Media summer programs in Europe for high school students can introduce you to an industry that shapes how people understand the world, from journalism and filmmaking to digital storytelling, podcasting, and public relations. As you explore how information is shared and stories reach audiences, you can build valuable skills in communication, critical thinking, creativity, and storytelling.

Europe offers a particularly exciting setting for this kind of media-focused study. You could find yourself learning journalism in London, exploring digital culture in a university classroom, creating a short film with international peers, or developing your own podcast under the guidance of industry professionals. Beyond the academic experience, these programmes also give you the chance to encounter different cultures, perspectives, and creative traditions across the continent.

What kinds of media summer programs in Europe are available for high school students?

With so many opportunities available, finding the right program can be challenging. Some focus on journalism and reporting, while others emphasise filmmaking, digital media, screenwriting, podcasting, broadcasting, or public relations. The best program for you will depend on your interests and the type of media experience you’re hoping to gain.

Across Europe, universities, media organisations, and educational institutions offer programs that combine academic learning with hands-on projects. Depending on the opportunity, you might create a short film, report on current events, produce a podcast, analyse digital culture, develop storytelling skills, or explore the ethics and impact of modern media. Many programs also include workshops, mentorship, collaborative projects, and exposure to real-world media environments.

To help you identify the opportunities worth considering, we’ve curated a list of 15 media summer programs in Europe for high school students. These programs were selected for their academic quality, practical learning opportunities, industry exposure, and potential to help students explore different areas of media and communication.

For adjacent opportunities, consider summer programs in London, summer programs in Oxford, and summer programs in Cambridge.

15 Media Summer Programs in Europe for High School Students

1. University of Amsterdam – Pre-University Honours Programme: Media, Journalism & Society

Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Cost: €1,675 + €800 housing
Dates: Housing: July 27th – August 7th; Academic: July 28th – August 6th
Application Deadline: February 15th
Eligibility: Current high school students; must be 16+; open to international students 

Pre-University Honours Programme: Media, Journalism & Society offers a two-week, on-campus learning opportunity to high school students. You’ll gain knowledge about the practical and theoretical perspectives in media and journalism. You’ll develop valuable journalism skills, understand the difference between fact and fiction, the role of social media, and the impact of good journalism on bringing positive change in the world.

The program offers a range of activities, including analysis of news articles, learning to edit, write, and report in a unique voice of your own, while also developing interviewing techniques. You’ll attend lectures, workshops, and prepare for a future career in media and journalism.

Why it stands out: You will explore media and journalism through workshops, reporting exercises, and article analysis while developing skills in interviewing, editing, and ethical storytelling in a university-style environment.

2. Immerse Education’s London Media & Journalism Summer School

Location: University College London, London, UK
Cost: Varies; summer school scholarship available through our bursary programme
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; small class sizes of around 7 participants
Dates: 2 weeks during the summer
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students worldwide aged 15-18 

The Career Insights Program lets you explore careers in major global industry hubs. The Media and Journalism Summer track is designed for you to explore journalism through a mix of structured learning and hands-on work in a global media setting. Across two weeks, you engage with topics like reporting, media ethics, and digital storytelling while working on practical projects. Sessions are led by journalists and academics who bring real industry insight into the classroom.

You take part in workshops, group discussions, and a personal project that lets you develop your own voice. The small class size means you receive consistent feedback and guidance. By the end, you build both confidence and a clearer understanding of how modern media operates. You can find more details about the application here.

Why it stands out: You’ll gain direct industry exposure, build a professional network, and receive a certificate you can include in your college applications and work profile.

3. BBC’s ‘Get In’ Taster Experiences

Location: Multiple BBC bases across the United Kingdom
Cost: None
Dates: Year-round opportunities; dates confirmed after application
Application Deadline: Not specified; you can register interest via an online expression of interest form, then complete a separate application once a date is confirmed
Eligibility: Students, ages 16-18, living within a one-hour commute of the chosen BBC location; not open to international students

BBC’s ‘Get In’ Taster Experiences offers a free learning opportunity to high school students interested in the media industry. You’ll have the chance to apply to one of the apprenticeships offered by the program and understand how the media industry operates in the real world.

You’ll develop specific hands-on skills, spend your time in studio settings at the BBC, and work in collaboration with peers and professionals on interesting projects. The program offers job training and allows you to learn from expert media professionals. 

