Develop your skills to create sophisticated architectural projects
Form the basis of a robust design portfolio with intensive design exercises
The UCLA Department of Architecture and Urban Design offers a four-week program that allows individuals contemplating careers in architecture, design, and related fields to explore architectural education. This immersive program, carrying 6 quarter units of UC credit, is structured around the experience of a design studio typically offered within the curricula of graduate programs. Intensive design exercises using the latest computer-aided techniques in 3D modeling lead to complex and sophisticated architectural projects that ultimately conform a robust basis for applications to graduate programs. The JumpStart Summer Institute is open to all majors.
JumpStart Summer Institute – Introduction to Architecture Program Overview
The program will introduce students to basic architectural design principles and problem-solving. Students will learn to control point, line, surface, and volume to shape spaces for human use. Visual analysis will be introduced as a tool for discussing and understanding organization. The techniques of repetition, variation, order, scale, and rhythm will be implemented within this program. Students will use case study analysis to uncover disciplinary issues within a design problem and then produce an individual solution.
The curriculum will consist of two assignments. The first will focus on the material morphology and transformation from analog material to a tectonic organization of an object. The second will focus on the spatial morphology, leading from conceptual diagrams to a spatial organization. Students will learn to address conceptual concerns with material solutions documented in two and three dimensions. Emphasis will be placed on physical and digital modeling and measured orthographic and axonometric drawings.
The digital modeling component within Design Studio will introduce students to techniques of spatial representation as it relates to architectural design. Students will learn how to communicate using two- and three-dimensional drawings and models. Two-dimensional drawing techniques will include orthographic projection and parallel projection. Three-dimensional modeling will be introduced as an extension of these regulating projection systems, enforcing rigorous construction of complex and curvilinear forms.
All drawing will be executed in a digital environment, primarily using Rhinoceros 3D, or “Rhino.” Rhino is a software package that can accommodate both two- and three-dimensional work, as well as provide an introduction to the commands and capacities of other industry-standard modeling and drawing environments including AutoCAD, Maya, and 3D Studio.
For questions about the program curriculum, please contact summer@aud.ucla.edu.
Coursework
Architecture & Urban Design 103; 6 units
Grading Basis
Students will receive a letter grade upon completion. See University Credit, Grades and Transcripts for more information about academic credit.
In order to successfully complete the program, students must not have more than 3 excused or unexcused absences.
International students may enroll in the JumpStart Summer Institute. International students enrolling in this program may qualify for an F-1 visa.
More information for international students attending Summer Sessions can be found here.
Program Dates: June 22 – July 17, 2026
Program Type: Open enrollment/ In-Person
Program Eligibility: High school diploma (or equivalent)
Application Deadline: June 12, 2026 (5 pm PT)
Enrollment Deadline: June 19, 2026 (12 pm PT)
The schedule and syllabus are subject to change. Enrolled students will be given updated materials closer to the program start date.
Fees and Payment Info
The program fee includes the unit fees for the UCLA coursework offered as part of the program and thus varies by UC student status. In addition to the program fee, students are assessed other campus and administrative fees during the summer. This is a summary of fees that commonly apply to the selected student type.
Actual tuition and fees are subject to change by the University of California. Visit the fees, payment, and financial aid section for important disclaimer, as well as more details on fees, payment instructions, and information on delinquency, refunds, and financial aid.
Meet your instructors
Julia Koerner
Associate Adjunct Professor and Director, Summer ProgramsJulia Koerner is an award-winning Austrian designer, innovator, and pioneer in 3D printing, with exemplary cross-disciplinary work. Koerner has been sought after for collaborations that include 3D-printed costumes with Ruth E. Carter for Marvel’s “Black Panther” and “Wakanda Forever,” earning two Academy Awards. Prior to that, she collaborated with Iris Van Herpen and Chanel on 3D-printed Haute Couture. Furthermore, she has developed research on innovative uses of 3D printing with Swarovski, Stratasys, and Materialise. She is internationally recognized for design innovation in 3D printing and recently was awarded for her architectural design for ICON’s 3d-printed affordable housing Initiative 99.
Koerner has been a faculty member at UCLA Architecture and Urban Design since 2012 and teaches graduate design studios, building construction, and research studios. Her research studio “Fit For the Future: Sustainable 3D printed building facades” has been widely published. Since 2021, she has been the Director of UCLA AUD Summer Programs TeenArch and JumpStart.
Koerner’s work has been acquired and exhibited at institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (MET), the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Phoenix Museum of Art, the Vancouver Art Gallery, the MOMU in Antwerp, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, Museum of Applied Arts MAK Vienna, and Ars Electronica. Her designs have been featured in National Geographic magazine, Vice, Wired, Dezeen, Architectural Digest, Metropolis, and the New York Times. Her peer-reviewed architectural research has been published in Springer Construction Journal, Robotic Fabrication in Architecture, Art and Design, Acadia Conference, and AAE Conference, among others. In 2019 ARCHINECT named Julia Koerner “Architecture’s Queen of 3D Fabrication”.
Koerner is the founder of JK Design and JK3D, focused on iconic, sustainable, and innovative 3D-printed architecture, installations, fashion, and home decor products. Her design work constantly embodies a beautiful organic aesthetic and leverages the unique capabilities of architectural design processes and digital fabrication to their fullest potential.
Born in Salzburg, Austria, Koerner received master’s degrees in architecture from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and the Architectural Association in London. She is based in Los Angeles and Vienna, and has previously practiced in London and New York and held academic appointments at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Lund University in Sweden and the Architectural Association Visiting Schools in France and Jordan.
She serves on the Creative Industries Council of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy of Austria as part of the “Innovation Program for the Creative Industries 2030.”
Morgane Copp
Lecturer and Associate Director, Summer ProgramsMorgane Copp is a French-American architectural designer based in San Francisco & Los Angeles. She holds a BArch from the University of Nottingham and an MArch I from UCLA AUD, where she graduated with distinction. She has taught at UC Berkeley, UCLA AUD, California College of Arts (CCA), as well as served as Associate Director of the AUD Summer Programs since 2021. Copp has been a critic at UCLA AUD, USC, USD, CCA, and UC Berkeley. Her work and research explore the transformation of architectural types and images—understood both as constructed mediums and as reflections of cultural identity and value through the built form. Her current work questions the architect’s position within inherited conditions, seeking opportunities between structures and rethinking preservation as an active, transformative practice.
Copp has practiced architecture internationally in Athens, New York, Basel, San Diego, and Los Angeles, at offices including Herzog & de Meuron and Rob Wellington Quigley Architects. She has worked on a wide array of typologies and scales, ranging from high-end commercial towers to affordable housing projects in California. Copp is now Project Designer at Young & Ayata, leading projects including renovations at The MET, an Agriculture Institute in South Korea, and a Norway winery.
JumpStart Summer Institute – Introduction to Architecture FAQ
No, previous knowledge is not required. This is an introduction to the architectural design program.
No, it is open to anyone interested in idea-driven design and design thinking.
Yes, you are welcome to bring past work to be reviewed during the portfolio workshop, which is part of the fourth week of the program. Feel free to incorporate past experiences as well as work developed as part of the Jumpstart program in the development of your portfolio.
Yes, students should have the following materials and software to successfully complete the program:
- Laptop (not macbook air or chromebook)
- Computer mouse
- Paper
- Pencils
- Cutting mat
- X-acto knife
- Paper Glue
- Ruler
- Tape
- Software: Trial version Rhino.
Still have questions? Check out the general Summer Institutes FAQ.