About
Welcome to the Summer Youth and Precollege Programs in the Arts.
We hope that you choose Purchase College for your child’s summer experience. It is sure to create many treasured memories for your entire family.
For more than 40 years, these programs have been much more than camps.
Summer students from grades 3-12 learn new skills in a rich environment full of new skills, new friends and achievements, growth and independence.
They are immersed in a variety of exciting and enriching learning opportunities, such as songwriting, acting, architecture, visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, video game and app creation, voice, and journalism programs.
Quality Programming
Students study with accomplished artists and experienced educators who are assisted by teacher’s assistants (TAs)—undergraduates most often majoring in the program’s discipline—in programs where the student-to-staff ratio is no more than 10:1.
Students are inspired by our scenic 500-acre campus and are able to experience Purchase College while enjoying an outstanding education in their areas of interest and working with other students who share a passion for the arts.
Each program concludes with a performance, exhibit, reading, film screening, or other culminating event for families and friends to showcase the skills that they have learned.
College Resources
Summer students are introduced to the impressive resources available to Purchase College undergraduates.
Musicians practice in the Conservatory of Music’s practice rooms, record in the recording studios, and perform in the Choral and Recital Halls.
Actors obtain specialized instruction through master classes, rehearse in actors’ studios, and perform in the College’s performance spaces.
Filmmakers use the campus as their set and learn to edit using professional editing software in the Library’s Digital Media Zone.
Artists make art in the Visual Arts Building—160,000 square feet of art-making opportunity. It is one of the largest facilities of its kind in the Northeast, providing students with superb studio environments, plus state-of-the-art software and hardware specifically geared to the demands of professional design and art making.
General Information
- The staff are primarily trained and practicing professionals. Some are professors and lecturers at Purchase College.
- Low staff to student ratios—typically no more than 8:1.
- Students who have completed eighth grade may choose between youth and the precollege programs—except for the Visual Arts Institute, for which students must have completed ninth grade.
- The Boot Camps meet 9:30 am — 4:30 pm. Every other program meets 9:30 am – 3:30 pm, Monday – Friday.
- Extended-day options are also available by the week.
- PepsiCo employees enjoy the 10% discount with proper identification.
- Each program concludes with a student performance, screening, exhibition, or other culminating event for friends and family.