University of Notre Dame Pre-College Programs Pop Art for the Digital Age

Justin Barfield leads the course. He's an Associate Professor of the Practice in studio art in Notre Dame's Department of Art, Art History and Design. He works mainly in printmaking, and his own art deals with the environment and the cycle of building, discarding and rebuilding, which ties in closely with the course's themes of waste, consumption and microplastics.

Notre Dame says it keeps Summer Scholars classes small, with plenty of personal attention from faculty, but it doesn't publish a class size or student-to-teacher ratio.

You can apply if you're a high school sophomore or junior now and will be at least 16 by 1 August 2027. Notre Dame makes no exceptions to the age rule because of its insurance and child-protection policies, so a younger sophomore will have to wait a year.

Beyond that, Notre Dame looks for strong academic standing, solid extracurriculars, self-motivation, maturity and a sincere wish to be part of the Notre Dame community. It doesn't publish how many students apply or how many get in.

• Two essays

  Notre Dame calls the essays very important and wants them to show why you're interested in this particular course and what sets you apart.

• A teacher recommendation

  The letter should speak to your ability to handle college-level work, your maturity, integrity and leadership. Notre Dame finds it helpful when the letter comes from a teacher who can back your interest in the course, which makes an art teacher a natural choice.

• A counselor report and transcript

  Your counselor sends these with your school profile, and the report asks for your GPA and class rank where your school has one.

• Activities

  You can fill in the activities section, upload a resume or do both.

• Test scores, if you want

  SAT, ACT or PSAT scores are encouraged but not required.

• An English test for some international students

  If your high school doesn't teach in English, you need a TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo English Test or PTE Academic result.

Everything goes through Notre Dame's online application portal.

1. 1

   Before you start, get a teacher's agreement to recommend you, and have their name and email ready along with your counselor's.

2. 2

   Once you add them to the application, Notre Dame emails both of them automatically, and it's your job to check that the requests arrived.

3. 3

   Upload any test scores you're sending by 31 January 2027.

4. 4

   Submit your part of the application and pay the $75 fee by 17 February 2027, after which you can no longer change recommenders, though your counselor and teacher get one extra week to upload their documents.

5. 5

   If you're admitted, you secure your place by paying the enrollment fee by 23 April 2027.

The 2027 cost is $5,200, which covers tuition, your room and meals, extracurricular activities and class field trips. You pay it in two parts: a $300 enrollment fee by 23 April 2027 once you're admitted, and the $4,900 balance by 14 May 2027. On top of that comes the $75 application fee, paid when you apply, and your travel to Indiana. Notre Dame says books and class materials are handed out when you arrive.

None of these payments are refundable. That includes the enrollment fee and the tuition and housing payment. A student sent home for breaking the rules gets no refund either, and the parents pay for the trip home.

Financial help is limited and based on need only. Notre Dame offers a small number of partial to full-tuition scholarships and no merit awards. Grants cover tuition, room and board for qualifying students who live in Indiana (the Lilly Endowment grant) or the Philadelphia area. To apply, a parent fills in the Financial Aid Request Form by 17 February 2027. Asking for aid doesn't affect the admission decision, and any aid offer arrives with the decision letter. Waivers of the application fee are rare.

You leave with a four-color edition of screen prints you made yourself, plus a book of the whole class's editions, which you swap at the end. That gives you finished work to show if you're heading toward art or design.

Notre Dame also says students may receive one transferable college credit and a Satisfactory (S) grade if they complete all program requirements. It's a pass grade rather than a letter grade, and you order the transcript from Notre Dame's Registrar. Notre Dame doesn't say which colleges accept the credit, so check with any college you'd want to transfer it to.

Students can't leave campus except on a scheduled, supervised activity or with a staff member or Resident Counselor. Visitors need written approval from the program's director, and students can't enter residence halls of the opposite gender. Attendance at every class, meal, check-in and scheduled event is required, and students can't drive during the program.

Staff don't store or hand out medication, so students manage their own. Parents need to arrange any medical or mental health accommodations at least 30 days before the program starts, and they pay any medical costs that come up during the program. Notre Dame's standards and policies were last published for summer 2026, so it's worth reading them again before you go.