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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.

Please visit the Precollege Summer Institute Bruin Guide for more information.

ENROLLMENT is closed for 2024. 2025 programs and dates will be posted in late 2024. APPLICATIONS and ENROLLMENT will open in early 2025.  

2024 Precollege Summer Institutes

A female student in an art studio holds a paintbrush to a painting of three women.

Art Summer Institute

Closed to New Applications
Virtual
June 24, 2024 – July 6, 2024
Mandatory Housing
July 7, 2024 – July 20, 2024
Commuter
July 22, 2024 – August 2, 2024
Hone your artistic skills in areas such as painting, drawing, photography, video art, sculpture, or artistic voice. Sessions include studio work, lectures, presentations, and a final art exhibition.
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

Closed to New Applications
Mandatory Housing
June 30, 2024 – July 13, 2024
July 14, 2024 – July 27, 2024
July 28, 2024 – August 10, 2024
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.
A male student stands in a classroom holding a notebook and pen with three students sitting next to him with notebooks on their laps, one looking up at him.

Critical Thinking Summer Institute

Closed to New Applications
Virtual
July 8, 2024 – July 26, 2024
Evaluate arguments, make model decisions, and avoid reasoning traps with lectures on psychology of reasoning, foundations of deductive + inductive logic, and probability + decision theory. Media literacy and journalism workshops prepare you to write an article for publication.

Economics Summer Institute

Closed to New Applications
Virtual
June 24, 2024 – July 12, 2024
Commuter
July 15, 2024 – August 5, 2024
Expand your knowledge of critical economic issues affecting the United States and the world at one of the top-ranked economics departments in the world! Learn economic policy and analysis while building your data analysis skills.

Film and Television Summer Institute – Cinematography

Closed to New Applications
Mandatory Housing
July 7, 2024 – July 13, 2024
July 14, 2024 – July 20, 2024
July 28, 2024 – August 3, 2024
August 4, 2024 – August 10, 2024
Demystify the concepts, creativity, and technique of cinematic lighting through a combination of lectures and hands-on lighting exercises. Working on UCLA sound stages with the latest digital cinema cameras and lighting equipment, explore…
A female student stands behind a female student at a computer in a computer lab, examining her screen.

Game Lab Summer Institute

Closed to New Applications
Virtual
July 8, 2024 – July 19, 2024
Mandatory Housing
July 21, 2024 – August 3, 2024
August 4, 2024 – August 17, 2024
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

Closed to New Applications
Mandatory Housing
July 21, 2024 – July 27, 2024
July 28, 2024 – August 3, 2024
Commuter
July 22, 2024 – July 26, 2024
July 29, 2024 – August 2, 2024
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

Closed to New Applications
Mandatory Housing (Session A)
June 30, 2024 – July 20, 2024
Virtual (Session B)
July 1, 2024 – July 19, 2024
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.