10 Art and Design Extracurricular Activities for Summer 2025
Young artists-in-training have plenty of opportunities to perfect their crafts these days. There is no shortage of classes, camps, and pre-college programs available to teens interested in sculpting, fashion design, graphic design, painting, drawing, and more. From research programs to residencies, here are 10 art and design extracurricular activities for high school students to pursue during summer 2025.
Art and Design Research Programs
Architecture and the City: Sustainable Urban Design That Inspires
Application deadline: March 31, 2025 for Early Bird Special and May 31, 2025 for regular enrollment
This research program introduces students to the principles and theories that inform the design of streets, plazas, neighborhoods, and their relationships with buildings. Students explore important considerations in urban design, including sustainability, wellness, and spatial experience. They also learn how to respectfully critique and analyze the work of peers, in addition to learning general and subject-specific research and academic writing methods used in universities and scholarly publications.
Faculty Advisor: Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech; Former Adjunct Associate Professor, Urban Design, Columbia University
Language of the Lens: Photography and Visual Storytelling
Application deadline: March 31, 2025 for Early Bird Special and May 31, 2025 for regular enrollment
“Language of the Lens” teaches students how to develop and execute personal and documentary photography projects. Through the exploration of unique themes that interest them–like how photography can affect change by shedding light on social, cultural, or political issues–students learn the elements of an effective photograph, examine photo essays and projects, and image-making techniques.
As they complete their program–by producing a photo essay or project with an accompanying research paper–students will also learn general and subject-specific research and academic writing methods used in universities and scholarly publications.
Faculty Advisor: Adjunct Professor, New York University; Photographer
Music Production in Film and Television: The Art and Technology of Creating Emotional Impact
Application deadline: March 31, 2025 for Early Bird Special and May 31, 2025 for regular enrollment
Throughout this cohort, the Faculty Advisor will expose students to several segments from existing films to analyze and describe their musical content and its characteristics. Using either films and commercials he has scored, or segments of an existing film chosen by each student, the Faculty Advisor will also use his Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) to show how different melodies, harmonies, rhythms, and sound textures can be synchronized with several film segments.
Upon program completion, students can either write a research paper about music in film, or add their own music to a movie scene. Students will also learn general and subject-specific research and academic writing methods used in universities and scholarly publications.
Faculty Advisor: Emmy Award Winner; New York-based composer and producer
Strange Worlds and Rubble: Art and the Second World War in Britain and America
Application deadline: March 31, 2025 for Early Bird Special and May 31, 2025 for regular enrollment
This research cohort teaches students about how the Second World War reshaped society, namely through the art that emerged during the destruction of the time. By engaging with 10 different artists and architects–like Frank Auerbach, Rachel Whiteread, and Edith Tudor-Hart–students will discover how radical art countered triumphalist narratives of postwar prosperity by exposing a fragmentary world torn asunder by violence. Students will also learn general and subject-specific research and academic writing methods used in universities and scholarly publications.
Faculty Advisor: Lecturer, Stanford University
Other Art and Design Extracurricular Opportunities
NC State University Design Camp
Application deadline: April 11, 2025
For 45 years, NC State has offered several pre-college programs dedicated to educating middle and high school students about the design process by briefly covering a range of artistic disciplines. 6th to 9th graders are exposed to potential career pathways while being introduced to design thinking through hands-on 2D and 3D design projects that strengthen creative problem solving skills and visual literacy.
High school students, on the other hand, can participate in day camps and residential programs that allow them to briefly discover four primary disciplines: architecture, graphic and experience design, industrial design and media arts, and design and technology. These programs allow 9th to 12th graders to produce portfolio-quality work and prepare for college-level study.
The New School Parsons Academy New York Summer Intensive Studies
Application deadline: April 1, 2025 for international students and April 24, 2025 for U.S. students
This immersive program, which offers three college credits, features:
Art and design field trips
Industry guest speakers
Thought-provoking, project-based learning
Evening and weekend extracurricular activities that focus on fashion, art and design, exploration of the city, and socialization
High school students can choose from 18 different courses across seven different fields of study, including creative writing and journalism, fashion, fine arts, graphic and digital design, interior design, media and film studies, and photography.
UCLA Summer Art Institute for High School Artists
Application deadline: June 2025; specific dates vary by session
This intensive, two-week program is designed for ambitious high school students who are interested in studio work, artist lectures, and group critiques. Hosted by the world-renowned UCLA Department of Art, the Summer Art Institute offers multiple specialized tracks for drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, and video art and experimental animation.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Early College Program Summer Institute (ECPSI)
Application deadline: June 2, 2025
This rigorous program invites young artists to explore multimedia art and design, work with practicing artists and undergraduate professors, and prepare a competitive portfolio for college admissions. Students can earn up to 4 college credits as they immerse themselves in studio work daily and make use of the university’s state-of-the-art facilities. They also engage in twice-weekly, hands-on workshops designed to help them gain new skills and explore new ideas.
Participants who successfully complete the program waive the portfolio requirement for admission to SAIC's undergraduate program, to which many ECPSI students receive top merit scholarships.
Belmont University’s Teen Art and Design Program
Belmont University offers intensive, two week-long summer sessions to high school students interested in honing their technical skills as they work toward an exhibition upon program completion. Students can choose from two sessions, each of which offer exciting art and design courses, including Design for Social Change, Drawing from Within, Comic Illustration, Fashion Design with a Purpose, Interior Design: Digital Textile Design, and so much more. Program participants will also attend engaging seminars led by industry professionals and college faculty.
Otis College of Art and Design’s Summer of Art
Application deadline: April 25, 2025 for early enrollment, May 14, 2025 for international students, and June 23, 2025 for regular enrollment
This immersive pre-college program was designed to provide young creatives of all experience levels with the tools, mentorship, and inspiration to grow into accomplished artists. The award-winning professionals who teach Summer of Art courses offer students unique insight into the lived realities of working artists and designers. Students participate in demonstrations, lectures, hands-on learning, and critiques in any chosen specialization or drawing studio and can earn up to three college credits during their time in the program.
The specializations–which are plentiful and include everything from video game design to photography and digital filmmaking–are all designed to offer students in-depth and comprehensive explorations of their chosen fields.
The sky’s the limit for high school students trying to develop into working artists. We’ve chosen just 10 of the many art and design extracurricular opportunities available to young creatives this summer, but there are many more options to explore. Start applying soon, though, because those application deadlines are coming up fast!
