15 Digital Art Summer Programs for High School Students
- Stephen Turban
- 10 hours ago
- 10 min read
For high school students with a passion for creativity and technology, digital art summer programs offer structured exposure to professional tools, industry workflows, and meaningful connections with peers and mentors. You build applied skills across disciplines such as animation, graphic design, and UX/UI while developing portfolios that strengthen college applications and résumés alike.
Why should I do a summer digital art program in high school?
Participating in a summer digital art program yields concrete, lasting benefits for high school students. You will graduate with a stronger portfolio that demonstrates technical range and creative development, both of which carry significant weight in college applications to arts, design, and liberal arts programs. These programs also introduce industry-standard software and professional workflows, giving you a measurable head start over peers who encounter these tools for the first time in college. Access to mentorship from working artists and designers, along with peer networks that extend well beyond the summer, adds further long-term value.
With many options available, we have compiled a list of 15 digital art summer programs for high school students.
15 Digital Art Summer Programs for High School Students
Location: California State Summer School for the Arts, Sacramento, CA
Cost: CA State Residents: $5,174 | Out-of-State and International Students: $10,475 | Financial aid is available for California residents
Acceptance rate: 40%
Dates: July 6 – August 1
Application Deadline: February 28
Eligibility: High school students currently enrolled in grades 8 through 12
The CSSSA Animation Program offers high school students a rigorous introduction to the full spectrum of animation as a discipline, spanning fine art, digital, and experimental techniques. You will develop foundational and advanced skills through intensive workshops covering storyboarding, life drawing, digital animation, and stop-motion, guided by working professionals in the field. The curriculum also includes screenings of historical, contemporary, and international animated films, as well as a study of animation history from a global perspective. Over the course of the program, you will also complete five animated projects using traditional, cutout, and digital methods, leaving with a substantive body of work and a well-rounded technical skill set. Field trips to local sites such as museums and animation studios further ground the experience in real-world creative contexts.
Location: Virtual.
Cost: Varies depending on program type; full financial aid available
Acceptance rate: Selective
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort
Eligibility: High school students are eligible to apply
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 you 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 art, international relations, psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, and more. You can find more details about the application here.
Location: New York University Tisch School of the Arts, New York, NY
Cost: Online application fee: $75 | Tuition: $8,008. Additional Fees Include: Program Fee (activities facilitated by Residential Life & Housing): $200 | Housing for 4 weeks: $ 1,820 | 10 meals per week for 4 weeks: $824 | Animation Lab and Insurance Fee: $690. Need-based scholarships are available.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective; 20-30 students
Dates: July 5 – August 1
Application Deadline: January 14
Eligibility: High school juniors (rising seniors) are eligible
The Summer Animation Workshop, offered through the Kanbar Institute of Film and Television, introduces high school students to the core principles and techniques of animation through a single intensive four-unit course. The curriculum blends lectures, critiques, and hands-on assignments with exposure to stop-motion, traditional drawing, pixilation, and digital animation, as well as industry-standard tools such as Dragonframe, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro. You will develop skills across drawing, storytelling, and computer animation, culminating in the production of an original animated film presented at the close of the program.
Location: London, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo
Cost: Varies according to program; financial aid available
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: 2 weeks during the summer
Application Deadline: Multiple summer cohorts with rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students aged 15-18 years are eligible
The Career Insights Program lets high school students explore careers in major global industry hubs. The Fine and Digital Art track is designed to introduce you to both traditional and contemporary artistic practices ahead of higher education. The program covers drawing, painting, sculpture, and mixed media, alongside digital tools and software, giving you a well-rounded foundation in both fine and digital art. Studio sessions, art history lectures, and computer-based projects work in combination to build technical proficiency, creative thinking, and visual literacy. You will also engage in project-based learning with established companies, attend interactive workshops, and visit offices, factories, and headquarters. The program also includes weekly in-person 1:1 career coaching sessions and sessions in which you will receive personalized feedback on your resume and overall profile. You’ll also present your findings to industry experts at the end of the program. You can find more details about the application here!
Location: Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Cost: Residential program: $12,495 | Commuter program: $9,595 | Application Fee (non-refundable): $60. Need-based financial aid is available.
