About

The Portfolio Plus Program, offered alongside the Architecture Discovery Program by Washington University in St. Louis's Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, is a three-week residential studio experience for rising high school juniors and seniors focused on art and design rather than architecture. Running July 12 through August 1, 2026 on WashU's campus in St. Louis, Portfolio Plus admits approximately 30 students each summer — a notably small cohort — and immerses them in the studio culture of one of the stronger art and design schools in the country. Cost and scholarship structures mirror the companion ADP program; international students are welcome with an F-1 visa.

All Portfolio Plus students take a required Drawing course covering wet and dry media, fundamentals of observation, and mark-making across a range of materials. From there, each student selects one of three studio concentrations: Communication Design, Fashion Design, or Studio Art. The concentration choice shapes the majority of the three weeks, with students building a focused body of work under Sam Fox faculty guidance. The program culminates in an exhibition of student work — a format that mirrors the critique and display culture of professional art school — and includes a session with a Sam Fox School admissions counselor on portfolio development and the art school application process.

Weekends bring field trips to St. Louis museums, artist studios, and design firms, supplemented by lectures from working artists and designers. Students live in WashU residence halls for the full three weeks alongside ADP participants, and the shared residential experience creates a cohort dynamic across both programs.

At 30 students, Portfolio Plus is one of the smaller pre-college art studio programs offered by a major research university. For a student seriously considering an art or design school application — particularly in communication design or fashion design, fields where strong pre-college programs are harder to find — the combination of Sam Fox faculty instruction, cohort size, and portfolio output gives it a meaningful edge over larger open-enrollment alternatives.