Cultivating Global Innovators Where Tradition Meets Tomorrow.
Located in the heart of the 15th arrondissement of Paris, the Paris International College of Art (PICA) is a unique full-time academic institution offering rigorous programmes at High School, Undergraduate, and Postgraduate levels. We challenge and inspire students to transcend conventional boundaries, fostering a dynamic confluence of artistic expression, rigorous scientific inquiry, and astute economic understanding. PICA is where your future self takes shape, defined by excellence and global relevance.
Our Interdisciplinary Academic Framework
PICA’s curriculum is deliberately structured to bridge the often-separate worlds of Art, STEM, and Economics. Our integrated approach ensures graduates are not merely specialists but polymathic thinkers, equipped to address complex global challenges with creativity and analytical rigour across all educational stages.
Fine Arts and Digital Futures
This discipline integrates classical artistic practice with cutting-edge digital media and interactive design. The rigorous curriculum covers drawing, sculpture, and painting, simultaneously exploring virtual reality, generative art, and creative coding to prepare artists for the evolving global creative economy.
Architecture and Sustainable Design
Focusing on the synthesis of aesthetic vision and environmental responsibility, this programme investigates advanced architectural theory, urban planning, and material science. Students engage with life-cycle assessment and ecological design principles to innovate resilient, functional, and beautiful built environments.
Communication Design and Strategy
A deep dive into visual communication, branding, and user experience (UX/UI) design, underpinned by semiotics and consumer psychology. The curriculum emphasises strategic thinking, typography, motion graphics, and narrative construction for persuasive and impactful communication across diverse media platforms.
Computational Science and Creative Technology
This highly quantitative discipline merges advanced mathematics and computer science with creative problem-solving. It covers data structures, artificial intelligence, and physical computing, challenging students to develop novel technological tools and applications within an ethical and artistic context.
Fashion Design and Luxury Management
An exploration of garment construction, textile innovation, and the business of high fashion, integrating artistic sensibility with supply chain mastery. Students study cultural history, brand equity, and sustainable practices in the luxury sector, culminating in a comprehensive portfolio and business plan.
Global Economics and Cultural Policy
This programme rigorously examines macroeconomic theory, international trade, and the financial frameworks that shape the global creative economy. It concurrently explores the role of cultural institutions and policy in driving innovation, economic growth, and societal well-being in a transnational context.
Signature Disciplines: Our Distinctive Edge
PICA is particularly recognised for programmes that uniquely leverage our Parisian location and our commitment to interdisciplinary excellence. These signature disciplines represent the forefront of innovation, attracting both top-tier faculty and highly ambitious students from around the globe.
Architecture and Sustainable Design
- Direct engagement with UNESCO heritage sites and leading European urban planners.
- Studio projects focused on sustainable Parisian and Francophone urban renewal.
- Access to PICA’s Material Innovation Lab with state-of-the-art testing facilities.
Fashion Design and Luxury Management
- Guaranteed internships and masterclasses with major Paris-based luxury houses.
- Final collections debuted at a curated Paris Fashion Week-adjacent event.
- Curriculum co-developed with leading industry executives focused on brand strategy.
“At PICA, we don’t just teach the future; we design it. Our mission is to ensure every student leaves Paris not just with a qualification, but with the intellectual courage to challenge the status quo, the empathy to connect disciplines, and the creative fluency to lead meaningful change in a world that desperately needs both rigour and imagination.”
Annie Swinton
College President
The PICA Pulse: Creativity in Motion
Beyond the Louvre. Beyond Logic. Your Paris Story Begins Now.
our application to PICA is the first step towards a transformative educational experience. We seek exceptional individuals—those who see the world not as it is, but as it could be. Our admissions process is holistic, valuing not only academic excellence but also the unique portfolio, curiosity, and interdisciplinary mindset you bring to our diverse community.