Acceptance rate: Highly selective.
Dates: June 27 – July 31
Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors are eligible
The RISD Pre-College program offers high school students a five-week, on-campus immersion structured around a college-level curriculum. You will balance foundation coursework in drawing and design with focused study in a chosen major, totaling a rigorous full-day schedule supported by critiques, projects, and a Critical Studies in Art class. For students pursuing digital art, available majors include Animation, Art and Science, Film, Game Design, Graphic Design, and Digital Photography. The program provides access to RISD's professional-grade resources and faculty, making it a substantive opportunity to strengthen a portfolio and develop a more disciplined approach to art and design.
Location: The New School, New York, NY
Cost: $1,720 plus fees; need-based financial aid is available
Acceptance rate: Not specified
Dates: July 27 – August 7
Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines
Eligibility: High school students are eligible
Parsons Summer Academy offers high school students a two-week in-person program that explores art and design through hands-on projects, small class sizes, and instruction from Parsons faculty. You can develop creative thinking, technical skills, and collaborative abilities across a range of disciplines, with the option to enroll in a portfolio development course for those preparing college applications. Among the available courses, Animation Design guides you through character creation, visual storytelling, and the principles of traditional and digital animation, with instruction from a working professional in the field. Completed coursework counts toward the Parsons Academy Certificate.
Location: Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA
Cost: Tuition: $4,390 | Tuition plus housing: $7,315 | Need-based scholarships are available
Acceptance rate: Not specified
Dates: July 6 – 31
Application Deadline: June 23
Eligibility: High school students aged 14.5 to 19 years are eligible
Otis College of Art and Design's Summer of Art is a four-week, studio-based pre-college program that offers high school students the opportunity to take college-level art and design courses, build their portfolios, and earn up to 3 transferable college credits. The program concludes with a final exhibition, giving you direct experience presenting work in a gallery setting. The Animation course covers foundational principles such as timing, spacing, and character performance through both 2D and 3D techniques, progressing from hand-drawn frame-by-frame exercises to digital rigging and character animation. Instruction is delivered through guided projects and critiques, providing a technically and artistically well-rounded introduction to the discipline.
Location: Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
Cost: Application Fee: $65 | Residential: $8,192 | Commuter: $5,452 | Need-based financial aid is available
Acceptance rate: Not specified
Dates: July 6 – 31
Application Deadline: May 1; applications reviewed on a rolling basis
Eligibility: High school students who will be between 16 and 18 years old before December 31 are eligible
Pratt's four-week PreCollege Summer Intensive immerses high school students in credit-bearing studio courses taught by undergraduate-level faculty on the college's Brooklyn campus. You will enroll in two courses, earn four transferable college credits, and receive an official Pratt transcript upon completion, making it a substantive academic credential alongside the portfolio development experience. The Digital Arts track offers courses in 2D Animation, 3D Animation, Art and Technology, Game Arts, and Digital Illustration, providing focused entry points into a range of professional disciplines within the field.
Location: Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA.
Cost: 6 Weeks: $12,204 (Residential), $9,039 (Commuter) | 3 Weeks: $7,945 (Residential), $6,184 (Commuter). Application Fee: $50 and Enrollment Deposit: $800. Need-based financial aid is available
Acceptance rate: Not specified
Dates: 3 Week: June 20 – July 11 | 6 Week: June 20 – August 1
Application Deadline: Early Deadline: February 1 | Final Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Current sophomores or juniors in high school who are at least 16 years old by the program start date are eligible
Carnegie Mellon University's Pre-College Art Program offers high school students a three or six-week studio-based experience within the School of Art, combining technical skill development with conceptual thinking across a structured daily curriculum. You will work in CMU's College of Fine Arts building and fabrication facilities, attending morning and afternoon classes Monday through Thursday, elective workshops on Fridays, and nightly open studios. The three-week session covers Drawing, Sculpture, Animation, and Concept Studio, while the six-week option adds Painting, Digital Photography, and Printmaking. Small class sizes ensure individualized instruction and substantive critique from faculty who are practicing artists with experience teaching at both the pre-college and university levels.
