15 Best Fashion Courses for High School Students

TL;DR

This guide covers fifteen fashion courses for high school students, ranging from free studio programs to a month-long residential intensive at Pratt costing over eight thousand dollars. You'll find options across sketching, pattern making, styling, trend forecasting, and the business side of fashion, with programs open to students as young as fourteen through recent high school graduates. Several list financial aid or scholarships, so cost alone doesn't have to rule out a strong program. Immerse Education's Fashion and Design Summer School is included among these options, open to students aged 15 to 18 with a bursary programme available.

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If you've ever redesigned an old t-shirt, sketched outfits in the margins of your notebook, or spent way too long picking out a look for picture day, a fashion course could be worth your summer. These programs teach you real, usable skills: sketching and fashion illustration, pattern making and garment construction, textile selection, styling, trend forecasting, and increasingly, the business side of fashion like branding and sustainability. You're not just admiring fashion from the outside. You're learning how a collection actually comes together, from a rough sketch to something you can put on a body, or a runway.

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These courses also do real work for your college applications. Most send you home with a portfolio piece or two, which matters a lot if you're applying to a design school. Some offer a certificate of completion, a few even carry college credit, and nearly all of them give you something concrete to write about in your essays, like the first time you drafted a pattern or the moment your look walked in a student runway show.

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What kind of fashion courses are actually worth your summer?

Fashion courses for high schoolers range widely. Some are one-week intensives at a local university, others are three- to four-week residential programs at design schools like Parsons or Central Saint Martins. Some focus purely on design and sewing, others fold in styling, merchandising, or fashion business. Because of that range, it helps to have a shortlist you can actually trust.

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For related options, you can explore fashion internships for high schoolers and fashion and design pre-college camps.

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With that, here are 15 of the best fashion courses for high school students to check out this year.

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15 Best Fashion Courses for High School Students

1. Academy of Art University – Pre-College Art & Design Experience

Location: San Francisco, CA

Cost: None
Dates: Fall: Online: September 2nd – October 13th; Onsite Saturday intensive: October 10th and October 17th; Exhibition: October 24th | Spring: Online: February 3rd – March 16th. Onsite Saturday intensive: April 3rd and April 10th; final exhibition: April 17th | Summer: Onsite: June 21st – July 1st

Application Deadline: Fall: September 2nd for online PCADE and October 10th for the onsite; Spring: Online: February 3rd; onsite intensive: April 3rd; Summer: Not specified

Eligibility: Current high school students; open to international students

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In this program, you'll build out sketches, garments, or design concepts depending on your course, working in the same studios used by ArtU's degree students. Because the program is entirely free, with no application fee either, it's one of the more accessible ways to get real fashion instruction without a five-figure price tag. 

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Your work gets shown publicly in a juried art show at the end of the term, giving you a real presentation experience rather than a private critique. If you keep taking PCADE courses, you can also start banking money toward a future undergraduate degree at the school, which is a nice bonus if ArtU ends up on your college list. 

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Why it stands out: It's a fully funded program at an accredited art university, so cost isn't a barrier to getting real design training.

2. Immerse Education’s Fashion & Design Summer School

Location: Barnard College, Columbia University, NY
Cost/Stipend: Varies; summer school scholarship available through our bursary programme
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; an average of 7 participants per class
Dates: 2 weeks during the summer
Application Deadline: Multiple cohorts with rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students aged 15–18 years old from around the world

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The fashion industry is a massive world full of opportunities from every side. If you are a high school student who is looking to kickstart your journey in the fashion world before college, the Immerse Education Fashion and Design Summer School is the right option for you. In this course, you get to explore professional paths in fashion, learn the basic foundation of fashion design, create a personal project, and earn a certificate of excellence at the end of the program. 

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During the program, Immerse also helps you through 1:1 tutorials, conducting seminars from experts, and creating friendship bonds through day trips and excursions in your free time. In short, this program will really prepare you for reality in the fashion industry.

