Preparation for art studies in France and abroad
Prepare for admission to the best French and international art schools
L’Atelier de Sèvres offers a preparatory year in art, taught partly in English, to prepare students, whether French-speaking or not, to enter the most prestigious art schools in France and abroad. The use of English in prep courses allows all students to standardize their exchanges.
Thanks to high-level training and personalized support, the Atelier de Sèvres International Art Prep Program enables students to:
- Meet the requirements of the most selective competitions;
- Improve their level of English;
- Open the doors to an international artistic career: residencies, collaborations with artists from around the world, or even positions abroad.
English is taught in a course dedicated to discussions on current events in the arts and society, in order to prepare students for the oral exams.
Students benefit from cutting-edge teaching tailored to their ambitions, ensuring optimal preparation for competitive exams and providing a real springboard for their professional future.
Intensive customized training
Pedagogy tailored to all projects
For one year, students in the international art preparatory program at the Atelier de Sèvres are supported and trained by a teaching team made up of professional artists who are graduates of the most prestigious art schools. All students benefit from creative pedagogy combining practical lessons in technical workshops (drawing, creativity, tutoring, etc.) and theoretical instruction (art history, workshops, etc.) that prepares them to compile portfolios of their personal work with a view to entering higher art schools and meeting the requirements of their chosen schools.
Through topics comparable to those in the competiton and personalized support, each student is required to confirm their study plan, define their style, build their portfolio, and develop the skills necessary for their career plans.
Thanks to the professional encounters they will have during their year at the Atelier de Sèvres, students consolidate their career plans, enrich their general artistic culture, and develop their creativity in order to calmly prepare for entrance exams to art schools in France and abroad.
A rewarding year that allows you to reveal your style, perfect it, build your project, and accomplish it.
Intensive preparation for competitive examinations
From their very first day at the Atelier de Sèvres, students in the international art preparatory program take studio classes, to acquire a foundation of common knowledge and techniques. In the international art preparatory program, each student participates in workshops in art, design, photography/video, fashion, graphic design/illustration, and architecture/space, and develops expertise in their discipline. They benefit from personalized guidance from teachers as well as technical workshops and school equipment designed to stimulate their creativity and put their learning into practice.
The second and third quarters focus on preparing for art school entrance exams. Students benefit from:
Mock competition: to practice under real exam conditions;
Writing workshops: to write letters of intent and motivation that will catch the attention of the jury;
Conferences: led by artists, teachers, and directors of prestigious schools, to explore the challenges and opportunities of the artistic world;
Specialized workshops: taught by external speakers.
Each student benefits from the support of a case manager who personally assists them in developing and monitoring their artistic portfolio, which they will present at competitions.
Comprehensive preparation for competitive examinations
The year is punctuated by various highlights (competitions and mock juries, mostly in English) that allow students to learn how to build their portfolio with a view to entering a prestigious university at the end of their preparatory year.
Art prep teachers support students in their studies and help them develop their artistic identity, which will enable them to stand out by asserting themselves.
Courses dedicated to international training
The program and educational objectives of the international art preparatory course are the same as those of the art preparatory course taught in French. The international preparatory program stands out for its rich international outlook and its English-language instruction. It offers students a unique setting in which to acquire a common language for art.
Students who choose to study in English benefit from:
- From all workshops across all disciplines: art, design, photography/video, fashion, graphic design/illustration, and architecture/space;
- English classes, in the form of guided discussions on contemporary issues or current events in the arts and culture;
- FLE (French as a Foreign Language) courses for non-French-speaking students who wish to learn French;
- “Wording Lab,” a creative workshop on language, alternating between studying works and exercises in creating texts and videos.
Preparing art schools
International art schools
In 2024, 92% of students in the international art preparatory program at Atelier de Sèvres passed at least one entrance competition for a prestigious school abroad, including:
- HEAD de Genève
- Design Academy Eindhoven
- Gerrit Rietveld d’Amsterdam
- KABK Académie royale des beaux-arts de La Haye
- Central Saint Martins de Londres
- Universities of the Arts in London and Great Britain
Art schools in France
The curriculum, taught in English, also allows students to enroll in schools in France, including:
- School of Decorative Arts, Paris
- School of Fine Arts, Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, or Marseille
- French Institute of Fashion
- HEAR Strasbourg and Mulhouse
- DN MADE throughout France
- Camondo
- EPSAA
How can I join the training program?
Prerequisites:
- Hold a high school diploma or equivalent qualification.
- Application form and admission interview in person or remotely. The candidate's artistic portfolio will be taken into account, as well as their motivation, background, creativity, practices, and general knowledge. The interview will be conducted in French.
A three-step admission process:
- Submission of the application file & scheduling of an appointment: Candidates download the application form and agree on an interview date via the website, or the school will call them back to arrange one. Interviews can take place either at the school or remotely, as preferred.
- Interview: Candidates present their artistic portfolio to the admissions officer, along with their motivation, background, creativity, practices, and general knowledge. The interview is conducted in French.
- Admission: Candidates are notified of their admission after their interview. They have 15 days to return their registration form and secure their place for the upcoming school year.
Admissions remain open while places are still available.
Application deadline: Admissions are open from October 2025 to August 2026 for a September 2026 start date. Applications will be processed within a maximum of three weeks after receipt of the complete file. Registration is possible until the start date, subject to availability. By way of exception, enrollment is possible after the start date of the training course, following assessment and verification of the learner's ability to catch up on the learning already provided, within a maximum period of two months after the start of the training course.
Workshops conducive to creativity
Located in the heart of Paris, the Atelier de Sèvres provides its students with a wide range of high-end equipment and free access to spaces entirely dedicated to creativity. They can take advantage of specialized workshops in screen printing, photo/video, engraving, ceramics, construction (wood, metal, modeling), multimedia (editing, retouching, printing, publishing, binding), digital practices (3D printers, laser cutting, plotters), and sound.
