The Department of Art offers a suite of immersive summer studios for students from all over the world to connect with leading faculty and new peers to explore media from painting and drawing to printmaking, photography, and sculpture to sound and performance art. Our intensive summer program is designed to inspire students as they raise new questions, find their artistic voice, and establish a sustainable, dynamic, and personalized creative practice.
Cornell was absolutely eye-opening, and I learned so many things. I especially loved getting a taste of college life; I love independence and responsibility. Professor Grimm was awesome, and I could tell he really loved what he was doing/teaching.
Zixin, Summer Program student
Summer Program for High School Students
Explore new media and engage the world beyond the studio.
Art as Experience is for high school students seeking inspiration, mentorship, and an artistic community open to anyone, anywhere. This intensive curriculum connects the next generation of emerging artists from around the world to leading faculty who introduce students to a wide range of media as they deepen critical engagement with the world and the endless realm of possibility opened by art making.
Summer program studios at Cornell are credit-bearing, giving students a jump start on their college education. All students receive close instruction and thoughtful critique as they develop a unique body of work suitable for application portfolios, and ultimately come to a deeper understanding of fine arts education and creative practice.
Application Deadlines
Application deadlines vary from April 28, 2026, to June 2, 2026. For more information, refer to the list of application deadlines for online and commuter programs.
Online Courses
Our faculty instruct, support, and connect virtually with students worldwide to help them develop and expand their interests, knowledge, creative practice, and sense of possibility as emerging artists.
ART 1101
Art as Experience
June 22–July 10, 2026: Art as Experience is an introductory course designed to expand our students’ understanding of the ideas and practices of art today. Studio projects introduce a broad range of mediums from drawing and collage to digital photography and video installation. Students explore and respond to Cornell’s many resources. The course is supplemented with readings, critiques, and guest lectures and visits, and will culminate in the creation of a portfolio.
ART 1102
Art as Experience: TransMedia
Session I: June 1–19, 2026, Session III: July 13–31, 2026: Working with cameras, audio recorders, physical computing boards, and computer software, this course introduces students to digital art creation, manipulation, and theory. Students have hands on experience with digital image acquisition, recording and editing video and sound, and computer programming for interactive media-based applications. Learning is designed to be fun, challenging, exciting, and to open students to new possibilities for creating dynamic media art.
ART 1103
Art as Experience: Sculpture
July 13–31, 2026: This course introduces the medium of sculpture through the exploration of a spectrum of traditional and non-traditional materials, techniques, and work methods. One of the primary goals is the effective expression of ideas, challenging students to consider this ever-changing medium broadly and through a critical, interdisciplinary lens.
ART 1104
Art as Experience: Photography
June 22–July 10, 2026: A beginning-level studio course that introduces students to the aesthetic, technical, and conceptual aspects of photography. This course expands our understanding of the ideas and practices of contemporary photography. Students work with digital photographic processes and learn the principles of capturing images and managing and editing digital files. Students learn the fundamentals of seeing and articulating their vision to produce well-crafted images in imaginative and thoughtful ways.
ART 1500
Summer Drawing I
July 13–31, 2026: General course introduces students to principles and techniques of representation. Emphasis is on creating the illusion of space and form through line, the rendering of light and shade, and studies in perspective. Students have the opportunity to explore various media such as charcoal, chalk, pencil, pen, ink, and wash.
ART 1503
Summer Drawing II
July 13–31, 2026: General course in drawing that builds on the foundation of ART 1500 and focuses on developing further conceptual and technical skills. Students will explore a variety of traditional and non-traditional drawing media and approaches.
Summer Art Studios for College Students
Expand your practice. Explore new ideas. Open possibilities.
College students the world over can apply to summer intensive studios at Cornell. Leading faculty in the Department of Art teach studios for art students from any institution who come together to deepen their knowledge of a chosen medium or to explore new ways of thinking and art making. Online courses provide close instruction, guidance and critique from faculty, and a global community of artists who learn to establish their own studio practice while using the latest virtual teaching tools to collaborate across projects and platforms.
Students in all studios receive thoughtful critique as they develop a unique body of work suitable for application portfolios, and ultimately come to a deeper understanding of fine arts education and creative practice.
Application Deadlines
Applications are due May 5, 2026.
Online Courses
Our faculty instruct, support, and connect virtually with students worldwide to help them develop and expand their interests, knowledge, creative practice, and sense of possibility as emerging artists.
ART 1500
Summer Drawing I
July 13–31, 2026: General course introduces students to principles and techniques of representation. Emphasis is on creating the illusion of space and form through line, the rendering of light and shade, and studies in perspective. Students have the opportunity to explore various media such as charcoal, chalk, pencil, pen, ink, and wash.
ART 1503
Summer Drawing II
July 13–31, 2026: General course in drawing that builds on the foundation of ART 1500 and focuses on developing further conceptual and technical skills. Students will explore a variety of traditional and non-traditional drawing media and approaches.
Student Experience
Summer classes in the Department of Art introduce tools and concepts that expand creative practices within and across mediums through inspired instruction.