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Why it stands out: The program balances academic foundations, personal projects, and one-on-one mentorship while offering structured insight into real fashion career pathways.

3. Parsons Academy – New York Summer Intensive Studies (Ages 16–18)

Location: New York City, NY

Cost: $5,610 + $265 university fee; limited number of tuition-only Summer Intensive Studies scholarships are available

Dates: Session 1: June 8–26; Session 2: July 6–24

Application Deadline: Session 1: May 1st; Session 2: May 8th

Eligibility: Students entering grades 11 or 12, and recent high school graduates; ages 16–18; at least 16 by the first day of the program; open to international students

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In this program, you're in studio five days a week, working through project-based assignments that push you past a first draft and into real revision. Alongside your studio hours, you'll sit in on portfolio reviews, alumni career panels, and talks from working designers, so you're hearing directly from people who've built careers in the field. 

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The program closes with a portfolio development stretch, where you learn how to document, edit, and present your work the way admissions officers actually expect to see it, including photo and video documentation and layout design. Because Parsons faculty and admissions staff are involved throughout, you leave with more than finished pieces.

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Why it stands out: Admissions officers from Parsons review your portfolio directly, which is a rare level of access this early.

4. Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) – High School Summer 10-Day Courses

Location: New York City (Fashion District)

Cost: $550; financial aid is available

Dates: Summer, Fall, and Spring cohorts; 10-day classes in July, October, and March, respectively

Application Deadline: Summer: June 10th; Fall: September 16th; Spring: February 16th

Eligibility: Students in grades 9-12; open to international students

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FIT's Precollege Fashion Design course drops you right into New York's Fashion District for a fast, hands-on 10 days. You start with the same process working designers use: gathering inspiration, building out a sketchbook, then moving into fashion illustration, pattern-making, and sewing. 

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You'll sketch from live, draped models and experiment with dynamic printing techniques, which is a level of studio access most high schoolers don't get until college. Faculty and visiting industry professionals lead the sessions, so the feedback you're getting comes from people currently working in the field, not just teaching about it.

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Why it stands out: You finish with real, sewn garments in hand, not just sketches, which is unusual for a program this short.

5. Central Saint Martins (UAL): Fashion Design for 16 to 18 Year Olds

Location: London, United Kingdom

Cost: From £730

Dates: Week-long programs available in July, December, April

Application Deadline: First-come, first-served basis

Eligibility: Students aged 16–18; open to international students

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In this program, you'll work through idea development and experimentation the way CSM's own students do, starting in a sketchbook and moving into fashion illustration and concept development. The course pushes you through both 2D and 3D experimentation, so you're not just drawing ideas; you're testing whether they actually hold up as garments. 

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Beyond the studio work, you get direct portfolio preparation and advice on applying to further study at the FE or HE level, which matters if a fashion or art school is genuinely on your radar. Course length is flexible, running anywhere from a couple of days to four weeks depending on which option you choose.

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Why it stands out: It's taught inside one of the most respected fashion schools globally, so the standard of critique is genuinely college-level.

6. Istituto Marangoni Miami - Fashion Summer Camp

Location: Miami, Florida

Cost: $3,000 (domestic); $3,500 (international); $500 early-bird discount for students who pay the full tuition by March 31

Dates: June 1–12, June 15–26, June 29–July 10, July 13–24, July 27th – August 7th

Application Deadline: Rolling admissions

Eligibility: Students aged 14–18; open to international students

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This program’s first week moves through photography, styling, illustration, and branding, while introducing you to sustainable fashion and newer industry technology through projects like mood board building and garment deconstruction. In the second week, you shift into production work, including upcycling and streetwear branding, and refine your storytelling through actual social media content creation. 

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You'll also take part in live editorial shoots, which is a rare chance to see and contribute to a real fashion shoot rather than just studying one. Because the school pulls from working industry professionals for instruction, the feedback leans practical rather than purely academic. By the end, you'll have a digital portfolio built around real projects, not hypothetical ones.

