Summer Opportunities
The campus is in full operation during the summer, populated by students and faculty from a variety of programs. The university continues to have outstanding, innovative educational programs extending beyond regular involvement with its degree candidates. Six such programs are offered during the summer for high school students: the Pre-College Programs in the Fine Arts (Architecture, Art, Drama and Music), the Advanced Placement Early Action Program and the Summer Academy for Mathematics and Science. Three sessions of summer school are held for college students who wish to make up or advance their degree program studies. Every service and support organization is available to summer students: the Computer Center, the Health Center, the Counseling Center, the libraries, the Office of Admission, the Career Center, Student Activities, etc.
Summer Pre-College Programs for High School Students
Office of Admission, Warner Hall 2nd Floor
The Pre-College Programs are designed to preview an actual college experience. Our programs afford high school students many opportunities for personal growth and development within a university setting. A wide range of social, cultural, and recreational activities are planned by a staff of resident counselors to fully integrate the students’ lives on campus and in Pittsburgh. Movies, dances, museum and gallery visits, field excursions or attendance at professional theater productions, concerts, and Pittsburgh Pirates games are just a few of the sponsored activities.
Summer Academy for Mathematics and Science
Students with diverse backgrounds who are entering their junior or senior year and considering careers in engineering, science and other math-based disciplines are eligible to participate in this rigorous program. Traditional classroom instruction, along with creative “hands-on” projects will allow students to apply concepts and principles.
Advanced Placement Early Admission Program
The main purpose of the Advanced Placement Early Admission (AP/EA) Program is to provide the opportunity to take university courses at Carnegie Mellon for talented, motivated high school students. Students earn college credit while working in an academic environment mirroring that which the student would encounter during the first year of college.
Students who complete two courses in the AP/EA Program and who can graduate early from high school have the unique opportunity to apply Early Admission. By attending the AP/EA program during the summer of 2012, students who will be high school juniors in the fall of 2012 will have a strong understanding of college life and academics. These rising juniors are eligible to apply Early Admission by January 1, 2013, and if accepted can start as full-time degree students here in the fall of 2013. Students admitted under Early Admission are not obligated to accept the offer of admission until May 1.
All AP/EA students may also apply to Carnegie Mellon during their senior year, through Early Decision (various deadlines in November and December depending on the college) or Regular Decision (January 1 deadline, or December 1 for the College of Fine Arts).
Regardless of whether students choose to apply to Carnegie Mellon, successful AP/EA students can leverage their experiences here as demonstration of their ability to succeed in college. AP/EA courses are college courses, not AP classes, and as such they count toward graduation requirements here and are widely accepted elsewhere. Students applying to another college or university can request an official Carnegie Mellon transcript be sent to that institution. Any use of AP/EA courses to satisfy high school requirements should be approved ahead of time by an appropriate high school official.
While most of the participants in the program will have just completed their junior or senior year of high school, suitably qualified students at early grade levels can participate. However, in order to stay in university housing, students must be at least 16 years old. However, this does not apply to commuters.
AP/EA Coursework
Our AP/EA courses are regular Carnegie Mellon classes, so you should anticipate intense, college-level work. Many of the AP/EA faculty members are the same faculty who teach during the regular school year. Upon admission to the program, students will select their courses from the Schedule of Classes. View the 2012 AP/EA course list. *Please see the AP/EA course addendum for additional information, revised as of 3/13/2012.
As an AP/EA student, you'll be required to take two courses during the summer. This two-course schedule completed in six weeks is comparable in demand to the typical five-course schedule completed in a semester.
The flexible AP/EA program allows you to take:
- Two math/science/engineering courses
- One math/science/engineering course and one humanities/social sciences course
- Two humanities/social sciences courses
Some features of the AP/EA classes include:
- daily meetings
- small class size
- personal learning environment
- supplemental tutoring
- instruction by faculty selected for their enthusiasm and experience teaching college-level material to younger student
Pre-Requisites
High school preparation is necessary for some AP/EA classes. For more details, consult the course descriptions or contact the program director.
- Calculus requires:
Algebra, trigonometry and geometry. Pre-calculus or an equivalent course is recommended.
- Computer science requires:
Knowledge of computers or some computer experience in high school is helpful but not required. PSAT Math of 65 or higher, or SAT Math of 650.
- Physics, chemistry and biology require: Students enrolled in physics, chemistry, biology or engineering must have completed a physics, chemistry or biology high school course.
Students with special qualifications may apply for permission to enroll in a third course with an additional non-refundable charge. Carrying three courses in the AP/EA program is not generally recommended.
Pre-College Architecture Program
The Pre-College Architecture Program is an opportunity for those high school students who have completed their junior year to discover whether they have the necessary aptitudes for further study at the college level. The students learn the nature of professional training, discover if they enjoy this type of concentration and most importantly, realize the degree of their individual talents. At the conclusion of the period of study, each student’s work is evaluated indicating the level of aptitude in this field.
The program is divided into three components which occupy the entire day. In the morning, students attend lecture–style courses covering a range of topics, including architectural history, technology, and the architecture profession. Students will attend drawing classes, teaching both hand–drawn and computer drawing techniques. These are introductory courses, assuming no prior experience.
Each afternoon, students meet for design studio. The studio is a hands–on environment, challenging students to design solutions to given spatial problems. This course teaches fundamental design skills, modelmaking and drawing craft, critical thinking, and creative speculation.
