15 Pre-College Fashion Programs for High School Students
- Stephen Turban
- 4 hours ago
- 12 min read
If you’re thinking about fashion as a possible path, joining a program in high school gives you a chance to test that interest before committing to it later. Pre-college fashion programs for high school students guide you through the steps behind fashion creation. You work on sketches, experiment with fabrics, and learn how garments are constructed. You also begin to understand how collections are planned and how presentation shapes the final output.
Why should I participate in a fashion pre-college program in high school?
What sets pre-college fashion programs apart is the way they mirror college-level learning. You are expected to follow a schedule, complete assignments, and build your work step by step. This gives you early exposure to how fashion education actually works beyond school.
Even if you are still figuring things out, the experience leaves you with something tangible. You may build a portfolio, develop a set of designs, or complete projects that you can later include in your college applications. That gives you an advantage because you are showing evidence of your interest rather than just stating it.
With that, here are 15 pre-college fashion programs for high school students!
If you’re looking for online summer research programs, check out our blog here.
Key takeaways
These programs span top design schools including Pratt, Parsons, RISD, FIT, and SAIC, offering studio-based training in sketching, draping, pattern-making, and garment construction.
Program lengths vary widely, from short one-week workshops (Drexel, Kent State, Thomas Jefferson University) to extended multi-week residential intensives (RISD's five-week program, Ringling's four-week program).
Several programs go beyond design to cover related fashion career paths, including merchandising (LIM College, ASU FIDM), curation and exhibition (NYU Curating Fashion), and sustainability-focused design (Drexel).
Costs vary significantly, from accessible options under $700 (FIT, Thomas Jefferson University, Kent State) to more expensive residential programs exceeding $9,000 (RISD), with financial aid available at several schools.
Most application deadlines fall between March and June, with some programs like Otis College and ASU FIDM operating on a rolling or first-come, first-served basis.
Location: Remote , you can participate in this program from anywhere in the world!
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort.
Program Dates: Varies by cohort: summer, fall, winter, or spring. Options range from 12 weeks to 1 year.
Eligibility: You must be currently enrolled in high school and demonstrate a high level of academic achievement.
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a rigorous research program tailored for high school students. The program offers extensive 1-on-1 research opportunities for high school students across a broad range of subject areas. The program pairs high school students with Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the 12-week program, you’ll have developed an independent research paper! You can choose research topics from subjects such as psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. You can find more details about the application here, and check out students’ reviews of the program here and here.
Location: Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, NY
Cost: $5,452 (commuter) – $8,192 (residential) + materials
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: July 6 – July 31
Application deadline: February 1 (scholarship), May 1 (rolling)
Eligibility: High school students (ages 16–18)
Pratt Institute’s Pre-College Summer Intensive puts you into a studio routine where most of your time is spent making and developing fashion work. You choose fashion design or a related course, and your days revolve around sketching, working with fabric, and building pieces step by step. Classes run like real studio sessions, where you show your work, get feedback, and then go back and fix or rethink what you’ve done. Alongside that, you take a supporting course like art history, but it usually connects back to what you’re designing. Being in Brooklyn also matters, since you’re surrounded by a working fashion and arts environment that feeds into your ideas.
Location: London, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo
Cost: Varies according to program. Financial aid available
Application Deadline: Multiple summer cohorts with rolling admissions
Program Dates: 2 weeks during the summer
Eligibility: High school students aged 15-18
Immerse Education’s Fashion & Design Track offers you a global perspective on the fashion industry through programs hosted in major fashion and business hubs. Depending on the location, you will explore different aspects of fashion - London emphasizes luxury and heritage brands, New York focuses on fashion business and media, San Francisco highlights innovation and technology in design, and Tokyo explores avant-garde and street fashion culture. You will participate in project-based learning, workshops, and site visits to studios, offices, or production spaces. The program also includes personalized career coaching and feedback sessions to help refine your academic and professional direction. You will conclude the experience by presenting your work to industry professionals.
Location: Parsons' NYC Greenwich Village campus
Cost: $5,610 + fees; housing $2,180
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Session 1: June 8–26; Session 2: July 6–24
Application deadline: May 8 / June 1 (earlier for international students)
Eligibility: High school students (ages 16–18)
Parsons Summer Intensive Studies (Fashion & Design) runs inside Parsons School of Design in New York, where you follow a studio-based schedule that reflects how design is taught at the undergraduate level. You spend most of your time working on projects, developing ideas, and presenting them through critiques rather than attending traditional lectures. The program includes visits across the city, which become part of how you gather references and think through your work. Faculty guide your progress, but much of the responsibility stays with you in terms of managing your output. Since the program offers college credit, the expectations are set closer to a university course than a short workshop.
