Start exploring Writing summer programs

Dates:

Jul 11–Aug 7, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$12,552

Location:

New York, NY (NYU, Greenwich Village/Brooklyn housing)

Grades:

Completed 10th-11th grade

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Dec 1, 2026

Credit:

6 NYU credits (letter-graded)

Students live in NYU housing and spend the four weeks in one arts course on a schedule drawn from the Tisch undergraduate curriculum, finishing with a presentation, open class, or showing of their work. Four-week residential course in Dramatic Writing at NYU Tisch, earning 6 NYU credits.

Dates:

Jun 20 – Jul 3, 2027

Length:

2 weeks

Cost:

$4,000

Location:

Portland, OR (Lewis & Clark College)

Grades:

Rising 10th, 11th and 12th graders (completed grades 9–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Priority Jan 1, 2027

A two-week residential creative writing workshop for about 60 students: daily small workshops (12 or fewer) in poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction with published faculty, second-week electives, evenings with distinguished visiting writers, Portland field trips and a day at the Oregon Coast, ending in a community reading and anthology.

Dates:

Jun 27 – Jul 31, 2027

Length:

5 weeks

Cost:

$8,000

Location:

Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

Grades:

Rising juniors and seniors (classes of 2028–2029) (completed grades 10–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Early Jan 11, 2027 (materials Jan 18) · Regular Mar 22, 2027 (materials Mar 29)

A five-week residential film & video program at Northwestern; the Screenwriting concentration is story structure and screenplay formatting, ending with a five-minute script that is filmed during Production Week.

Dates:

3 sessions between Jun 19–Aug 8, 2027 (1 week and 3 weeks options)

Length:

1 week–3 weeks

Cost:

$2,125–$7,550

Location:

Interlochen, MI

Grades:

9-12

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Priority Jan 15, 2027

Students live in cabins on Interlochen's campus and spend the session in one arts focus, with daily instruction and time for camp activities.

Dates:

Jul 11–23, 2027

Length:

2 weeks (Sun–Fri)

Cost:

$6,995

Location:

Boston, MA (Northeastern University)

Grades:

Rising juniors and seniors (completed grades 10–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Priority Jan 15, 2027 · Regular Feb 28, 2027 · Late Mar 15, 2027

Students explore Boston's history through its food, with neighborhood walking tours of the North End and Jamaica Plain, visits to the Museum of Fine Arts and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and archive research that becomes an original research project.

Dates:

2 sessions between Jun 27–Aug 8, 2027 (3 weeks options)

Length:

3 weeks

Cost:

$7,550

Location:

Interlochen, MI

Grades:

6-8

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Priority Jan 15, 2027

Middle-school students live in cabins on Interlochen's campus and spend the session in one arts focus, with daily instruction and time for camp activities.

Dates:

Jul 11–17, 2027

Length:

1 week

Cost:

$3,095–$3,725

Location:

Washington, DC (Georgetown University campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th graders through graduating seniors (completed grades 8–12)

Format:

Commuter / Residential

Deadline:

Early bird Jan 31, 2027 · Final May 15, 2027

A week of craft lectures and workshops led by graduate student instructors, generating new poems, stories and essays, plus sessions on publishing, careers in writing and writing programs, and off-site excursions.

Dates:

5 sessions between Jun 21–Aug 6, 2027 (1 week, 3 weeks, and 6 weeks options)

Length:

1 week–6 weeks

Cost:

$2,883–$25,676

Location:

New York, NY (Columbia Morningside campus)

Grades:

8–12 (varies by track)

Format:

Commuter / Residential

Deadline:

Early registration Feb 1, 2027 · Final Apr 1, 2027

Students take one intensive non-credit course at Columbia's Morningside campus, choosing from courses across art and architecture, business and economics, creative writing, humanities and philosophy, journalism, law, marketing, mathematics, neuroscience, physical sciences, politics, science and medicine, social impact, psychology, and technology.

Dates:

Jul 3–16, 2027

Length:

2 weeks

Cost:

$4,985

Location:

Smith College, Northampton, MA

Grades:

Students entering grades 9–12 in fall 2027 (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Priority Feb 1, 2027 · Tuition assistance Mar 1, 2027 · Final May 1, 2027

Two-week residential creative writing program at Smith College where students take one morning and one afternoon workshop in forms such as fiction, poetry, screenwriting, playwriting, journalism, and science fiction, using a multidraft approach, and leave with the start of a writing portfolio.

Dates:

Jun 26–Jul 24, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$7,284–$9,636

Location:

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

Grades:

Rising 11th or 12th graders (between 10th–11th or 11th–12th grade in summer 2027), age 16 by June 26, 2027

Format:

Commuter / Residential

Deadline:

Scholarship Feb 1, 2027 · Final Mar 1, 2027

Four-week Carnegie Mellon program in writing, film, and culture where students produce digital poetry, short-form writing, and film work on campus and around Pittsburgh.

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Merced, CA (UC Merced campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Where high-performance computing meets AI: small teams build projects such as a script-writing assistant, a game character that learns from players and an image-to-poster generator, learning to speed up model training and ending in a capstone competition.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Santa Cruz, CA (UC Santa Cruz campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Hands-on wet lab work in genetics and molecular cloning, phage biology and model organisms, plus bioinformatics, scientific reading and paper writing; possible field trips to SLAC National Accelerator Lab and the UCSC botanic garden.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

2 sessions between Jun 13–Jul 24, 2027 (2 weeks options)

Length:

2 weeks

Cost:

$2,500

Location:

University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

Grades:

Currently in grades 10–12 (completed 10th, 11th or 12th grade by the program)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Application window Jan 25 – Feb 7, 2027

A two-week residential creative writing program at the University of Iowa where each student takes one core course in fiction, poetry, creative writing, TV writing or playwriting taught by graduates of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and other Iowa writing programs, alongside readings by published authors, craft workshops, collaborative projects, open mics and talent shows.