Why it stands out: You will gain hands-on media industry experience at the BBC through studio-based projects, professional collaboration, and skills training while exploring real-world careers in broadcasting and production.

4. Nottingham Trent University’s TV Presenting for 15-17 Year Olds Course

Location: Nottingham Trent University City Campus, Nottingham, England
Cost: £545
Dates: July 27th – August 3rd; August 3-7
Application Deadline: Rolling until all places are filled
Eligibility: Students, ages 15-17; open to international students

Nottingham Trent University’s TV Presenting offers a one-week short-course experience for high school students, giving it a practical place among the many media summer programs in Europe for high school students. It introduces you to journalism and media through studio-based learning. You’ll engage in on-location presenting and receive performance coaching and basic voice training.

The program offers learning through small classes and allows you to engage in studio culture through collaborative opportunities and thoughtful discussions. Experienced tutors will teach you, and you will develop confidence as a TV presenter and build your portfolio. You’ll also receive a certificate of attendance on successful completion of the program.

Why it stands out: You will explore TV presenting through studio and on-location practice, voice training, and performance coaching while building confidence and creating a professional media portfolio.

5. UCA International Summer School: Multimedia Film Production

Location: University for the Creative Arts (UCA), Farnham, UK
Cost: Full Fee: £2,690 | Early Bird Fee: £2,420 (by March 31st)
Dates: Programme 1: July 13-24 | Programme 2: August 3-14
Application Deadline: June 1st
Eligibility: Individuals and groups aged 16-25 (Programme 1); ages 16-17 (Programme 2, group applications only); open to international students

UCA International Summer School: Multimedia Film Production offers a two-week creative learning experience to high school students. The program will introduce you to the complete process of making short films, including idea conception, pre-production, editing, and post-production. You’ll engage in hands-on learning while producing a short film and working in small groups. Your film will include storytelling based on the visual techniques you choose during the course.

You will also gain knowledge of a range of film and media-focused areas, including sound equipment, lighting, framing, and more. The program is a good option to consider if you want to explore your interest in media and filmmaking through practical learning. 

Why it stands out: You will explore filmmaking through hands-on production of a short film, learning key skills like storytelling, editing, sound, lighting, and visual composition across the full creative process.

6. King’s College London Pre-University Summer School: Pre-University Media, Communication & Digital Culture

Location: King’s College London, London, UK
Cost: £3,195 (1 week); £6,180 (2 weeks); £9,375 (3 weeks) + £65 application fee
Dates: July 13-17
Application Deadline: April 27th
Eligibility: Students, ages 16-17, who are about to start the final three years of high school; open to international students

This program provides an in-depth, university-level introduction to the fields of media, communication, and digital studies. It is designed to help students understand how global communication shapes the modern world and how society interacts with rapidly evolving digital technologies. You’ll get to explore a range of concepts, including digital fandoms, social media, and streaming cultures.

You’ll learn from experienced faculty through attending lectures, participating in thoughtful discussions, and engaging in real-world exercises. The program includes module-focused assignments and instruction sessions. As the program concludes, you’ll receive a recognised certificate of completion. 

Why it stands out: You will explore digital media and online culture through lectures, discussions, and hands-on assignments focused on social media, fandoms, and streaming platforms while earning a certificate of completion.

7. Nottingham Trent University – Journalism for 15–17 Year Olds

Location: Nottingham Trent University, City Campus, 50 Shakespeare Street, Nottingham, NG1 4FQ, United Kingdom
Cost: £545
Dates: July 20-24; July 27-31
Application Deadline: Rolling until full
Eligibility: Students aged 15-17 at the time of the course; open to international students

In this program, you step into the craft of journalism at NTU’s Centre for Broadcasting and Journalism, working across news, features, and broadcast media throughout an intensive week. You research and write your first news piece, get to know the city centre, sharpen interviewing and note-taking on reporting trips, and tackle columns, reviews and opinion pieces.

In the closing Newsroom Challenge, you read to the camera to cover a news story, deliver the weather, use the autocue and edit your newsreel. You also consider legal and ethical factors while building a portfolio of your work and a shareable newsreel for social media.