Location: Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), New York City, NY
Cost: $550 per 10-day course
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment (space-limited)
Dates: July 6–21
Application deadline: June 10
Eligibility: High school students (grades 9–12)
FIT Precollege Summer Courses takes place in New York’s Fashion District, where you choose one or two short courses that run over a fixed 10-day schedule. Each class focuses on a specific area, so you might spend your time on design, styling, or another part of the industry depending on what you select. The structure is hands-on, which means most sessions involve making, experimenting, or working on small outputs rather than just listening. Classes are taught by professionals and faculty, so the examples and tasks are tied to how work is actually done. You can combine morning and afternoon sessions, which lets you shape your schedule based on your interests. The experience is short but focused, with a clear beginning and end.
Location: Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Providence, RI
Cost: $9,595 (Commuter); $12,495 (Residential) + additional materials ($800–$1,000)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Late June – early August (5 weeks)
Application deadline: Typically in spring
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors
RISD Pre-College Program is a five-week residential program where your daily routine follows a full studio schedule, similar to what first-year art and design students experience. You choose a focus area and spend long hours working on projects, attending critiques, and developing your ideas through repeated revisions. The structure is demanding, with time divided between classes, independent work, and feedback sessions. You live on campus, so your environment stays centred around the work you’re doing. Materials, techniques, and concepts are introduced through practice rather than theory-heavy sessions. By the end, you have a set of finished pieces that come from continuous work over several weeks.
Location: School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Cost: varies by duration; financial aid available (Typically $1,908/credit)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Multiple 2-week sessions (June 15 – July 24)
Application deadline: April 1 (priority)
Eligibility: High school students (ages 15–18; completed sophomore year)
The SAIC Early College Program Summer Institute (ECPSI) offers high school students a structured way to explore fashion design within a studio-based academic setting. The program is built around hands-on learning, where you spend time working on garment construction, draping, and pattern-making while developing your own design ideas. As a participant, you’ll take part in studio classes led by practicing artists and designers, with regular critiques that help you refine your work step by step. You’ll also have access to the Art Institute of Chicago, which supports your understanding of fashion through exposure to historical and contemporary work. Courses are credit-bearing, so the pace and expectations reflect a college-level environment.
Location: Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA
Cost: $2,690 (+ materials and lab fees)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Moderately selective
Dates: July 7 – July 31
Application deadline: Rolling (space available)
Eligibility: High school students
Otis College’s Fashion Design I course offers you a comprehensive introduction to the fashion design process within a structured pre-college setting. You will learn key skills such as fashion illustration, textile fundamentals, pattern making, and garment construction. The curriculum walks you through the full design cycle—from initial concept and inspiration to creating finished pieces. You will also gain exposure to fashion history and industry practices, helping you contextualize your work. By the end of the program, you will produce multiple design pieces that reflect your developing style and technical abilities.
Location: Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: $2,200
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Moderately selective
Dates: July 16 – July 22
Application deadline: Typically early summer
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors
Drexel’s Fashion Design Reimagined program offers you a one-week immersive introduction to modern fashion design with a strong emphasis on sustainability and innovation. You will engage in studio-based learning, exploring techniques such as fashion illustration, draping, textile dyeing, and digital tools like CLO 3D and machine knitting. The curriculum integrates lectures, hands-on projects, and field trips to boutiques, studios, and museums in Philadelphia. You will also interact with industry professionals, gaining insight into contemporary design practices and career pathways. By the end of the program, you will create original portfolio pieces, including digital and physical designs.
Location: LIM College, New York City, NY (in-person + virtual options
Cost: $250–$350 per course
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment (space-limited)
Dates: July 13 – July 16
Application deadline: June 22
Eligibility: High school students (ages 14–18)
LIM College’s Fashion Academy offers you short, immersive courses designed to introduce different aspects of the fashion industry. You can choose from topics such as fashion design, styling, merchandising, and branding, allowing you to tailor your experience based on your interests. The program emphasizes hands-on learning, including creating garments, styling photoshoots, and developing marketing concepts. You will also gain exposure to New York City’s fashion ecosystem through field trips and industry insights. Flexible scheduling allows you to combine multiple courses into a customized learning experience.
Location: New York University, New York City, NY
Cost: $2,600 (housing optional at additional cost)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective (18 students)
Dates: July 5 – July 25
Application deadline: March 15 (financial aid), April 15 (final)
Eligibility: High school students (ages 15–18)
NYU High School Summer Art Intensive: Curating Fashion offers high school students a focused way to understand fashion beyond design, looking at how it is researched, interpreted, and presented in exhibitions. The program runs over three weeks and is built around the process of creating a fashion exhibition from start to finish. As a participant, you’ll study fashion history, closely examine garments, and learn how textiles, construction, and context shape meaning. You’ll work with faculty from NYU’s Costume Studies program and take part in workshops, discussions, and museum visits across New York City. A large part of the experience is collaborative, where you and your group decide how to present fashion pieces and build a narrative around them. The program ends with a curated exhibition that you help design and present.
