NYU Tisch Special Programs Game Design Summer High School Program

From Monday to Thursday you're in class from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and work through all three courses every day: Game Development Workshop until 12:30, Game Literacy from 1:30 to 3:30 and Game Design Workshop from 4:00 to 6:00, with an hour for lunch and a half-hour break. In Tisch's sample week, Friday is set aside for a studio visit or field trip starting at 11:00 a.m. The sample is based on previous summers, and you get your actual schedule on orientation day.

Evenings aren't free time in the usual sense. Tisch says students are often just as busy in the evenings and on weekends, with curricular events and time to work on assigned projects alone or with classmates.

You need to be at least 15 and a high school sophomore or junior when you apply, with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 unweighted scale, and Tisch gives preference to juniors. There's no portfolio or audition. Instead Tisch reads three short written responses, a creative résumé, your transcript and two recommendations, at least one of them from someone at your high school.

Places are tight. Tisch receives over 800 applications across all its Summer High School tracks and accepts about 16 students to Game Design. It doesn't say how many of those 800 applied for Game Design, so there's no published acceptance rate for this track.

• Homeschooled students

  The parent or guardian in charge of your homeschooling emails a document describing your coursework and achievements in place of a school transcript.

• No GPA at your school

  Tisch asks you to estimate your GPA on a 4.0 scale and checks it against your transcript.

• English

  If English isn't your native language you need a proficiency test, unless you've completed three or more consecutive full-time years taught only in English.

• International students

  Non-US citizens and residents need a US student visa, so allow time for the paperwork after you're admitted.

• Housing is compulsory

  Everyone admitted lives in NYU-assigned housing, even if your family lives in New York City.

The required charges come to $15,473, and only $12,552 of that is tuition. Housing, the meal plan, a program fee and three course lab fees are all compulsory, and on top of that there's a $75 application fee. Travel to New York and home is extra, and so are your subway fares between housing and classes (in 2026 students lived in Manhattan and took Game Design classes in Brooklyn), laundry and spending money. NYU warns that the cost of living in the city is high. International students also pay a $115 International Student Fee and are enrolled in NYU health insurance, which cost $392 for one month in 2026. Visa and SEVIS fees come on top and should be checked with the official source.

Accepting your place means paying a $1,500 deposit, which counts toward the bill but is never refunded. After that you can drop up to four days after classes start and get the rest of your tuition and fees back, although NYU housing may charge its own cancellation fees. Tuition can't be paid by credit card, and in 2026 the balance was due on 5 May.

Tisch's need-based scholarships are limited, but they generally cover tuition, fees, housing and meals. To qualify you must be the dependent of a parent or guardian who files US federal tax returns, and the scholarship application is due 11 December 2026. You can also ask Tisch by email to waive the application fee on grounds of financial hardship.

You leave with 6 NYU credits from three courses graded A to F, plus the games you made, including a playable digital game. Whether another college accepts those credits, or lets them replace a required class, is entirely up to that college. If you later enroll at NYU as a full-time undergraduate, the credits apply to your degree automatically and the summer grade counts in your NYU GPA, so the grades matter.

Grades are posted by September, but NYU doesn't send transcripts automatically, so you'll need to request one if you want to show the credits. Tisch doesn't say the program gives you any advantage if you later apply to NYU.

Every student has to be back in the residence hall by 11:00 p.m. every night, weekends included, and hand in their NYU ID card at the front desk. By 1:00 a.m. they must be in their rooms for quiet hours, and nobody leaves before 7:00 a.m. Each floor has its own program assistant, an NYU college student, and a team of professional staff runs the building. NYU Campus Safety officers are on duty around the clock.

Parents should know that NYU's campus isn't enclosed. Staff go with students on program events, but in free time students can go out into the city on their own, and NYU asks families to agree on boundaries beforehand. Nights and weekends away aren't allowed except in emergencies, and then only when the emergency contact submits the request. Guests can't go past the lobby.

• Rooms

  In 2026 everyone lived in double rooms within four-person suites that share one bathroom, and roommates were assigned at random.

• Health care

  The NYU Student Health Center handles urgent problems but has no pediatricians, so it refers some students to outside clinics or hospitals. Domestic students must have their own health insurance.

• Rules

  Alcohol and illegal drugs mean immediate dismissal without a refund, and repeated curfew violations can also lead to dismissal.

• Full policies

  NYU sets out its conduct, residential and health rules in the High School Programs Handbook, which families should read together.

Applications go through Tisch's SlideRoom portal, which works best on a computer.

1. 1

   Write three responses of up to 250 words each, plus any Game Design prompts, and prepare a creative résumé with links to any games you've made.

2. 2

   Upload a PDF transcript covering every high school year and enter two recommenders, at least one from your high school.

3. 3

   Pay the $75 nonrefundable fee and submit both the application and the NYU Tisch Supplemental Profile Form by 11:59 p.m. ET on 1 December 2026.

4. 4

   If you need aid, complete the scholarship application that's emailed to you after the profile form, by 11 December 2026.

5. 5

   Decisions are emailed on 28 January 2027, and you accept by paying the $1,500 deposit by 11:59 p.m. ET on 19 February 2027.