulls us away from focusing on the three dimensional presence of our lives. Blue Lake offers a much needed break for students to look up, get inspired, and discover their potential as individuals and artists.
{Carnegie Mellon University} Pre-College Art
Pre-College Art motivates, stimulates and prepares emerging artists and creative problem solvers. Modeled after the rigorous undergraduate School of Art program, students are taught by practicing artists and professors, in cutting-edge facilities, at a school ranked among the top ten in the country. Using both traditional tools and new technologies, students develop and hone technical skills and critical thinking. Students are introduced to the spirit and substance of the School of Art's culture through challenging courses, critique, stimulating workshops, portfolio development and energetic interaction with dedicated faculty and talented peers. The programs mission is to teach students as artists and to help students understand how their personal vision and ambition can be harnessed as art-making material. By merging curriculum that focuses on technical skill with coursework that pushes students to think conceptually, Pre-College Art provides the essential building blocks for future study in a competitive college art setting or for applying creative thinking to pressing social issues, in whichever field they may choose.
💰 Scholarships Available
{Cooper Union} Summer Art Intensive
The Cooper Union Summer Art Intensive helps high school students prepare a portfolio for college applications, worthy of top undergraduate programs. Participants choose a three day studio concentration, devoting the rest of the week to intensive drawing instruction and the study of contemporary art issues. A faculty of professional working artists teach all portfolio preparation classes. A mix of local, out-of-town and international students will engage with the vast cultural resources of New York City through visits to major museums and gallery districts. Guest Artists in Residence offer a close-up view of professional practice in action. The program culminates with a student exhibition, a publication of art and writings, and a public animation screening with a reception in Cooper’s Great Hall.
{Interlochen Center for the Arts} Interdisciplinary Arts Summer Program
Director. Manager. Curator. Producer. If you're more interested in "running the show" than being in the show, then high school Interdisciplinary Arts is for you. Newly added to our 2021 programs, be one of the first students to participate in this exciting new program. As a high school Interdisciplinary Arts student, you will take a variety of hands-on courses across arts disciplines to learn what it takes to be a sought-after figure in the arts world. Courses may include: Leadership & Management in the Arts (Learn what happens “behind the scenes” to make art happen. Examine the inner workings of arts organizations and all that is required to make art in our modern world); Citizen Artistry/Arts Advocacy (Learn how to partner with organizations in your community; develop projects meant to incite local or global change; collaborate to create artwork that is socially engaged; and use human interaction as a medium); Producing live events (Learn how to take an idea for a show and make it a reality by understanding the role of the producer. You'll review artistic direction, company management, marketing, personnel management, contracts, and working in a collaborative environment).
💰 Scholarships Available
{Interlochen Center for the Arts} Preparing a Portfolio for College Intensive
If you are actively considering higher education in the visual arts, the one-week Portfolio Intensive is an exceptional opportunity to construct and refine a visual body of work. Working under the guidance of visual arts faculty assembled from around the country, you'll create works for your portfolio and learn how to prepare your portfolio for college art programs. All Portfolio Intensive instructors have extensive experience in portfolio development, and will guide you through the portfolio preparation process. During your time here, you will participate in: Daily intensive studio sessions creating works for your portfolio; Workshops and seminars on the concepts of portfolio development; Presentations to peers; Portfolio reviews by college representatives; Open studio tutorials, with time to work on projects. You will study and work in the state-of-the-art Dow Center for Visual Arts. The most impressive facility of its kind at any secondary school in the country, it also includes a professional gallery space for exhibitions of work by students, faculty and visiting artists.
💰 Scholarships Available
{Loyola Marymount University} Intro to Comics and Graphic Novels
Spend the summer learning about the history of comics and graphic novels, and creating your own comic! This course will provide an opportunity to explore visual storytelling, learning various genres and comic vocabulary as well as the process of creating comic books. You will work with a group of your peers to develop original stories and designs, utilizing creative technology to breathe life into a comic of your very own. The ability to combine words and images as “sequential art” is a skill that has real world application. When taking form as comic books and graphic novels, these become unique ways for students to explore their creative skills and interests, telling meaningful stories about their everyday experiences. Students will go home with their own finished, printed comic produced in class. Students will have access to Comic Life, software that helps turn any image - from photos to hand drawn pieces - into a comic.
{Maryland Institute College of Art} Pre-College Program
MICA's 5-week Pre-College program is a truly unique experience. Our Baltimore location allows students to explore a thriving artistic community that honors its bohemian past while embracing the role of technology in art-making. Field trips to cities like Washington, D.C., and New York are easily conducted from MICA's Mid-Atlantic homebase. The optional 3- and 2-week sessions make it further convenient for you to schedule a campus-based art and design college experience this summer.
{Massachusetts College of Art and Design} Pre-College Summer Studio
Pre-College Summer Studios is an intensive four-week program for the young artist who is serious about his or her work. Students from around the world come together to experience MassArt and the environment of a higher education institution in the visual arts. The program is ideal for students looking to spend the summer immersed in their creative passion, hoping to develop a portfolio and who want to be surrounded by creative artists and striving to develop skills and critical thinking.