Location: Kent State University, Kent, OH
Cost: $1,650
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective, small cohort
Dates: June 14–20
Application deadline: Registration opens March 1 and runs first come forst serve basis
Eligibility: High school students who have completed sophomore year; ages 16–18
Kent State University’s Summer Fashion Academy offers high school students a short, structured introduction to fashion through a one-week residential program that focuses on both design and merchandising. You spend your time working on a single design idea from start to finish, moving from initial concept to a completed garment while using tools like the TechStyleLAB and KnitLab to test and develop your work. The program also includes sessions on fashion history and how the industry operates, so your work is about understanding where it fits. As a participant, you’ll take part in studio workshops, group projects, and daily activities that reflect how fashion is taught at the college level. The week builds toward a final showcase, where your work comes together with others in a presentation setting
Location: Downtown Phoenix, AZ, and Los Angeles, CA
Cost: Varies per camp, ranges from $1,000–$1,300
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Space-limited
Dates: June 15–19, June 22–26, and related camp sessions in the summer
Application deadline: June 11 or June 18
Eligibility: High school and community college students ages 15–19
ASU FIDM’s summer camps offer high school students a short, focused introduction to fashion through one-week programs held in Los Angeles or Phoenix. The camps are structured around specific areas, such as fashion design or merchandising, so your experience depends on the track you choose. As a participant, you’ll work on core skills such as illustration, sewing, patternmaking, and trend forecasting, with sessions led by faculty and visiting industry professionals. The program is hands-on, so most of your time is spent creating or working through small projects rather than just attending lectures. In the merchandising track, the focus shifts toward how fashion products are developed, marketed, and sold, with activities that connect ideas to real industry processes.
Location: Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, FL
Cost: Residential: $7,480; Commuter: $5,345
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 21–July 18
Application deadline: First-come, first-served basis (Application opens on November 1)
Eligibility: Students ages 16–18, currently enrolled in grades 10–12
Ringling’s Pre-College offers high school students a four-week residential experience where they follow a structured studio schedule similar to a first-year design program. The curriculum is divided between core classes and selected immersions, so you spend part of your time building foundational skills and the rest focusing on an area that connects to your interests, including fashion-related design paths. As a participant, you work in studio spaces with faculty, developing ideas through drawing, materials, and iterative design rather than one-off assignments. The program includes extended studio time, which means most of your day is spent working on pieces that gradually evolve over several weeks. Alongside classes, there are smaller workshops that introduce different techniques and tools, giving you exposure to multiple ways of approaching design.
Location: Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: $600
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective/limited space
Dates: 5-day summer workshop (July 13 – July 17 last year)
Application deadline: June 1
Eligibility: High school students
Jefferson’s fashion pre-college workshops offer high school students a short, structured way to explore how fashion actually comes together, not just at the design level but across textiles and merchandising as well. The program runs as a week-long workshop where your time is spent building a single idea into something more complete, starting with research and mood boards and moving toward sketches and early design concepts. As a participant, you work inside Jefferson’s Fashion & Textile Futures Center, which means you’re using real studio spaces and tools rather than simplified setups. The sessions move between areas like textile design, fashion design, and merchandising, so you see how fabric, silhouette, and branding connect instead of treating them separately.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best pre-college fashion programs for high school students?
Strong options depend on a student's focus. Students interested in design fundamentals might consider Parsons, Pratt, or RISD, while those drawn to merchandising or fashion business might look at LIM College or the Immerse Education New York track, and those interested in curation might consider NYU's Curating Fashion program.
Are there affordable pre-college fashion programs for high schoolers?
Yes, several programs cost under $700, including FIT Precollege Summer Courses, LIM College's short courses, and Thomas Jefferson University's pre-college workshops. Many higher-cost programs, like RISD and SAIC, also offer financial aid.
Do pre-college fashion programs offer college credit?
Some do. Parsons Summer Intensive Studies and SAIC's Early College Program Summer Institute are both credit-bearing, meaning the pace and academic expectations more closely resemble a university course than a short workshop.
Which fashion pre-college programs focus on more than just design?
LIM College Fashion Academy covers styling, merchandising, and branding alongside design, NYU's Curating Fashion program focuses on fashion history and exhibition curation, and ASU FIDM offers a separate merchandising track covering product development and marketing.
How long do pre-college fashion programs typically run?
Program length varies from short one-week experiences, such as Kent State's Summer Fashion Academy and Drexel's Fashion Design Reimagined, to longer multi-week programs, including RISD's five-week residential program and Ringling College's four-week pre-college experience.
When should I apply to pre-college fashion programs?
Deadlines vary widely. Earlier options include SAIC's priority deadline of April 1 and NYU's financial aid deadline of March 15, while others like FIT (June 10) and Thomas Jefferson University (June 1) fall later. Some programs, like Otis College and Ringling, accept applications on a rolling or first-come, first-served basis.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a graduate of Harvard College, where he earned an A.B. in Statistics. 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.