<p>My daughter would like to take a summer program with classes in visual arts including photography, graphic design, and that sort of thing. She goes to a small high school that does not offer mush in the way of these subjects so she wants something with beginning-level courses (e.g. no requirement to submit a portfolio of work). I found a couple through an Internet search, including University of the Arts in Philadelphia and Academy of Arts University in San Francisco. Has anyone had experience with either of these programs?</p>
<p>the university of the arts precollege program is excellent (very smoothly run, great professors, small class sizes, etc). the dorms are also very nice if your daughter is doing the residential program. my friend absolutely loved it, and she preferred it over the one at moore college of art and design. uarts' photography department is very strong from what i hear, but moore is better known for graphic design and more contemporary techniques (uarts is somewhere in the middle between moore and the pennsylvania academy). </p>
<p>you can also try MICA's precollege program (i think it's more selective than the other ones) and i'm sure RISD has one too. if you have any questions about classes at uarts, moore, or the pennsylvania academy, i'll be happy to help! i've circulated the art schools in center philadelphia and i loved all of them, but they do have their own strengths and weaknesses.</p>
<p>Roamorse,</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your note. The University of the Arts is her top choice- it offers exactly the courses she wants. She would stay in a dorm but live only about 1.5 hours from Philadelphia so we'd be near enough in case she needs anything. I really appreciate your comments- I don't know anything about these programs and have been relying on the Internet websites. Our next step is to visit in person.</p>
<p>I see that Carnegie Mellon University has a summer program in Design, that seems to include photography and such.... looks like an interesting program, and I believe the CMU is highly ranked in design.</p>
<p>Summer</a> Pre-College Program > School of Design > Carnegie Mellon University</p>