Location: School of Visual Arts, New York, NY
Cost: Tuition: $2900 | Fee: $500 | Housing: $1,950 | Meal Plan: $650. Need-based scholarships are available.
Acceptance rate: Not specified
Dates: July 13 – 31
Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines.
Eligibility: Students entering their freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior year of high school in the fall are eligible
SVA Pre-College offers high school students a college-level studio experience taught by the same professional faculty who teach undergraduate students at the School of Visual Arts, and successful participants earn 3 transferable credits. The program is structured to help you build a competitive portfolio, develop discipline-specific skills, and engage with New York City's broader cultural landscape through activities including museum visits and Broadway shows. Among the available courses, Interactive Typography: Design for the Web introduces you to browser-based design and moving type using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, with no prior coding experience required. You will leave the course with an original, portfolio-ready typographic project built for the web.
Location: California State Summer School for the Arts, Sacramento, CA
Cost: CA State Residents: $5,174 | Out-of-State and International Students: $10,475. Financial aid is available for California residents
Acceptance rate: 40%
Dates: July 6 – August 1
Application Deadline: February 28
Eligibility: High school students currently enrolled in grades 8 through 12 are eligible
The CSSSA Visual Arts Program places high school students in studio courses selected based on their stated interests, spanning drawing, digital media, painting, photography, printmaking, ceramics, and sculpture. You also participate in figure drawing and an Arts and Culture lecture series, with additional exposure through visiting artist workshops and field trips to museums, galleries, and working studios. The Digital Media course specifically focuses on the Adobe Creative Suite across photo, design, and video applications, covering digital imaging, graphic design, digital printing, bookmaking, and motion arts, with an emphasis on integrating analog and digital processes throughout.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $5,820
Acceptance rate: Not specified
Dates: Session I: June 1 – 19 | Session II: July 13 – 31
Application Deadline: Session I: May 5 | Session II: June 16
Eligibility: High school students who have completed their sophomore year are eligible. Applicants must be between 15 and 19 years of age when they start their class
Art as Experience is an intensive online program connecting high school students worldwide with leading faculty across a range of artistic disciplines and media. The TransMedia course introduces you to digital art creation and theory through hands-on work with cameras, audio recorders, physical computing boards, and computer software, covering digital image acquisition, video and sound editing, and programming for interactive media applications. The curriculum is designed to build both technical proficiency and critical engagement with contemporary art practices.
Location: Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
Cost: $1,020
Acceptance rate: Not specified
Dates: July 6 – 17
Application Deadline: May 31
Eligibility: High school students entering grades 10-12 are eligible
MassArt's Summer Intensives offer high school students a two-week, studio-based program focused on portfolio development and hands-on exploration of art and design. The Animation Toolkit course introduces you to the fundamental principles of animated movement through stop-motion and digital tools, with direct exposure to industry-standard animation software. You will complete the course with finished portfolio pieces and a working foundation in contemporary animation practice.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $985
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment; 8 students
Dates: July 8 – August 29
Application Deadline: Rolling deadlinesEligibility: High school students in grades 10 and 11 are eligible
Ashcan Digital Academy's Digital Foundation Intensive is a beginner-level course designed for high school students with little to no experience in digital art. Over seven sessions with a maximum of eight students per instructor, the course covers Adobe Photoshop fundamentals alongside core painting principles, including perspective, human anatomy, tone, and value. Weekly lectures, homework assignments, and a final assessment provide structured progression, with the program particularly suited to students considering a future in entertainment design.
Location: Gnomon, North Hollywood, CA
Cost: $849 + $25 enrollment fee
Cohort size: 18 students
Dates: Session I: June 15 – 19 | Session II: June 22 – 26
Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines
Eligibility: High school students are eligible
Gnomon's one-week Digital Arts Summer Camp introduces high school students to entertainment design using industry-standard 3D software and digital tools, with instruction delivered through hands-on demonstrations and direct feedback from working professionals. Daily open forum sessions bring visiting industry artists to campus to share their work, techniques, and career experiences. You will select one of five specialized courses: 3D Computer Graphics, 3D Character Animation, 3D Digital Sculpting, 3D Worldbuilding for Games, or Character and Creature Design.
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.
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