Why it stands out: It can count as your Duke of Edinburgh Gold Residential Award while training you across print, digital, and broadcast media inside NTU’s industry-led Centre for Broadcasting and Journalism.Source: Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

8. Royal Conservatoire of Scotland – Filmmaking ages 15-17 B

Location: Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, Glasgow, G2 3DB
Cost: £335; financial support is available
Dates: July 13-17
Application Deadline: Open until capacity is reached
Eligibility: Students ages 15-17; open to international students

This one-week summer course provides an immersive introduction to the core processes of cinematic storytelling and production. You will engage in hands-on training that explores technical camera operation, framing techniques, and visual narrative development through the analysis of classic and contemporary film. During the workshop, you rotate through essential crew roles such as director and boom operator to gain a comprehensive understanding of how a film set operates.

You will collaborate with your peers on practical shoot days and participate in editing a short scene on the final day. By the conclusion of the program, you will possess a foundational skill set and a digital copy of your completed work.

Why it stands out: It offers hands-on experience in rotating through various professional production roles on a film set, providing participants with practical exposure to the entire filmmaking workflow in a single week.

9. Nottingham Trent University’s Podcast Presentation for 15-17 Year Olds

Location: Nottingham Trent University City Campus, Nottingham, England
Cost: £545
Dates: August 3-7
Application Deadline: Rolling until full
Eligibility: 15-17-year-old students; open to international students

Nottingham Trent University’s Podcast Presentation for 15-17-year-olds offers a one-week learning experience for students interested in audio storytelling and digital production. Within the wider range of media summer programs in Europe for high school students, this course focuses on the development and production of an original podcast through discussion, collaboration, and hands-on work.

You’ll participate in the entire process of podcast creation, including the core idea, pitching, and the launch. The program will allow you to share and upload your work into diverse podcast-focused platforms while learning a range of skills in the process, including storytelling, recording, scripting, and editing. 

Why it stands out: You will learn how to create and launch an original podcast while developing skills in storytelling, scripting, recording, editing, and presenting through collaborative, hands-on projects.

10. Nottingham Trent University’s PR and Storytelling for 15-17 Year Olds

Location: Nottingham Trent University City Campus, Nottingham, England
Cost: £545
Dates: August 3-7
Application Deadline: Rolling until full
Eligibility: Students ages 15-17; open to international students

Nottingham Trent University’s PR and Storytelling for 15-17 Year Olds is a one-week short where you’ll be introduced to the world of media and public relations. You’ll engage in hands-on activities, develop a range of skills in storytelling, audience analysis, and social media marketing, and understand the impact of marketing on our everyday choices.

The program will allow you to work on a creative campaign and connect with the audience through real-world marketing techniques. You’ll learn in small class settings, gain knowledge from an experienced tutor, and receive a certificate of attendance on successful completion of the program.

Why it stands out: You will explore public relations and media through hands-on campaign projects while developing skills in storytelling, audience engagement, social media marketing, and strategic communication.

11. Royal Conservatoire of Scotland – Acting for Camera ages 15-17 B

Location: Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, Glasgow, G2 3DB, Scotland, United Kingdom
Cost: £335; financial support is available
Dates: August 3-7
Application Deadline: First-come basis until the course is full
Eligibility: Students ages 15-17; no entry requirements and no previous acting experience necessary; open-access booking with material prepared in advance (one or two scenes featuring up to three characters, rehearsed off-script); open to international students

In this program, you spend a week at Scotland’s only conservatoire building screen-acting skills aimed squarely at film and television media work. You analyse contrasting film and TV scripts and clips to study how professional actors perform on camera, then apply technical screen techniques through practical exercises. You rehearse and shoot scenes in stages, beginning with a solo, self-tape-style frame and progressing to group scenes filmed later in the week.

Your footage is then taken away, edited together, and delivered to you as a downloadable Vimeo link, mirroring a real post-production media workflow. Along the way, you understand film-set terminology and audition guidance for film and television better.

Why it stands out: It pairs hands-on camera performance with a professionally edited film delivered to you via Vimeo, giving you a tangible screen-media outcome from a conservatoire whose drama scholarships are funded by BAFTA-winning alumnus James McAvoy.

12. Royal Conservatoire of Scotland – Making Music: Film and Video Games

Location: Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, Glasgow, G2 3DB
Cost: £585
Dates: July 20-24
Application Deadline: Open until capacity is reached
Eligibility: Students ages 16+; open to international students

This one-week summer course provides an introduction to the theory and practice of writing music for film and video games, making it one of the more specialised media summer programs in Europe for high school students. You will engage in hands-on scoring sessions while using industry-standard hardware and software to create original musical accompaniments for visual clips. Under the guidance of a professional composer, you will learn to set up a composing session, including managing timecode, spotting markers, and sketching resources.