💰 Scholarships Available
{New School} Parson Summer Intensive Studies: New York City
Parsons Summer Intensive Studies: New York is a three-credit introductory-level art and design program enriched by the vast resources of New York City. This immersion in the art and design college environment is designed for high school students 16 to 18 years old and for recent high school graduates. In all studio courses, students develop portfolio pieces for college admission applications.
{New School} Parsons Summer Intensive Studies: Parsons Paris
Deepen your knowledge and develop your skills while you explore many facets of art, design, and fashion firsthand this summer in Paris. Experience Paris as an insider, exploring contemporary European art, design, fashion, and photography firsthand in the city’s many design studios and museums. Taught at Parsons Paris, this three-week, three-credit program for high school juniors, seniors, and recent graduates surrounds students with a close-knit learning community in which they work directly with leading faculty and peers from around the world.
{New School} Pre-College Academy
This program for high school juniors, seniors, and recent graduates allows students to work directly with leading faculty and develop their skills and portfolio. Parsons Pre-College Academy provides diverse classes and certificate options for students in grades 3 through 12. The classes meet on Saturday mornings for 11 weeks in the fall and spring semesters and every weekday for two weeks in the summer. A wide selection of courses are offered, on subjects including animation, fashion, graphic design, interior design, drawing, painting, cartooning, photography, and portfolio development.
{New York University} High School Summer Art Intensive
Located in NYU’s internationally recognized Art and Art Professions department, this 4-week program is designed to provide students interested in the broad scope of art an introduction to the experience of being an art student at a prestigious New York City institution.
💰 Scholarships Available
{Otis College of Art and Design} Summer of Art
Immerse yourself in a dynamic, creative environment with other students who are passionate about art and design. This summer, build and develop your creative and artistic skills while exploring a specific medium or aspect of art and design. This intensive, four-week, pre-college program is for individuals 15 and older who wish to study at one of the top art and design colleges in the country. Serious young artists seeking to strengthen and enhance their art and design skills, as well as students with limited art training, are invited to participate.
💰 Scholarships Available
{Pratt Institute} Summer Program
Each summer Pratt Institute’s PreCollege program welcomes over 400 high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors to our Brooklyn campus for nearly a month, where they encounter life as an art and design college student. Students choose a concentration of study modeled after Pratt's undergraduate offerings. To complement this concentration course, students are automatically enrolled in foundation, art history, and portfolio development classes. Upon completion of the program, students earn four elective college credits.
💰 Scholarships Available
{Rhode Island School of Design} Pre-College
For six weeks you’ll follow a college-level curriculum with day-long studio classes, critiques and final projects. You’ll work alongside hundreds of other creative, highly motivated students from around the world who will challenge, inspire and encourage you to push your limits and produce your best work. You’ll live like a RISD student, access renowned resources and instructors, strengthen your portfolio and forever change the way you approach art and design.
{Rice University} Closer Looks
Looking imaginatively and carefully at art takes practice but comes with its own rewards. Closer Looks will introduce you to works of all kinds, from the dawn of civilization to the here and now, sung and unsung, each with its own story. To keep things real, your walk- ing shoes will take you behind the scenes as well as through the galleries of The Menil Collection, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Kimbell Art Museum, The Amon Carter Museum of American Art, The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, The Blanton Museum of Art and The Harry Ransom Center of the University of Texas. Their walls speak – actually rock – but don’t take our word for it.
{Ringling College of Art and Design} Pre-College Program
Ringling College currently offers majors in: Business of Art and Design, Computer Animation, Creative Writing, Film, Fine Arts, Game Art, Graphic Design, Illustration, Interior Design, Motion Design, Photography & Imaging, and Visual Studies. Beginning in Fall 2018, we will be enrolling our first class in a new major: Virtual Reality Development.
{San Francisco Art Institute} Pre-College
This four-week, four college credit program combines in-depth study and practice with SFAI’s renowned faculty to help you build foundational skills, develop a portfolio, experiment with new media, and collaborate with like-minded peers who are driven to create. Visits to local museums and exhibition opportunities complement this immersive experience.
💰 Scholarships Available
{Savannah College of Art and Design} Rising Star
SCAD Rising Star students participate in two five-quarter credit hour courses taught by SCAD faculty. By successfully completing these courses, participants earn college credits toward a SCAD degree or may transfer credits to other accepting institutions.
{School of the Art Institute of Chicago} Early College Program Summer Institute
Why Early College Program Summer Institute (ECPSI)? Study with our amazing faculty, passionate teachers and acclaimed practicing artists, designers, and scholars, many of whom teach in the undergraduate program. Make use of our state-of-the-art facilities and resources including our museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the third largest collection of art in the world. Live in our incomparable residence halls in the heart of downtown Chicago. Explore Chicago in the summer - vibrant, exciting, and friendly.