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Why it stands out: The live editorial shoot component gives you real production experience most teen programs don't offer.

7. SCAD Rising Star

Location: Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia

Cost: $6,620

Dates: June 28th – July 24th

Application Deadline: Typically recommended to apply at least 30 days before the program begins

Eligibility: Rising high school seniors only; open to international students

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In this program, you take two college-level classes, one major-specific and one general education or foundation course, and earn real transferable college credit alongside SCAD faculty. Because you're choosing a fashion-focused elective, your studio time goes toward the kind of portfolio pieces design schools actually want to see, not generic assignments. 

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You'll live in a SCAD residence hall and eat in the dining hall, so the day-to-day rhythm looks a lot like actual freshman year. The interview-based application process, alongside a transcript review, keeps the cohort selective, which means your classmates are just as serious about fashion as you are.

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Why it stands out: You earn real, transferable college credit, so the program pays off even if you don't end up attending SCAD.

8. Pratt Institute - PreCollege Summer Intensive, Fashion Design

Location: Brooklyn, New York

Cost: $5,452 commuter or $8,192 residential, plus a $65 non-refundable application fee; about $300–$500 for course supplies/materials; limited number of full-ride Merit and Need-Based Scholarships are available

Dates: July 6–31

Application Deadline: International: April 1st; rolling/final application deadline May 1st

Eligibility: Currently enrolled in high school or an equivalent program and generally be 15.5–18 years old; 15-year-olds must turn 16 by the end of the calendar year of the program; open to international students

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Pratt's PreCollege Summer Intensive puts you on campus for roughly a month, living in the residence halls and working through a studio routine that mirrors what Pratt's own fashion majors experience. Most of your time is spent actually making, not just discussing design, so expect long studio blocks focused on developing your own fashion work from concept through execution. 

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Because you're immersed in Pratt's design community for weeks rather than days, you build real familiarity with a working art school environment, not just a taste of one. Merit and need-based scholarships, including dedicated support through the Black Alumni of Pratt, make the program more reachable than the sticker price suggests. 

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Why it stands out: The month-long format gives you enough time to actually develop a body of work, not just a few finished sketches.

9. LIM College - Summer Fashion Academy

Location: Midtown Manhattan, New York City (in-person and virtual options)

Cost: $300–$350 in NYC and $250 virtual

Dates: July 13–16 

Application Deadline: June 22nd

Eligibility: Students in grades 9–12, ages 14–18; open to international students

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LIM College's Summer Fashion Academy leans hard into the business side of fashion, which sets it apart from programs built mostly around design and sewing. Courses and workshops are taught by LIM's own industry-connected faculty, and you're working on assignments tied to actual projects the fashion business runs on, not hypothetical case studies. 

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The 16-day Business of Fashion course goes deepest, covering how brands actually operate, market, and sell, giving you a working vocabulary for merchandising, buying, or brand management before you ever declare a major. Shorter, single workshops are also available if you want to sample a specific topic without committing to the full academy.

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Why it stands out: It's one of the few teen fashion programs built specifically around the business side of the industry, not just design.

10. Drexel University (Westphal College) - Discover Fashion Design

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Cost: $2,400

Dates: July 12–18

Application Deadline: June 12th

Eligibility: High school students who are at least 16 years old; have completed their sophomore year by July; open to international students

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Drexel's Discover Fashion Design gives you a full week inside Westphal College's actual studios, working through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on studio sessions rather than watching from the sidelines. Projects cover a wide technical range, including fashion illustration, technical sketching, draping, print design, and even natural silk dyeing, so you're exposed to techniques that go beyond a typical intro course. 

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You'll also get hands-on time with digital tools like CLO 3D design and machine knitting applications, which mirrors where the industry is actually headed. Field trips into Philadelphia's design community round out the week, giving you a look at how local designers and studios actually operate outside a classroom. Guest speakers add another layer of industry insight.

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Why it stands out: The digital tool training, especially CLO 3D, gives you a technical edge most one-week programs skip entirely.

