About

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Summer Academy is a four-week, non-residential pre-college program for high school students, held on PAFA's historic campus in Philadelphia. PAFA was founded in 1805 as the first museum and school of fine arts in the United States — a distinction that shapes the program's identity in ways that matter: the curriculum is modeled directly on PAFA's undergraduate first-year program, students exhibit their work in PAFA's museum at the program's conclusion, and the portfolio review at the end is conducted by PAFA's own admissions staff. The program runs Monday through Friday, typically beginning the week after July 4th, with classes from 9am to 4pm daily.

Every student takes Foundations of Drawing — a required course for all participants — and selects three additional concentrations from among sculpture, printmaking, oil painting, illustration, and animation. Each course meets one full day per week, creating a rotating schedule across the four weeks. Instruction combines lecture, demonstration, studio time, and structured critique sessions — known within PAFA as "crits," which mirror the critique culture of professional art school training.

Students receive one-on-one guidance from PAFA faculty who are themselves practicing artists. Field trips to Philadelphia art spaces and behind-the-scenes tours of PAFA supplement the studio curriculum. The four weeks culminate in an exhibition of student work displayed in PAFA's museum, followed by individual portfolio reviews with PAFA admissions staff.

The program awards 4.0 undergraduate college credits — one per course — which appear on an official PAFA transcript and are eligible for transfer to art schools and colleges. PAFA is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), making the credit structurally comparable to that of other accredited art institutions. Total tuition and fees are $4,680, which covers all four courses, all art supplies, studio space, field trips, and the 4.0 credits. There is no application fee. Need- and merit-based scholarships are available on a first-come, first-served basis; applications must be submitted at least seven days before the first class. The program does not offer a residential option — students must arrange their own housing and commute to PAFA's campus daily.

For a high school student pursuing studio art at a serious level, PAFA Summer Academy offers a combination that is rare in the pre-college landscape: four college credits from an accredited fine arts institution, instruction explicitly modeled on the first-year undergraduate curriculum, an exhibition in a world-class museum, and a concluding portfolio review with admissions staff — all for a total cost that includes every supply. The institutional history matters, too. PAFA has trained Thomas Eakins, Mary Cassatt, and Charles Willson Peale among its alumni; studying in its studios carries a weight that art school admissions offices recognize.

For a student who wants to know whether serious fine arts training is the right path — and to have a portfolio and a transcript to show for it — this program is one of the most substantive options in the country.