Dates:

Jul 3–31, 2027 (classes start Jul 5)

Length:

4 weeks (29 days)

Cost:

$5,174–$10,475

Location:

Cal Poly Pomona, Pomona, CA

Grades:

Current 8th-12th graders, including graduating seniors (California students; up to 20 out-of-state/international students)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Feb 28, 2027

Credit:

Yes (3 units of CSU college extension credit)

Four-week residential program at Cal Poly Pomona for the California State Summer School for the Arts. Students spend the session in one department. Four-week residential creative writing program at Cal Poly Pomona for about 70 young writers, with workshops in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and dramatic writing led by professional writers, so every student studies every genre.

Dates:

Jun 27 – Jul 10, 2027

Length:

2 weeks

Cost:

$2,800

Location:

Sewanee, TN (University of the South campus)

Grades:

Students in 9th–11th grade when applying (rising 10th–12th graders); must be under 18 at the conference

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Mar 1, 2027

A two-week creative writing conference for about 85 young writers: small workshops of no more than twelve students meet every morning except Sunday with published, prize-winning faculty, plus one-on-one conferences, afternoon craft classes and guest-author Q&As, and an evening reading every night.

Dates:

Jun 21 – Jul 16, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$8,371–$11,946

Location:

Los Angeles, CA (USC University Park campus)

Grades:

High school students who have completed 9th–11th grade

Format:

Commuter / Residential

Deadline:

International due Mar 12, 2027 · Domestic due May 7, 2027

Credit:

3 units of USC elective credit

No prior creative writing experience is required. Throughout this course, we’ll experiment with four creative writing genres: poetry, creative nonfiction, flash fiction and short stories. We’ll also read the works of successful writers, learn various literary techniques and develop our writing voices through constructive feedback.

Dates:

Jun 28 – Jul 2, 2027

Length:

5 days

Cost:

$1,095–$2,190

Location:

Boston, MA (Berklee campus)

Ages:

15+ (high school, college and adult students) (completed grades 9–12)

Format:

Commuter / Residential

Deadline:

Register by May 1, 2027

Short music workshops at Berklee in Boston. Students spend the session in one subject, as residential or commuter students. A one-week songwriting program on melody, rhythm, harmony and lyrics, with feedback on original material from industry professionals.

Dates:

Jul 19–23, 2027

Length:

5 days

Cost:

$2,045–$3,745

Location:

Los Angeles, CA (Berklee in Los Angeles, downtown arts corridor)

Ages:

14+ (high school, college and adult students) (completed grades 8–12)

Format:

Commuter / Residential

Deadline:

Register by Jun 1, 2027

Five-day music workshops at Berklee in Los Angeles. Students spend the session in one subject, as residential or commuter students. A five-day songwriting and production program at Berklee's Los Angeles campus covering melody, lyrics and building tracks, with student collaboration.

Dates:

4 sessions between Jul 11–Jul 23, 2027 (1 week)

Length:

1 week (Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm)–1 week (Sun check-in – Fri)

Cost:

$2,450–$3,380

Location:

Bentley University, Waltham, MA

Grades:

10–11 (varies by track)

Format:

Residential / Commuter

A one-week Bentley University business course where students develop storytelling skills and create content with professional production software, with guest lectures, group work and a final group presentation.

Dates:

2 sessions between Jun 27–Jul 16, 2027 (1 week)

Length:

1 week (Sun–Fri, overnight)

Cost:

$3,500

Location:

Wake Forest University (Reynolda Campus), Winston-Salem, NC

Grades:

Current 9th–12th grade students

Format:

Residential

A one-week residential institute at Wake Forest University where high school students practice writing that works in real life, from personal essays and résumés to memos and research articles.

Dates:

Jul 11–17, 2027

Length:

1 week

Cost:

$550–$1,250

Location:

Hollins University, Roanoke, VA

Grades:

Girls entering grades 9–12 (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Commuter / Residential

One-week creative writing program for teen girls at Hollins University in Roanoke. The week includes craft workshops, talks from visiting writers, one-on-one mentoring, write-ins, zine publishing, and a closing showcase.

Dates:

3 sessions between Jun 28–Aug 1, 2027 (8 days options)

Length:

8 days

Cost:

$3,299

Location:

Maine

Ages:

17-18 (rising high school seniors) (completed grades 11–12)

Format:

Residential

College essay-writing program for rising seniors, combining collaborative writing instruction with exploring Maine's coastline.

Dates:

2 sessions between Jun 23–Jul 13, 2027 (9 days options)

Length:

9 days

Cost:

$3,925–$4,595

Location:

UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

Ages:

14–18 with at least one year of high school completed, through graduating seniors

Format:

Commuter / Residential

A nine-day NSLC summer program at UCLA where high school students write, direct and produce an original short film while exploring the creative and technical sides of filmmaking, alongside leadership workshops and site visits.

Dates:

4 sessions between Jun 21–Aug 13, 2027 (2 weeks (weekdays, 10:30am–3:30pm) options)

Length:

2 weeks (weekdays, 10:30am–3:30pm)

Cost:

$775

Location:

GrubStreet Center for Creative Writing, Seaport, Boston, MA

Ages:

13-18 (completed grades 7–12)

Format:

Commuter

Two-week day program in Boston's Seaport where teens write in small genre-based cohorts of 7–14 (fiction, sci-fi/fantasy, multi-genre, and screenwriting when enough teens request it) led by a team of 3–4 published authors, with daily lunch, instructor office hours, a Friday open mic, a guest author visit, a college and professional writing day, and a chance to publish in the YAWP Anthology.