11. Kent State University - Summer Fashion Academy

Location: Kent, Ohio

Cost: $1,650 

Dates: June 14–20

Application Deadline: Rolling admissions

Eligibility: Students aged 16–18; have completed sophomore year; open to international students

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This program’s schedule mixes lectures, discussions, and studio work with field trips and small-group mentoring, so you're never sitting through one format for too long. The week builds toward a final fashion show, giving you an actual presentation moment to work toward rather than a quiet critique behind closed doors. 

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Because Kent State's fashion school runs its own dedicated program instead of folding fashion into a general art academy, the instruction stays specific to the industry throughout. You'll stay in Kent State housing with counselors supervising around the clock, so the residential side is fully structured for a first time away from home.

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Why it stands out: The small, capped cohort means real mentoring time, not just a lecture seat.

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12. Lipscomb University - Summer Fashion Academy

Location: Nashville, Tennessee

Cost: $350

Dates: July 20–23

Application Deadline: June 12th

Eligibility: Rising freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors; open to international students

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Lipscomb University's Summer Fashion Academy is brand new this year, built around hands-on garment construction, sewing, and accessory making rather than lecture-heavy instruction. Interactive workshops make up most of the week, with projects that have you constructing your own accessories using a range of fabrics and materials, not just following a set pattern. 

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Sustainability runs through the curriculum too, with students encouraged to build pieces using secondhand and upcycled materials instead of buying everything new. If sustainable design and hands-on sewing sound more appealing than a heavily academic format, this program would be suitable for you.

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Why it stands out: The sustainability focus, especially the upcycled materials work, is a genuinely current angle most academies haven't caught up to yet.

13. Otis College of Art and Design – Summer of Art Pre-College Program, Fashion Design I specialization

Location: Los Angeles, California

Cost: Full program: $4,390 (or $7,315 including housing); Individual class: $2,690 (or $5,615 including housing); additional costs include a $150 health center fee and $200–$400 for art supplies. Early enrollment discounts (typically $200) apply if paid by April 25; need-based scholarships are available 

Dates: July 7–30

Application Deadline: Not specified

Eligibility: High school students ages 14.5–19; open to international students

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In the Fashion Design I program, you learn how fashion ideas move from initial inspiration to finished garments through an introductory, studio-based design process. You explore fashion history and textiles, develop sketches and design concepts, and practice pattern making and garment construction. 

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You work through the entire design process from initial inspiration to a finished garment, combining creative development with technical construction skills. You also learn through demonstrations, hands-on studio work, lectures, critiques, and assignments that supplement your in-class practice. Fashion Design I can be paired with Drawing from the Costumed Model I for a broader full-day Summer of Art experience.

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Why it stands out: It takes you through the fashion design process, from inspiration and sketching to pattern making and garment construction, in an intensive college-level studio environment.

14. Montclair State University – Fashion Design Pre-College Summer Program

Location: Montclair, New Jersey

Cost: $1,900

Dates: July 12–18

Application Deadline: Rolling basis

Eligibility: Rising 10th–12th graders; open to international students

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In this course, you explore foundational apparel design while experiencing a residential college environment. You develop fashion concepts through sketching, rendering, mood-board creation, and fabric selection before applying your ideas through garment construction. You complete hands-on projects and participate in critiques that help you understand the design process and strengthen your creative decision-making. 

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You also take a day trip to New York City to view a current fashion exhibition and draw inspiration for your own work. Throughout the week, you build practical apparel-design skills and develop work that can strengthen a portfolio for undergraduate fashion programs. You also gain greater familiarity with fashion-design study and career pathways.

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Why it stands out: It combines hands-on apparel design and portfolio development with direct fashion exposure in New York City during an immersive one-week residential experience.