The curriculum covers essential techniques for arranging, orchestrating, and producing music that supports narrative intent, dialogue, and sound design. By the end of the program, you will possess a foundational understanding of the challenges and creative decisions involved in professional media composition.

Why it stands out: It provides direct mentorship from an experienced professional composer while teaching you how to use industry-standard software to score interactive and visual media.

13. University of the Arts London / London College of Fashion – Fashion Journalism for 16-18 Year Olds

Location: London College of Fashion (UAL), East Bank, Stratford, East London, United Kingdom; delivered on campus
Cost: £530
Dates: Varies by session (multiple start dates throughout the summer)
Application Deadline: Open until the chosen cohort fills
Eligibility: Students aged 16-18; open to international students

In this program, you step into the world of fashion media at London College of Fashion, learning how professional fashion journalists research, write, and report for magazines and online platforms. Across the course, you write a fashion news story, practise interview techniques for quizzing designers, analyse a new season collection, spot emerging trends, and brainstorm feature ideas.

You work with a notepad, a laptop or tablet, and a camera to gather material much like a working reporter, while learning why networking matters in fashion media. Taught by veteran journalist and broadcaster Angela Buttolph, you build core fashion reporting skills and leave with a digital badge and certificate of attendance. You also experience art-school teaching inside UAL’s studios.

Why it stands out: It is taught by Angela Buttolph, a fashion journalist of more than 25 years who has worked on staff at magazines from Vogue to Grazia and covered fashion weeks worldwide, giving teenage participants direct access to professional industry insight.

14. University of the Arts London / Central Saint Martins – Introduction to TV and Film Set Design for 16-18 Year Olds

Location: Central Saint Martins, 1 Granary Square, London, N1C 4AA
Cost: £710
Dates: Varies by session (multiple start dates throughout the summer)
Application Deadline: Open until capacity is reached
Eligibility: Students ages 16-18; passion for design; beginners welcome; open to international students

This beginner-friendly course offers an immersive introduction to the art department within the film and television industry. You will explore the professional responsibilities of set designers, learning how to translate creative concepts into visual assets like mood boards and detailed scale models. Throughout the sessions, you gain practical experience in script analysis, set dressing, and understanding technical requirements for both single and multi-camera studio environments.

Guided by industry-experienced tutors, you will respond to design briefs to develop your own creative proposals and strengthen your portfolio for future art college applications. This experience provides an authentic look at the collaborative processes and diverse career paths available in modern screen production.

Why it stands out: It provides students with professional-grade exposure to set design workflows, allowing them to produce industry-standard models and mood boards while under the mentorship of experienced industry practitioners.

15. University of the Arts London / London College of Fashion – Fashion PR and Marketing for 16-18 Year Olds

Location: London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, London, United Kingdom
Cost: £490
Dates: Multiple start dates in July
Application Deadline: Closes once it fills
Eligibility: Students aged 16-18; open to international students

In this program, you step into the business side of fashion through this London College of Fashion short course, where media sits at the centre of how brands reach and persuade their audiences. You learn to analyse and research your target customer, plan marketing and PR campaigns, and build a distinct brand identity and communication style.

A core focus is transforming a press pack into a media pack tailored for journalists, celebrities, and influencers, while you also navigate the expanding digital landscape and influencer marketing. You practise contemporary digital language, meaningful content creation, and matching the right media channels to the right brand. The course concludes with a digital badge and certificate of attendance after experiencing art-school teaching.

Why it stands out: It is taught by Minal Kay Malik, a multi-award-winning Senior Lecturer in Fashion Marketing and former Paper Magazine Fashion Editor whose industry work spans social media and marketing for luxury brands such as Burberry and Net-A-Porter.

Connect Media Learning With Career Goals

Media study gives you a sharper view of how stories are shaped, shared, and understood across journalism, film, audio, and digital platforms.

A place on these 15 media summer programs in Europe for high school students can place you inside practical reporting tasks, production workshops, podcast projects, and creative briefs.

Each activity helps you notice where your instincts fit best, whether that is interviewing, editing, presenting, researching, producing, or planning campaigns.

Thinking about turning that interest into a future path? Read our Career Exploration blogs for media roles, industry skills, creative pathways, and next-step guidance.