NYU Tisch Special Programs Photography and Imaging Summer High School Program

Tisch describes a typical weekday as 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. of classes, training and studio time, and evenings and weekends fill up with curricular events and project work. Its sample photography week, based on earlier summers, starts most days at 10 a.m., breaks for lunch at 1 p.m. and adds open lab from 6 to 9 p.m. on some nights. You get your actual schedule on orientation day.

• Monday

  Group check-in, a discussion of readings and a split filter printing demo in the morning, then individual progress meetings and lab in the afternoon and open lab in the evening to finish projects.

• Tuesday

  Open lab for printing in the morning and a project critique from 2 to 5 p.m.

• Wednesday

  An introduction to digital SLRs, Photoshop and digital printing, then lunch and a tour of galleries in Harlem before a digital printing demo back at NYU.

• Thursday

  A review of the digital workflow, a slideshow of artists who've worked with portraits and the self, a lighting demo and open lab until 9 p.m.

• Friday and the weekend

  A full-day trip to the Bronx Museum and the Bronx Documentary Center, followed by dinner and a Yankees vs. Mets game. Over the weekend there's an assignment at the International Center of Photography and the Whitney Museum of American Art, plus library research for a critical analysis paper.

You need to be at least 15 and a current high school sophomore or junior with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 unweighted scale, and Tisch gives preference to juniors. Places are tight. Tisch receives over 800 applications across all its summer high school tracks and accepts about 25 students into Photography.

Tisch says the most competitive applications include every component, and it strongly recommends against using AI tools to write yours.

• Written responses

  Three answers of up to 250 words each, plus any program-specific prompts.

• Creative résumé

  Your training, awards, projects, community service and work, in or outside school, with optional links to your photography online.

• Transcript

  A PDF with grades for every year of high school so far. For homeschooled applicants, the parent in charge of the schooling emails a record of coursework, and transcripts not in English need an official translation.

• Two recommendations

  At least one has to come from a high school representative, and the other can come from a community group leader, mentor or coach.

• For international applicants

  Proof of English proficiency, unless English is your native language or you've completed three full years of English-only schooling. Non-US citizens also need a passport valid six months past the program, and admitted students need a US F-1 student visa.

Tisch's listed charges for summer 2027 add up to $12,262. Tuition for the 4-unit course is $8,368, and the rest covers four weeks of housing ($1,876), the 10-meals-a-week plan ($852), a $200 program fee for residential activities, and a photography lab fee and ticket fee of $483 each. Housing and the meal plan aren't optional, though you can pay for a bigger meal plan. The $75 application fee comes on top, and the $1,500 deposit you pay to confirm your place counts toward the total.

Travel to New York, laundry and day-to-day spending are extra, and NYU warns that the cost of living in the city is high. NYU High School Programs doesn't take credit cards for tuition and says payment plans aren't available for most programs. International students also pay NYU's $115 international student fee and the US government's SEVIS visa fee, and they're enrolled automatically in NYU health insurance, which cost $392 for the month in 2026. Domestic students must keep their own health insurance.

Tisch has a limited number of need-based scholarships, which generally cover tuition, fees, housing and meals, and need-based application fee waivers are available by email. Once you confirm, the deposit is never refunded. If you drop no later than four days after classes start, you get the rest of your tuition and fees back, although NYU Housing may charge its own cancellation fees.

You leave with a graded college course on your record and a body of photographs. The course, PHTI-UT 1700, carries 4 units, which Tisch counts as studio credit in its Department of Photography and Imaging. It's graded A to F, and your work is exhibited in the Tisch Gulf and Western Gallery and in community settings.

Tisch calls the credits transferable, but whether another college accepts them, or lets them replace a required class, depends on that college's own policy. If you later enroll at NYU as an undergraduate, the credits count toward your degree automatically and the summer grade goes into your NYU GPA. Grades are posted by September. Transcripts aren't sent automatically, so you request one from the NYU Registrar when you need it.

Every residence hall floor has its own Program Assistant, an NYU college student who's your main guide, and a team of professional administrators runs each building and supervises them. The full rules are in the NYU High School Programs Handbook, which NYU asks students and parents to read together.

• Curfew

  You must be checked in by 11 p.m. every night, which means handing your NYUCard to the front desk. You also have to be in your room for quiet hours by 1 a.m., and you can't leave before 7 a.m.

• Guests and leave

  Guests, family included, can't go past the lobby. Nights or weekends away are allowed only in extenuating circumstances, and only the emergency contact on file can request them, at least two business days ahead.

• Free time

  NYU's campus is open. Staff go with students on program events, but students can head out on their own in their off time, so NYU asks families to agree on boundaries beforehand.

• Health

  The NYU Student Health Center deals with urgent concerns but has no pediatricians, so minors may be referred to outside care. Students are expected to manage their own medication.

• Rooms

  In 2026 students shared double rooms in four-person suites with one bathroom. Rooms were assigned at random and roommate requests weren't accepted.

• Conduct

  NYU has zero tolerance for alcohol and drugs, and a student dismissed for that or any other serious violation gets no refund.

You apply through Tisch's SlideRoom application portal.

1. 1

   Submit the online application with your written responses, résumé, transcript and recommender details, plus the $75 fee, by 11:59 p.m. ET on 1 December 2026.

2. 2

   Complete the NYU Supplemental Profile Form by the same deadline, because Tisch can't process your application or send a decision without it.

3. 3

   If you need aid, look out for the scholarship link, which Tisch emails within a few days of a complete Supplemental Profile Form, and submit the scholarship application by 11 December 2026.

4. 4

   Decisions, including any scholarship outcome, are emailed on 28 January 2027.

5. 5

   If you're accepted, confirm your place with the $1,500 nonrefundable deposit by 11:59 p.m. ET on 19 February 2027, or you lose your place.