NYU Tisch Special Programs Summer High School Animation Workshop

Classes run Monday to Friday, with a lecture from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and lab time from 1:30 to 4:45 p.m. During lab time you work on your assignments with student lab technical assistants on hand, and Residential Life runs activities on evenings and weekends. Tisch hands out the actual timetable on orientation day, but its sample week shows how quickly a single assignment moves from first drawings to a finished piece with sound.

• Monday

  An introduction to animation tools, then a paper animation of 60 drawings in the lab.

• Tuesday

  Life drawing and Dragonframe instruction, then shooting your animation in Dragonframe.

• Wednesday

  A critique of the assignment and Premiere Pro instruction, then revisions and coloring.

• Thursday

  A guest speaker on the history of animation, then finishing your artwork.

• Friday

  A field trip to an animation studio, then shooting the finished piece and adding sound effects.

The four weeks end with your final film being shown. In 2026 the Animation track finished with an open house and screening, followed by a lunch reception.

You leave with your final animated film and 4 NYU college credits for the Animation Workshop course (FMTV-UT 1133), graded A to F rather than pass/fail. Grades are posted by September. NYU doesn't send transcripts automatically, though, so you'll need to request one from the Registrar if you want to show the credit to a college.

Tisch calls the credits transferable, but whether another college accepts them, or lets them replace a required class, is up to that college. If you later enroll at NYU as an undergraduate, the credits count toward your degree automatically and the grade goes into your NYU GPA.

Only current high school juniors can apply to Animation. You must be at least 15 and have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 unweighted scale. You don't need any animation or drawing experience, and there's no portfolio or audition, although you can add links to your work in your creative résumé.

Places are scarce. Tisch takes about 12 students into Animation, the smallest of the tracks it lists, from more than 800 applications across the whole summer program, although it doesn't say how many of those are for Animation. It 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 prompts specific to the track.

• Creative résumé

  Your training, awards, projects, community service and work, with links to video or artwork if you have them.

• Transcript

  A PDF covering every year of high school, including fall 2026 grades if they're available.

• Two recommendations

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

• Extras for some applicants

  An English proficiency test if English isn't your native language, unless you've done three or more consecutive years of full-time study taught only in English. Non-US citizens also need to provide a passport.

You apply through Tisch's SlideRoom portal. If you missed the joint Animation and Filmmakers info session on 24 September 2026, you can email Tisch to ask for a recording.

1. 1

   Enter your two recommenders' names and emails in the portal early, since Tisch asks you to give them one to two weeks.

2. 2

   Submit the application with the $75 nonrefundable fee, and complete the Supplemental Profile Form too. Both are due by 11:59 p.m. ET on 1 December 2026.

3. 3

   If you need financial aid, Tisch emails you a scholarship application once your application is complete, and it's due 11 December 2026.

4. 4

   Look for your decision by email on 28 January 2027, and check your spam folder for messages from Tisch and SlideRoom.

5. 5

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

Tisch's listed charges for summer 2027 add up to $11,999. That covers $8,368 tuition for the 4-credit course, $1,876 for four weeks of NYU housing, $852 for the required 10-meals-a-week plan, a $200 program fee for Residential Life activities and a $703 Animation Lab and Insurance Fee. On top of that comes the $75 nonrefundable application fee, although applicants facing financial hardship can ask Tisch for a waiver by email. You'll also pay for travel to and from New York, your own sheets and towels, laundry and personal spending, and NYU warns that the city is expensive to live in.

Domestic students need their own health insurance. International students are enrolled in NYU's student health plan ($392 for one month at the 2026 rate). They also pay a $115 international student fee and cover their own visa and SEVIS costs.

Accepting your place means paying a $1,500 deposit, which counts toward the total but is never refunded. If you drop no later than four days after classes start, the rest of the tuition and fees comes back, although canceling housing can carry its own fees. Tisch's scholarships are few, need-based and full, generally covering tuition, fees, housing and meals. Only students whose parent or guardian files US federal tax returns can apply.

Every residence hall floor has a Program Assistant, an NYU college student who's your main point of contact, and professional hall staff oversee the building and the assistants. You must be back in the hall by 11:00 p.m. every night and hand in your NYUCard at the front desk, then be in your room for quiet hours by 1:00 a.m. Breaking curfew can lead to a warning, a call home or dismissal.

NYU's campus isn't enclosed. Staff go with students on program trips, but in your free time you can leave campus on your own, so NYU asks families to agree on boundaries for getting around the city beforehand. The full rules are in the NYU High School Programs Handbook.

• Rooms

  Double rooms in suites of four that share one bathroom, assigned at random with no roommate requests.

• Visitors and nights away

  Guests, including family, can't come past the lobby. Nights or weekends away are allowed only in emergencies or extenuating circumstances, and only when the emergency contact on file asks.

• Health care

  The NYU Student Health Center handles urgent concerns but has no pediatricians, so under-18s may be referred to an outside clinic or hospital. Campus Safety officers are on duty around the clock.

• Zero tolerance

  Alcohol or drugs mean immediate dismissal without a refund.