10 Fashion Summer Programs for High School Students
Summer programs are a great way to explore a subject you’re interested in, and figure out if it's a good fit for you to pursue in college and as a career. If you’re a high schooler curious about the world of fashion and design, you should consider applying to one of the programs listed below!
These programs offer a comprehensive glimpse into the industry, providing opportunities for hands-on learning, a platform for creative expression, and valuable professional insights. Participating in a fashion program over your summer break will expose you to the world of fashion while helping you build essential skills like design, marketing, and trend analysis.
Additionally, these programs will give you the chance to network with industry professionals, peers, and mentors, which can be instrumental to your future career. A summer program in your resume will also enhance your college applications, demonstrating a commitment to your chosen field and the fact that you’ve worked on building a knowledge and skill base.
Whether you’re passionate about fashion design, interested in the business side of the industry, or eager to explore various fashion disciplines, these summer programs offer a solid foundation to start your journey. We’ve listed the 10 best fashion summer programs for high school students that you can consider!
Cost: $5,145 + $245 university fee (+ $2,086 housing, which is optional).
Location: Parsons’ NYC Greenwich Village campus, NYC, NY.
Application Deadline: Applications for session 1 close mid-May and for session 2, early June.
Program Dates: Session 1: June 10 - 28, 2024 | Session 2: July 8 - 26, 2024
Eligibility: Open to high school students aged 16 - 18.
Parsons, one of the most well-known schools in the world for art, design, and fashion, offers this summer intensive pre-college program for high school students to explore a number of different subjects.
Guided by top-tier faculty, you can dive into a discipline of your choice, while immersing yourself in the city’s thriving culture, in this academically challenging and artistically enriching three-week, three-credit program. This program is great for high school students who have started working on building their college applications. It includes skill-building through project-based learning, art and design excursions, industry guest speakers, and portfolio reviews. You can choose from a range of subjects, including Fashion Styling, Fashion Design: Visual Communication, and Fashion Design: Sewing and Construction. During the studio courses, you will explore diverse techniques and create portfolio pieces essential for college admission applications.
Cost: $550 per 10-day class.
Location: FIT, New York City, NY.
Application Deadline: The application opens in February and closes in June. Program Dates: 10-day classes are offered in the summer, fall, and spring. Some 4-day workshops are also offered.
Eligibility: Open to students in grades 9-12.
FIT offers this pre-college program for high school students led by experts from the industry. Located in the heart of New York City’s Fashion District, the FIT campus offers a unique opportunity to explore the various industries it serves. Participants will create impressive portfolio pieces, delve into different majors, and build enduring friendships with peers who have similar interests and passions. The summer course will cover subjects such as sewing, fashion styling, draping, fashion trends, fashion forecasting, and more. Students will be exposed to the possible careers in fashion during the courses too!
Cost: $6,795 (Residential) | $4,605 (Commuter) | $3,955 (Online)
Location: CCA, San Francisco, CA.
Application Deadline: Applications open in September and close in June.
Program Dates: July 8, 2024 - August 2, 2024.
Eligibility: Open to high school students who:
have just completed their sophomore, junior, or senior year, and
are at least 15 years old by July 12, 2024, but no older than 18 by August 2, 2024.
In this pre-college studio program, you will navigate the entire spectrum of becoming a fashion designer, from conceptualizing ideas to communicating them through fashion sketches and creating wearable designs.
Over the four-week program, you will experience what it’s like to attend college studying fashion design and work as a professional fashion designer. The program includes three design projects, excursions, and sessions with guest speakers, covering the entire fashion design process through topics such as gathering inspiration, maintaining a dynamic sketchbook, design development using both traditional and experimental methods, illustration, pattern-making, and sewing. By the course's conclusion, students will have produced a tactile design portfolio, PDFs of their work, and 3D-sewn garments based on their own concepts. The studio emphasizes exploring various drawing and rendering techniques with diverse illustration tools. Students will also learn essential skills to bring design ideas to life, with additional emphasis on mastering sewing techniques, garment structures, and concepts for creating their own pieces.
Cost: $60 application fee + $11,350 (residential) OR 8,715 (commuter).
Location: Providence, RI.
Application Deadline: Applications open on November 14, 2023, with no mentioned deadline. Decisions are announced in late January.
Program Dates: June 29, 2024 - August 3, 2024
Eligibility: Open to students who:
have completed their 10th or 11th year of high school,
are between 16 and 18 years of age, and
will be 16 by October 1, 2024.
The RISD pre-college program allows rising high school juniors and seniors to immerse themselves in undergraduate-level courses. During this five-week program, you will engage in a college-level curriculum featuring day-long studio classes, critiques, and projects. This intensive program places you in a dynamic environment alongside creative and driven peers from around the globe, encouraging you to push boundaries. The program will give you a glimpse of what it’s like to be an undergraduate student at RISD, providing access to top-notch resources and faculty, and offering an opportunity to enhance your portfolio. The program will fundamentally transform your perspectives on art and design, fostering a profound change in how you approach your craft. Students interested in fashion can select the fashion design major in the program!
Cost: $4,613 tuition + $50 application fee + $475 activities fee + $1,390 housing + $693 meal plan. There are multiple scholarships available.
Location: Brooklyn, NY.
