Architecture & Design Summer Programs at UC Berkeley: Application for Summer 2025 is now open!

UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design offers two engaging summer programs for rising 10th through 12th graders, providing a unique hands-on opportunity to explore architecture and design. Programs fill up quickly, so apply early!

• embARC Summer Design Academy - July 7 – August 1, 2025 - for 16 and 17-year-olds entering 11th and 12th grade, commuter and overnight options available 
• Design + Build Bootcamp - July 14-25, 2025 - for 15 through 17-year-olds entering 10th and 11th grade 

embARC Summer Design Academy is a four-week college-level program that offers rising high school juniors and seniors the chance to study at the top-ranked public university for architecture and the built environment alongside students from all over the world. Challenging design assignments, one-on-one reviews with instructors, field trips around the Bay Area, and a design/build project for a community nonprofit introduce you to the skills, ideas, and culture of an environmental design education. You'll leave the program with a strong portfolio for your college applications in any area of environmental design and college credit on an official UC Berkeley transcript.

In the two-week Design + Build Bootcamp, young high schoolers imagine, design, and build a mini golf course using state-of-the-art tools in the College of Environmental Design’s wood and metal shop and digital fabrication lab. You will work with a small team to create one mini golf hole. Get creative with themed environments, tunnels, bridges, buildings, windmills, tubes, ramps, characters, and other engaging elements and obstacles. 

Both programs offer the opportunity to explore various aspects of design and develop skills in conceptualizing and communicating ideas in 2D and 3D, all while collaborating with like-minded students.

This coming summer, join us at UC Berkeley for a transformational learning experience, guided by expert instructors and professionals, to discover how design can shape your future.