Directed Projects: The Portrait in Paris

Program Overview

Spend six weeks in Paris working on photographic portraits inspired by the artworks and streets of this great city.

Young woman with braided dyed pink hair posing for a portrait holding a gray pitcher

Credit: Tisch DPI Portrait Class

Core Curriculum

Students will be enrolled in the following 4-unit course.

Please Note: Students studying abroad on a Tisch track are not eligible to pursue an internship (except for Television Writing in London and Theatre in Ghana). Tisch programs do not provide work visas.

Directed Projects: The Portrait - Responses to Art and Life

IPHTI-UT 1030 | 4 units | Instructor: Editha Mesina

The environment where great artwork is created can become a catalyst for new image-making. This course will utilize the abundant art resources and the cosmopolitan streets of the city of Paris as the inspiration for lens-based portraiture. Through an immersive engagement with the art history of Paris, students will create meaningful and conceptually driven projects connecting the city’s rich culture-defining works to their own present-day portraiture.

For the first half of the course, students will pursue weekly assignments, exploring museums and responding to selected artworks. Responses may initially include a restaging of chosen art pieces, then advance beyond mimicry in search of new interpretations. Through research, readings, slide lectures, and field trips, students will expand the narrative of important portraits from museums such as the Louvre and the Musée D’Orsay, relating their interpretations to current cultural and social themes. A student might deconstruct gender roles in Jacques Louis David’s paintings while Berthe Morisot’s paintings might spark a project on the analyses of the female ideal. The second half of the program will explore the city’s vibrant street scenes as material for image-making. Through various in-class lighting exercises, students will learn tools to make their images visually compelling. At the end of the program, students will develop an inspired final project mining the art and life of the unique city of Paris.

Program Dates

Summer 2025

Check-In: Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Check-Out: Thursday, August 14, 2025

Program dates are subject to change.

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Admissions

Summer 2025

Application Deadline: Monday, February 24, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET

Prerequisites:

Photography majors: Digital Photography or equivalent.

NYU non-majors and visiting students who have not taken a formal digital photography class will be required to submit a portfolio or a link to their website for review.


Please read the following admissions information before starting your application.

Note: Students should wait to receive their admissions notification prior to purchasing airline tickets. Students accepted to the program should purchase refundable airline tickets and/or travel insurance in the event the program is canceled or program dates are changed.

Expenses

Summer 2025

  • Undergraduate summer 2025 tuition: $7,664
  • Program Fee: $730*
  • Lab fee: $465*
  • Housing: Options and fees TBA
  • CSI Insurance $155
  • Students are responsible for arranging their own transportation to/from the program.

*Estimated fees

Students are responsible for any COVID-19 testing required to travel to the program location and to return home. For the length of the program, students will be enrolled in GeoBlue Health Insurance. Students traveling beyond the dates of the program are encouraged to enroll themselves in GeoBlue Health Insurance

Visit the NYU Office of the Bursar for additional information on tuition and fees.

Scholarship and Financial Aid

There are opportunities for financial assistance to study abroad.

Please review the Scholarships and Financial Aid for Study Abroad page for more information.

Housing

Housing for this program is mandatory. Please note: Your choice of room preference or residence hall preference (if available) is not guaranteed. None of the NYU Paris housing options are air-conditioned.

Visit the NYU Paris website for housing options and descriptions.