Summer Pre-College

3 U.S. credits recommended 
Language of instruction: English

This course is an immersive introduction to fashion industries and their management strategies. Students explore the relationships between innovation, design, production, and marketing. The course also provides an overview of the Parisian high-end fashion market and its key actors, from designers to retailers. Through visits to Paris luxury stores and showrooms students gain an overall understanding of today’s fashion business.

3 U.S. credits recommended 
Language of instruction: English

In this course, students research, prepare and create a high-quality portfolio of work that they can use for art and design college applications. Students develop the skills and understanding they need to produce high-standard artwork for their portfolio submission. They research, construct, and refine work with a range of digital tools and design a portfolio for a chosen major. They develop the editing and typographic skills they need to frame and present their artworks in a clear and articulate manner for online portfolio submission. They develop the skills needed to research portfolio requirements for college programs as they prepare their work for applications. Students also familiarize themselves with life in Paris, participating in studio workshops and research trips to museums and galleries.

3 U.S. credits recommended 
Language of instruction: English

Students learn to approach management as a strategic process that combines design innovation and business knowledge. In collaborative projects, they develop problem-solving skills and familiarity with design strategies through the application of research methods, prototyping, and quantitative analysis. Emphasis is placed on understanding a European setting and perspective and the way entrepreneurs, business innovators, and designers operate at the intersection of design and management. Students engage in design thinking and business strategy exercises, applying these approaches in a broad range of enterprises and real-world business contexts.

3 U.S. credits recommended 
Language of instruction: English

Introduction to AI Design examines works made with AI as well as the theorists questioning its use to challenge students to create their own design AI. Students will be asked to design objects, images, spaces, and texts. This three-week intensive uses a praxis model; it is both a seminar and a studio course. Students will learn how AI models are built and which AI models are already at work in design software. The course explores implications of artificial intelligence, with a focus on the role of human intelligence and intervention in creative processes, to the point of modifying AI production systems themselves.

3 U.S. credits recommended 
Language of instruction: English

This course provides an insider view of the fashion industry in Paris. During the span of three weeks, students explore how fashion is designed, produced, communicated, and consumed in the city. Participants get to know different facets of fashion, ranging from design studios to technology start-ups, from event agencies and retail to fashion exhibitions. They benefit from behind-the-scenes insights into the state of fashion through a combination of field visits, seminars, and guided research. Participants collectively create content to document their safari explorations while they engage with designers, artisans, entrepreneurs, and brand strategists. As they capture images and videos to craft weekly posts, they gain valuable connections in the industry and discover a wealth of career options along the way.

3 U.S. credits recommended 
Language of instruction: English

This summer intensive course is designed to combine theoretical and practical approaches to provide an introductory, fundamental understanding of fashion images and the creative process behind their production. Through specific assignments and lectures, you will learn how to analyze fashion photography from historical, sociological, artistic, and commercial points of view. You will simultaneously experiment with practical photography techniques used at a professional level in order to be able to produce a fashion shoot, from the preliminary research and creation of a mood board to collaboration with a model to final editing of a finished selection deliverable to a client. 

In the course, you explore photographic methods that enable you to see and interpret the meaning of style and help you develop your own artistic voice by experimenting with the collaborative process integral to fashion work. Creativity is understood as a process, a constant relationship of making to thinking, and constraints are seen as tools with which to foster creativity. As part of the photography project, students will learn how to defend their aesthetic choices in a critique environment and communicate their vision. Through readings, research, text integration, layout design, and artist statements students explore the various elements that make a fashion shoot successful.

Class sessions will include student presentations, discussions, critiques, shooting sessions, field trips, and guest talks. Thematic insights and lectures on the history of fashion photography, combined with current exhibitions and publications, will also provide opportunities to investigate the great diversity of fashion images circulating today. 

3 U.S. credits recommended 
Language of instruction: English

This course introduces students to various approaches and techniques involved in the design process for fashion products. Students are encouraged to experiment as they research and find inspiration for a fashion collection and devise innovative 2D and 3D production methods for their fashion pieces. Working on projects individually and in groups, students develop fashion concepts for which they draw on the unique resources of Paris and explore how fabrication methods and color affect collections.

3 U.S. credits recommended 
Language of instruction: English

This course introduces students to painting as both a fundamental part of the design process and an integral tool for media arts of all kinds. Students will learn basic concepts of painting such as color theory, composition, and techniques for using water-based paints. Drawing will also be taught as a means for observation and representation. Traditional and nontraditional methods, media, and theories of painting are all explored. Time will be dedicated to allowing students to develop a personal project.

3 U.S. credits recommended 
Language of instruction: English

This course introduces students to drawing as both a fundamental part of the design process and an integral tool for media arts of all kinds. Students approach drawing as a way of thinking, a critical tool, and a means for observation, storytelling, and representation. Traditional and nontraditional methods, media, and theories of drawing are all explored.

Tuition, housing, and excursions: $9,699

Students provide their own art supplies. The cost is estimated at $400 for most studio classes.

Parsons Paris partners with Academic Programs International (API), an established study abroad program provider, to enroll you and provide on-site support services.

Visit API’s Pre-College page to learn about the programs. There, you can apply by clicking the yellow "Apply Now" button in the top right-hand corner to create an online account and gather necessary materials and complete the application. Required materials include the following:

• Grade report 
• Letter of recommendation
• Course registration form

Within two to three business days of receipt of your application, an API program manager will review your application and then email you to inform you if you’ve been accepted and provide next steps.

Students confirm their participation by submitting a $400 deposit and an Intent-to-Enroll form (ITE). You can register for courses only after your deposit and ITE items have been received.

You have until the final payment deadline to complete your remaining post-acceptance forms and make payments.

All pre-college students are met at the airport by on-site staff on the program start date. A group return transfer to the airport is also included on the last day of the program. Students receive detailed flight instructions upon their acceptance to the program and should wait to purchase a flight until receiving more information after acceptance. 

Experience a delightful stay in the heart of Paris at this recently renovated three-star hotel, where comfort meets convenience in cozy air-conditioned rooms. Relax in the inviting common area and take advantage of our central location, providing easy access to classes through the nearby metro. Explore the trendy shops and cafes that surround you, and if you're in the mood for some outdoor leisure, visit a beautiful park along the Seine River, just a short stroll away. Immerse yourself in the vibrant atmosphere of this Parisian neighborhood and make the most of your stay.

Transcripts for Parsons students are issued by the Registrar's Office and carry the signature and seal of The New School. A transcript is confirmation of a student's permanent record at the university. Students who complete Summer Intensive Studies in Paris may request that their transcript(s) be mailed to other colleges and institutions by submitting an official request to the Registrar's Office.

Students provide their own materials and supplies. Instructors will email a list of supplies to students, who must bring materials to the first day of class. Due to the intensive nature of the classes, students should expect daily homework. Many classes are project based.

Please contact the API Paris Program Manager for Summer Pre-College and College/Adult Programs with further questions.