Bring stories to life through design
A rare opportunity to examine the process of costume design from script to performance.
The Design Innovation Summer Institute in Costume Design is a UC credit-bearing intensive for students interested in costume design for theater, film, and television. This program provides opportunities to work with our distinguished faculty in classes such as Costume 101, Introduction to Costume Sketching, Silhouette, Sculpture and Costume Design for Theater, Film and Television. The combination of these courses will allow students to use the training to bring stories to life through their designs. Participants will learn the technical components of breaking down a script and the art of collaboration with directors while gaining hands-on experience in research, sketching costumes, and creating mood boards and color palettes.
The three-week version of this institute (Costume Design+, Session A) offers training in both costume design and the world of shoemaking, hair and make-up. The two-week version (Costume Design, Session B) focuses exclusively on costume design. Beyond the classroom, students will attend guest workshops with industry leaders that will teach students how to pursue costume design in film and cover portfolio preparation.
The program is designed for artists and students who seek additional discipline and training required for participation in a university theater program or a career in the entertainment industry. Participation in this institute is open to pre-college (15 years and older)students.
Admission to the program is by instructor consent. As part of the application process, each applicant must submit a resume. The resume can be uploaded during the application process.
*Please note that all levels are encouraged to apply and English language comprehension and proficiency is required for successful completion of this institute.
Design Innovation Summer Institute – Costume Program Overview
Application deadline: June 6, 2025 | Enrollment deadline: June 13, 2025 (Session A); July 4, 2025 (Session B)
Applications are reviewed and admission to the program is granted on a rolling basis starting February 15th. Applying at your earliest convenience, prior to June 6th, is highly recommended.
Admission to the program is by digital audition and instructor consent.
Applicants who successfully submit all requirements will be reviewed and notified via email of an admission decision within 3 weeks. Please note that all levels are encouraged to apply.
Applicants are required to provide the following during the online registration process:
- An unofficial transcript from grade 9 to present reflecting a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher
- If your school transcript utilizes a different grading system, please submit your transcript as is. If available, please attach a translation/equivalency guide.
- INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: If you are an international student, a transcript refers to your complete secondary academic record. To learn more about converting your grades into a US-based GPA, please click here.
- If your school has a translation/equivalency guide, please also include it with your transcript. If you do not have a translation/equivalency guide, please still submit your most up-to-date transcript as is for staff to review.
- Value statement: At the time of registration, ALL applicants will be prompted to submit a few short sentences reflecting on their pursuit of participation in a UCLA Precollege Summer Institute. Please note that students are strongly discouraged from relying on ChatGpt/AI tools for their application responses and are encouraged to submit original and authentic answers.
- In 400 words, how do you describe your passion for costume design?
- A resume (if you do not have a resume, submit a brief description of your theatrical and/or artistic experience).
The resume can be uploaded as a word or pdf file during the application process.
The Design Innovation Summer Institute in Costume Design is a residential program.
All residential precollege program tracks also feature scheduled non-curricular evening and weekend activities that all residential students are expected to participate in. The nature of these scheduled activities is at the sole discretion of the individual academic department offering the program, and are not operated by UCLA Summer Sessions. To learn more about when your selected program will host such activities, please consult the schedules for each program, or contact the department in question directly: dadams@tft.ucla.edu
Most of our residential precollege programs will hold check-in on the Sunday before the start of the program between 4-6pm, and hold check-out the Saturday after the final day of class at 11am. Please contact the department in question directly to confirm check-in and check-out times: dadams@tft.ucla.edu
For more information on UCLA housing precollege programs, please see the Housing for Minors page.
Coursework
Theater Production and Practice 72:
Session A: 4 units
Session B: 3 units
Grading
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 2 excused or unexcused absences.
UCLA Summer Sessions Summer Scholars Support
Qualified students attending grades 9th – 11th in Spring 2025 in the state of California may be eligible for Summer Scholars Support, a need- and merit-based scholarship offered by the UCLA Summer Sessions Office. Students must be 15 years old by the first day of Summer Sessions 2025 on June 23rd in order to participate in a Precollege Summer Institute and/or apply for Summer Scholars Support. A limited number of full and partial scholarships are available to support enrollment in SCIP/eSCIP, one Summer Course, or a Precollege Summer Institute.
Summer 2025 deadline to apply: March 15.
Costume Design+ (Session A): June 22, 2025 – July 12, 2025
Costume Design (Session B): July 13, 2025 – July 26, 2025
Program Type: Residential
Program Eligibility: 9th-12th grade in Spring 2025*
Application deadline: June 6, 2025
Enrollment deadline:
- Session A: June 13, 2025
- Session B: July 4, 2025
*All participants must be at least 15 years of age by the first day of Summer Sessions 2025 on June 23rd, no exceptions allowed.
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. The program fee also includes the cost of UCLA Housing (for residential programs). 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.
SESSION B PROGRAM FEES:
The program fees listed in the selection are for the Session A version only. The following are the program fees for the Session B version.