15. Arizona State University (ASU FIDM) – Intro to Fashion Design Summer Camp – Phoenix

Location: Phoenix, Arizona

Cost: $1,200; $1,000 early-bird rate through April 2; 15 half-tuition scholarships and seven full scholarships supported

Dates: June 15–19

Application Deadline: June 11th

Eligibility: High school and community college students ages 15–19; open to international students

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In this program, you explore foundational fashion design with ASU FIDM faculty and visiting industry experts at Fusion on First. You practice fashion illustration, sewing, patternmaking, and trend forecasting through design-focused activities. You work with provided materials, so you can focus on building practical fashion skills without needing prior experience. 

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You receive hands-on fashion design instruction in ASU’s Downtown Phoenix innovation hub, with no prior experience required. Along the way, you build foundational design skills and gain exposure to different pathways within the fashion industry. The five-day daytime format also gives you opportunities to learn from both academic and industry perspectives.

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Why it stands out: It combines illustration, sewing, patternmaking, and trend forecasting with instruction from ASU FIDM faculty and visiting industry experts in an intensive five-day fashion experience.

Frequently asked questions: Fashion Courses for High School Students

What age do you need to be for a fashion course for high school student?

Most programs on this list accept students starting around age 14, with some going up to 19. Otis College's Summer of Art program takes students aged 14.5 to 19, while Parsons and Central Saint Martins set their range at 16 to 18. Immerse Education's Fashion and Design Summer School accepts students aged 15 to 18 from anywhere in the world. Because the age windows vary this much, it's worth checking a program's exact eligibility before you apply rather than assuming your age qualifies.

How much do fashion courses for high school students cost?

Costs range from completely free to over eight thousand dollars, depending on the program's length and format. The Academy of Art University's Pre-College Art and Design Experience carries no cost at all, while Pratt Institute's month-long residential intensive runs $8,192 including housing. Many programs in between, like FIT at $550 or Kent State at $1,650, sit closer to the middle of that range. Several also offer financial aid, early-bird discounts, or scholarships, so the sticker price isn't always the final cost.

Do you need previous experience to take a fashion course as a high schooler?

No, most of these programs are built for beginners and don't require prior experience. Arizona State University's FIDM camp states no prior experience is required and provides all materials, and FIT's 10-day course works from the same starting process professional designers use, so you're not expected to arrive with existing skills. A handful of more selective options, like SCAD Rising Star, do use an interview or transcript review, but that's the exception rather than the rule on this list.

Can you earn college credit from a fashion course for high schoolers?

Yes, though it depends on the specific program you choose. SCAD Rising Star lets you take two college-level classes and earn real, transferable college credit while you're still in high school. Most other programs on this list award a certificate of completion or a portfolio piece instead of credit, which still carries weight for college applications even without transferable units. If credit specifically matters to you, confirm that detail directly with the program before applying.

Do you need a portfolio to apply to a fashion course for high school students?

Not for most programs, though a few request one as part of a more selective admissions process. FIT's Precollege Fashion Design course and Academy of Art University's PCADE program don't require a portfolio to apply, making them accessible if you're still building one. Programs like Pratt Institute and Parsons lean more selective and may ask for supplementary materials alongside your application. Check each program's specific requirements, since this varies more than age or cost does across the list.

What will you actually learn in a fashion course for high school students?

You'll typically work through fashion illustration, pattern making, garment construction, and textile selection, with some programs adding styling, trend forecasting, or the business side of fashion. LIM College's Summer Fashion Academy focuses specifically on how fashion brands operate, market, and sell, which suits you if merchandising interests you more than design itself. Other programs, like Istituto Marangoni's Fashion Summer Camp, cover a broader range including photography, branding, and live editorial shoots. The right program depends on which part of the fashion world you want to explore first.

Turn your fashion course into a career start

A summer spent sketching, sewing, or studying trend forecasting teaches you far more about the fashion industry than any single classroom lecture could.

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Comparing the best fashion courses for high school students side by side helps you see which format actually matches how you like to work.

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Whatever program you choose from this list, the sketches, garments, or presentations you complete become real proof of your interest when applying to college.

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If you're still deciding which direction fits you best, Immerse's career exploration resources can help you weigh a future in fashion against other paths.