Application Deadline: Applications typically close in May for domestic students, and April for international students. The scholarship application deadline is in March.
Program Dates: July 8, 2024 - August 2, 2024.Eligibility: Open to high school students at least 16 but no older than 18 years old before the first day of the program.
Pratt Institute is a private university primarily known for art, design, and liberal arts. Its PreCollege Summer program is a rigorous 4-week opportunity for high schoolers to explore the majors available at Pratt. You can mention 3 preferred courses in your application, and you will be enrolled in two classes out of the 18 available courses. One of the courses offered is Fashion Design, where you will explore the apparel process from design to market. You will learn how color, form, and proportion relate to the body, and how fashion reflects and influences contemporary culture while developing technical skills. You will start with concept development and fashion illustration before moving on to construction. You will spend the program developing a garment for the closing exhibitions, where students get to share their work with peers, family, and the Pratt community.
Cost: Check out the different costs here. Need-based financial aid and merit-based scholarships are offered.
Location: Chicago, IL.
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions.
Program Dates: Session 1: June 17 - 28, 2024 | Session 2: July 1 - 12, 2024 | Session 3: July 15 - 26, 2024 | Session 4: July 1 - 26, 2024 | Session 5: July 29, 2024 - August 2, 2024.
Eligibility: High school students in grades 10-12.
The fashion design course in this program is ideal for students interested in exploring contemporary fashion design methods and materials rather than constructing specific garments.
During this program, you will learn to illustrate fashion figures and work on your skills in styling, draping, and selecting fabrics. You will gain insights into the history of fashion design and explore new research and documentation techniques and will be exposed to contemporary designers and their practices as a key component of the curriculum. You will get to utilize resources like SAIC's Fashion Resource Center, which boasts an extensive library on fashion and costume history, individual garments and accessories of historical significance, and a collection of visual materials that are typically not available to the public. Additionally, you can draw on the Art Institute of Chicago's collection of art and textiles to develop an informed and creative approach to fashion design. These resources serve as a foundation for developing unique textile and garment designs, while the class also delves into the language of clothing—how garments convey messages and what they signify.
Cost: $2,250.
Location: Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA (residential).
Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until the maximum capacity of 18 students is reached.
Program Dates: July 14 - 20, 2024.
Eligibility: High school students who have completed their sophomore year and are at least 16 years old.
This program by Drexel University is a competitive work-learn opportunity, accepting only 18 students. This one-week program emphasizes research, sustainability, craftsmanship, and technology, delivering a well-rounded curriculum through lectures, demonstrations, studio work, guest speakers, and field trips to Philadelphia’s local design communities. During this studio program, you will attend demonstrations and experiment with materials and concepts to work on apparel design projects. Additionally, you will attend lectures delivered by Drexel’s expert faculty and industry professionals, as part of which you will learn Shima Seiki’s Apex computer knitwear design simulation and Clo-3D Fashion Design software.
Field trips and discussions with professionals are also part of the program.
Cost: Not specified.
Location: Banson NYC + residence at a hotel in Midtown Manhattan, New York, NY.
Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a first-come-first-served basis until the capacity of 20 students is reached.
Program Dates: June 23, 2024 - June 28, 2024 (session A) | July 14, 2024 - July 19, 2024 (session B)
Eligibility: High school students entering grades 9-12.
Banson NYC has been around since 2008, providing students with worthwhile and credible exposure to the fashion industry in NYC. The program itinerary is personally designed by a seasoned professional, Holland Grumieaux, who ensures sufficient practical experience and insight in addition to classroom learning.
The Banson NYC Fashion Summer Camp takes students behind the scenes of design studios and showrooms and teaches them about merchandising and the buying process. The programming further includes educational shopping trips, fashion exhibits at famous museums, and group dinners. The camp accepts a maximum of 20 students.
Cost: $2,650.
Location: Los Angeles, CA.
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions.
Program Dates: July 5 - 31, 2024.
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9-12.
During this program’s fashion design course, you will delve into the intricacies of the fashion concept and development process—from sketching techniques employed by top designers to mastering the technical skills necessary to bring unique ideas to life. As a participant, you will create a mood board to visualize and present fashion ideas and themes. The program helps deepen your understanding of the elements that fuel the creation and realization of individual designs. You will learn to use professional-grade industrial sewing equipment in a state-of-the-art fashion studio to transform hand-drawn and illustrated concepts into fully finished garments.
Cost: $3,550 (commuter) | $5,050 (residential).
Location: Philadelphia, PA.
Application Deadline: Applications typically close in April.
Program Dates: July 8 - 26, 2024.
Eligibility: Open to students in grades 10-12.
For this program, you can choose one major and two electives. If you’re interested in fashion and design, you can choose the design or illustration option as a major, and jewelry and figure drawing for your electives. These courses will help you build a strong foundation for your education and career in the world of fashion. You will understand the human form, which is essential for various art and design disciplines, you can choose to conceptualize your own sneaker designs, gaining insight into product design, branding, and interaction design. You will also explore the realm of modern illustration with guidance from industry professionals, covering both traditional and digital drawing techniques.
One other option - Lumiere Research Scholar Program
If you would like to participate in a rigorous research program open to high schoolers, you should also consider applying to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program, a selective online high school program for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.
Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
Image Source: Parsons logo
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