💰 Scholarships Available
{School of Visual Arts} Summer Pre-College
Summer Pre-College is an intensive three-week program that provides the experience of attending art school in the heart of New York City. Students are immersed in their chosen field of study through unique studio projects and instruction from SVA’s award-winning faculty. Classes are taught Monday through Friday from 9:00am-4:00pm and take place in SVA facilities. The program is further enhanced by a robust offering of evening and weekend chaperoned activities and events that take full advantage of the social and cultural life of New York City.
💰 Scholarships Available
{Skidmore College} Summer Pre-College Art Program
Students in Skidmore’s Pre-College Program who choose to take one or two art courses will have the opportunity to participate in a five-week creative experience building skills and vocabulary in the visual arts to help them find their voices as artists. Our intensive studio art session offers both traditional and cutting-edge courses to help students connect inventive techniques and imaginative ideas. The Pre-College students will take classes in the Saisselin Art Building, benefit from Skidmore’s excellent studio art facility and also take part in the summer studio art special programming with visiting artists, museum visits and a final student exhibition open to the public, family and friends.
💰 Scholarships Available
{Spoleto Study Abroad} Summer Program (Arts)
Spoleto Study Abroad Summer Session is a hands-on immersion program in the arts and humanities for high school students interested in the following subjects: Chamber Music, Drama, Vocal Music, Photography, Visual Arts and Screenwriting.
{The Oxbow School} Summer Art Camp
Rising 9th-12th Graders: Live an art life at Oxbow. Eat, breathe, speak, sleep, dream, explore, and make art! The first week of camp is focused on exploring a variety of mediums. (Painting, Drawing, Photography, Video, Sculpture, & Printmaking) Oxbow students learn various techniques in each studio and are also challenged to explore their conceptual ideas. The second week, students propose and create a project of their own choosing, working closely with a faculty advisor. Each day, campers mix studio time with participation in activities such as inspiration evenings, campfires, yoga, hiking, film screenings, and visits to local art exhibitions. Teens enjoy exploring their independence and making new connections among their peers and mentors.
{The Putney School} Summer Arts Workshops
3 weeks to create and connect through art. Dive deep into any 2 workshops and join a wildly creative community on a hilltop farm in Vermont.
💰 Scholrships Available
{University of California, Los Angeles} Art Summer Institute
The Summer Art Institute is designed for talented and highly motivated high school students. Each two-week session carries three units of UCLA college credit and is structured around a combination of daily, focused studio work, artist lectures, field trips, and a final exhibition. Students may enroll in one, or both, two-week sessions, and choose from Drawing, Painting, Photography, or Sculpture.
💰 Scholarships Available
{University of Dallas} Summer Art Academy
Summer Art Academy on the University of Dallas campus in Irving, Texas, is an opportunity for art students to immerse themselves in the language and techniques of art making, expanding their abilities and developing their artistic potential. We will work with students in a variety of mediums, including ceramics, printmaking, and drawing, creating an intensive, enriching, and rewarding experience.
{University of Iowa} Summer Art Residency
Students in grades 9-12 (current academic year) may apply for the Summer Art Residency (SAR), an immersive 3–week residency at The University of Iowa’s Belin-Blank Center. Learn from world-class faculty on one of the premier arts campuses in the US. Participate in classes, workshops, evening tours, lectures, and events that will stretch you as an artist. The residency concludes with an art and reading showcase.
💰 Scholarships Available
{University of Michigan} BFA Preview
What is it like to earn a BFA degree at a world-class university? BFA Preview gives you a glimpse! BFA Preview is a three-week residential studio for current high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. Our students live on the historic U-M campus, make work in their own studio, and have access to state-of-the-art facilities. Under the guidance of Stamps faculty and staff, you’ll immerse yourself in studio work exploring both traditional and experimental media to produce a variety of projects. Students enhance what they are learning in the studio through field trips to the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Detroit, and the Detroit Institute of Art.
💰 Scholarships Available
{University of Michigan} Digi-Fab Discovery
Curious about resources available to students studying art and design at our top-tier, public research university? Digi-Fab Discovery introduces students to the Stamps Digi-Fab Studio, home to our cutting edge digital fabrication technology! Digi-Fab Discovery is a new two-week residential studio for current high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. Our students live on the historic U-M campus, make work in their own studio, and have access to state-of-the-art facilities. Under the guidance of Stamps faculty and staff, you’ll immerse yourself in studio work exploring contemporary methods of producing art and design.
💰 Scholarships Available
{University of Michigan} Portfolio Prep
Portfolio Prep is a two-week residential studio for current high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. Through integrative studio classes, students will gain firsthand knowledge about the college admission process and learn about the advantages of earning an art and design degree at a world-class university. Under the guidance of Stamps faculty and staff, students will focus on curating a competitive portfolio for their college application.
💰 Scholarships Available
{Washington University in St. Louis} Portfolio Plus Program
The Portfolio Plus Program invites high school students to take college-level art and design courses. You will spend your mornings learning the fundamentals of drawing and your afternoons pursuing a studio concentration of your choice: communication design, fashion design, or studio art. With guidance from Sam Fox School faculty, you will work throughout our intensive three-week program to develop strong portfolios for college admission. Studio work is rounded out by organized trips to museums, visits to artists' and designers' studios, and workshops.