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Precollege Summer Institutes

Earn college credit while advancing your skills in an area of study

Overhead shot of students working together in a classroom on a project.

Where classroom knowledge meets real-world experience

As the only official academic precollege programs offered by UCLA, Precollege Summer Institutes provide motivated and driven high school students the opportunity to earn college credit in one to three weeks while advancing their academic career and abilities in an area of study of their interest.

Through co-curricular components including hands-on projects and performances, field visits, and guest lectures, students receive a comprehensive and immersive study of their chosen subject that goes beyond classroom instruction. Our Precollege Summer Institutes are open to high school students from around the world. We invite you to join our diverse and inclusive UCLA community full of respect, ideas, and optimism.

Registration opens on February 15. Please visit the Precollege Summer Institute Bruin Guide for more information. If you would like to stay informed about Summer 2025 programming, you may sign up for updates.

All participants in Precollege Summer Institutes must be at least 15 years of age (or 17 for residential sessions) by the first day of Summer Sessions 2025 on June 23rd, no exceptions allowed.

For information regarding the UCLA Emerging Filmmakers programs for high school students offered through the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television, please visit their program website. Please note that these programs are neither affiliated with nor operated by UCLA Summer Sessions.

2025 Precollege Summer Institutes

A female student looks at a camera that's facing another female student as the subject, with the subject visible in the camera's preview screen.

Camera Acting Summer Institute

Commuter
June 22, 2025 – July 3, 2025
Residential
July 20, 2025 – August 2, 2025
Learn the process of relating to the camera lens and approaches to understanding a script to prepare for and connect in an audition. You’ll learn the technical components of acting for the camera while writing and filming your own content, including self-tapes.
Overhead view of seven students working at a large table covered with colored paper, notebooks, rulers and other art supplies

Design Media Arts Summer Institute

Residential
July 6, 2025 – July 19, 2025
Commuter
July 7, 2025 – July 18, 2025
Virtual
July 21, 2025 – August 1, 2025
Step into the world of media arts and learn the fundamentals of design within the mediums of graphic, web, game, and audio-visual media. Develop projects and build portfolios using cutting-edge software and technology.
A female student stands behind a female student at a computer in a computer lab, examining her screen.

Game Lab Summer Institute

Virtual
July 7, 2025 – July 18, 2025
Residential
July 20, 2025 – August 2, 2025
Commuter
July 21, 2025 – August 1, 2025
Create games and game art that express a personal artistic vision through technological expertise. Learn the foundations of game aesthetics, context, and genres in the game development process.
A student working on a piece of machinery as an instructor overlooks.

Nanoscience Lab Summer Institute

Residential
July 20, 2025 – July 26, 2025
Commuter
July 21, 2025 – July 25, 2025
In collaboration with the California NanoSystems Institute, explore technologies and diverse topics of bio-toxicity, supercapacitors, and photolithography. Designed for students with a strong science foundation in chemistry, physics, and biology.

TeenArch Studio Summer Institute

Residential
June 29, 2025 – July 19, 2025
Commuter
June 30, 2025 – July 18, 2025
Virtual
June 30, 2025 – July 18, 2025
Experience the field of architecture through hands-on design projects, landmark buildings, and LA based architectural offices. Develop your design skills in a studio environment while creating an architecture portfolio.
Four students posing in front of the Bruin bear. All four students are imitating the Bruin bear by posing with their mouths open and arms out.

Scholarship opportunities available for California high school students

Qualified students attending grades 8th – 11th in Spring 2020 in California are eligible for Summer Scholars Support, a need and merit based scholarship offered by the UCLA Summer Sessions Office. A limited number of full and partial scholarships are available.