Field trips will be to local cultural institutions, construction sites, and to local architecture firms.
At the conclusion of the program, the student will receive a private consultation with faculty, as well as a written letter of evaluation on the student’s progress and aptitude.
Pre-College Art Program
Carnegie Mellon is a place where creativity grows. Learn more about yourself and the world while making art and making friends. Combine your visions with passion and discipline and make art that matters.
The Pre-College Art Program motivates, stimulates and prepares you as an emerging artist. Exploring traditional tools and new technologies in a variety of media leads you to develop conceptual and technical skills as well as your portfolio — all excellent preparation for applying to and succeeding in college-level art programs. Challenging lectures and courses, museum and gallery field trips, and energetic interaction with dedicated faculty and talented peers immerse you in the spirit and substance of an art school culture and environment.
An array of events and opportunities combine to enrich your studio work including: visits to the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Andy Warhol Museum, the Mattress Factory (installation museum), evening presentations of artwork by the Pre-College Art faculty, a gallery exhibition of your artwork in the College of Fine Arts, a presentation by the Head of School to explain what a portfolio might contain for acceptance into the School of Art, weekly evening figure drawing sessions, an individual portfolio critique with a School of Art faculty member during the last week of the program and a personal interview with an Admissions Officer.
You choose a schedule of Core and Mini Studios. Core Studios include: Drawing, Painting, Animation, Sculpture and Comic Book/ Serial Imagery. Mini Studios include: Printmaking, Ceramic Sculpture, Head Studies and Digital Photography.
A written evaluation of your artwork is provided at the end of the summer.
Pre-College Drama Program
Carnegie Mellon’s drama program has an innovative and dynamic history that has produced graduates in every branch of theater, film, television and video.
If you’re a serious theater student, or debating whether to become one, you can come here with a good deal of experience or almost none at all, as long as you come ready to work hard and learn.
A Carnegie Mellon summer is a rich and exciting experience. The Pre-College program focuses on creative growth and preparation for actors, musical theater students and technical apprentices. Carnegie Mellon Drama faculty members will coach you, evaluate your work and help steer you into compatible studies, whether those studies take place at Carnegie Mellon or elsewhere. Outstanding students have a possibility of fulfilling the talent portion of our admission process through this program.
Pre-College Music Program
Carnegie Mellon’s School of Music is a stimulating, vibrant place where talented young performers, composers and conductors prepare for professional careers in music. At Carnegie Mellon, tradition and technology coexist. Building upon 75 years of excellence as a conservatory, turning out superb musicians who are known throughout the world as performers, composers, conductors and teachers, the School has become a leader in the field of computer music. New state-of-the-art computer music facilities challenge the most adventurous young musicians to learn more about acoustics and discover new sounds. Music theory software, developed at Carnegie Mellon, enhances the curriculum, and the finest composition software on the market is available to assist the young composer in creating new music. Expert instruction in sound recording provides yet another opportunity for young musicians interested in broadening their musical base. At Carnegie Mellon students are taught to appreciate, to understand, and to perform the music of the past, yet they are also expected to be comfortable with the innovative sounds of the future.
Becoming a professional musician requires extraordinary talent and versatility. The complete musician must be prepared to play jazz as well as classical and contemporary repertoire. Therefore, at Carnegie Mellon a full program of jazz studies is available to enhance the conservatory training. Singers learn to act, to dance, to perform in several languages. Composers learn to conduct, to prepare orchestral scores, to rehearse their own works. Pianists are expected to sight read, play chamber music, accompany singers, and play synthesizer. Music at Carnegie Mellon is more than practicing an instrument — it is an intense, exciting course of study, experienced side by side with other young musicians who share the same goals and aspirations.
The six-week Summer Music Program offers a unique taste of the life of a student musician at Carnegie Mellon in a low pressure environment of study and performance. This is an ideal opportunity to discover your potential for a career in music. Within the rich cultural life of the city of Pittsburgh and the varied activities on the Carnegie Mellon campus, the Summer Program is an extraordinary way for a young musician to spend the summer.
The Summer Program has four main concentrations: Performance, Composition, Jazz Studies and Music Technology. Each student follows an individual schedule designed to meet specific needs and interests. Private lessons are mandated for every student, and a group of music support courses is common to all four areas. Students are encouraged to explore courses outside their area of concentration to insure comprehensive music training.
Applicants to the Summer Music Program should send a statement describing their past musical training, and a recent audio recording (CD preferred) of two selections, representative of their level of performance, or copies of original compositions, with the application materials.
National High School Game Academy
The National High School Game Academy (NHSGA) is an intensive study of video game design and development. This six-week program includes an exciting blend of hands-on exercises combined with traditional lecture and discussion. If you are interested in exploring the world of video game development, the NHSGA may be for you!
Modeled after Carnegie Mellon’s graduate program in Entertainment Technology and corporate sponsored by Electronic Arts, the NHSGA is structured to give students a taste of the current state of video game development and guidance towards embarking on their own career in the video game industry.
Students are encouraged to expand their creativity in a unique blend of left- and right-brain college-level work. Students will be encouraged to pursue undergraduate studies in software engineering, design, creative writing or dramatic arts after the program after gaining an understanding of how their education can lead to a career in the interactive digital media field.
Requests for applications and further information should be addressed to:
Pre-College Programs
Office of Admission
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
(412) 268-2082
FAX: (412) 268-7838