- High School Student = TBD
- Incoming UCLA Student = TBD
- Incoming UC Student = TBD
All other fees listed will remain the same for the Session B version.
Meet your instructors
Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko
InstructorChrisi Karvonides-Dushenko has more than 25 years of experience as a professional costume designer in theater, film and television.
In 2003, she received an Emmy for her costume design work on NBC’s American Dreams. She was also Emmy-nominated for FX’s American Horror Story, and HBO’s Carnivàle and From the Earth to the Moon (produced by Tom Hanks). She was nominated for four Costume Designers Guild Awards during five seasons of HBO’s Big Love. In addition, Carnivàle, From the Earth to the Moon and the pilot for ABC’s Pan Am were also nominated for CDG awards. Her other TV credits include Alan Ball’s HBO series Here and Now, starring Tim Robbins and Holly Hunter; and the Starz TV series Blunt Talk, starring Patrick Stewart. Karvonides-Dushenko’s feature films include The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (2008), The Glass House (2001) and Beautiful (2000).
Her theatrical designs have been featured in productions at the Old Globe Theater, Geffen Playhouse, South Coast Repertory, Seattle Repertory, Guthrie Theater and the Kennedy Center. On Broadway, she designed the costumes of August Wilson’s production Two Trains Running.
Karvonides-Dushenko’s designs for opera include Alcina in Karlsruhe, Germany; Proving Up for Opera Omaha; The Human Voice and Breaking the Waves (based on the 1996 Lars Von Tier film) for Opera Philadelphia; and Iphigenia in Tauris for Teatro National San Carlo in Lisbon, Portugal.
She has given guest lectures on the art of costume design around the world including in Prague, Czech Republic; Cardiff, Wales; and New York City. In Summer 2018, she conducted a week-long seminar in Lecce, Italy.
Karvonides-Dushenko received her M.F.A. in theater design from Yale School of Drama and her B.F.A. from Emerson College.
Shoshana Rubin
ProfessorShoshana Rubin has been working on film and television productions in the costume department for over twenty years. For the last ten years, she has spent more of her time working to educate young folks who are interested in the art and craft of costume design. Meanwhile, she earned a Masters of Arts in Education at Loyola University a few years ago while raising her young family. Her adventures began as a young child fascinated with the idea of creating characters through the use of costumes, thus helping to facilitate the telling of their stories. After finishing a Bachelors in Fine Arts at the University of Michigan she dove right into work on feature films in the costume department and has not turned back. Not only has she worked on feature films, but also television, and commercials as a shopper, set costumer, costume supervisor, and a costume designer. Most recently, she has spent her time teaching summer programs for High School students at UCLA and costume design classes for college students at Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. In addition to her love of costumes, she enjoys crafting, baking, yoga, and spending time with her family and two dogs.
Alex Jaeger
InstructorAlex Jaeger is a costume designer, fashion designer and celebrity stylist working across the U.S. He received a B.F.A in fashion design from Massachusetts College of Art and an M.F.A in costume design from U.C.L.A. He is also an educator having taught design, illustration, drawing and costume history at F.I.D.M, University of Nevada and currently at U.C.L.A. Alex is also a former NEA/TCG designer fellow. His costume designs have been seen in major theaters across the country. His fashion designs have been sold in major department stores and have been showcased in popular fashion magazines such as Vogue, G.Q., WWD, Details and Rolling Stone. To see a full resume and production photos, please visit www.alexjaegerdesign.com
Lynn Bathke
InstructorLynn Ellen Bathke is a costume and textile art conservator, shoemaker, and teacher. She is currently working as the costume conservator and mount design specialist for the Obama Foundation’s Presidential Center, opening in Fall 2025. She has taught at the high school, undergraduate, and graduate level. She received her BFA from The School of the Art institute of Chicago and her MFA in Textile Conservation from the Textile Conservation Center, University of Southampton.
Lynn taught Fashion Design and Construction at LACHSA, Los Angeles County High School of the Arts. She has taught costume and shoemaking courses at UCLA, School of TFT, and Woodbury University. She established her custom footwear label Bathke Bespoke in 2017, and continues to teach shoemaking and textile arts privately. Lynn’s conservation projects have ranged from Taiwan’s beloved Formosa Republic Flag to some of Hollywood’s most iconic costumes. She has worked with museum costume and textile collections throughout Los Angeles, including LACMA, Skirball Cultural Center, FIDM, and The Academy Museum of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Design Innovation Summer Institute – Costume Design FAQ
We welcome students of all levels; however, students should have a strong interest and a desire to learn costume design.
- Computer &/or tablet
- Sketchbook (11×14)
- 2 pencils or drawing pencil set with a variety (Amazon)
- Watercolor Paper Pad (11 x 15) (Yellow Strathmore pads)
- Tracing Paper Pad (11 x 15)
- Watercolor Paint Brushes – (synthetic is fine) 4 brushes – round, flat, large brush, chisel brush
- Watercolors – 10 Tube Set / Reeves watercolors
- Drafting Tape
Still have questions? Check out the general Summer Institutes FAQ.