embARC Summer Design Academy
Program dates 2025: July 7 – August 1, 2025
Applications for 2025 open in mid-December 2024
Spend your summer immersed in the world of architecture, urban design, and sustainable city planning on the UC Berkeley campus. embARC is an engaging college-level course that offers you 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 credit on an official UC Berkeley transcript.
Why embARC?
In this fun and challenging four-week program, you will:
- Explore architecture, urban design, and city planning as possible college majors and careers
- Develop technical and time-management skills through college-level coursework
- Work with fellow students with similar interests
- Build a design portfolio to use when applying to college
- Be exposed to public policy issues that empower you to make a real impact on your community
- Earn a certificate of completion and credit on an official UC Berkeley transcript
- Take part in building a project for a local nonprofit organization
About the Program
As an embARC student, you'll have the chance to work on realistic design projects and be a part of developing solutions to real-world urban planning issues. embARC's multidisciplinary approach provides a comprehensive framework for "placemaking."
Learn how to conceptualize and communicate design ideas in 2D and 3D through instruction in freehand sketching, drafting, model-building, and digital representation.
Presentations and talks by local professionals and Berkeley professors provide a theoretical framework for the practice and methods of environmental design. Guided discussion groups engage you in the key discourses of the discipline.
Explore how a full building physically comes together – from foundation to finishes – through multiple precedent studies and drafting exercises. Then design your own tiny house!
Engage as a stakeholder and participant in a community change process through site observations, research, and the development of an authentic urban planning question.
Prepare for technology-driven college-level design courses by building skills in digital representation with the latest software and digital tools.
True to UC Berkeley’s public mission, embARC fosters civic responsibility by partnering with a local organization to design a community improvement project. You’ll use the skills and tools learned in studios, workshops, and lectures to make a real impact on the community.
Emily Rupright
“The highlight of the program for me was the design/build project we did for the campus food bank, building a bike attachment for a mobile market. This inspired me to think about how design work can be fun as well as make an impact in the community.”
What led you to embARC?
I became interested in embARC when trying to decide if I wanted to apply to architecture school for college. It was a great way for me to experience what a design education would be like and if it was right for me.
What have you done after the program?
I’m now in my senior year at Washington University in St. Louis studying architecture in the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts.
Typical Daily Schedule
- Architecture + Urban Design Studio: 9 a.m.–12 p.m. (Guest lectures on Tuesdays.)
- Workshops (Materials Exploration / Digital Design / Sustainable City Planning): 1–4 p.m.
- Extended studio time/socials: 4–6 p.m.
ATTENDANCE
embARC is a fast-paced program and important information is covered in every class. Students are expected to attend every class and be present every day for all four weeks of the program. Students who anticipate missing too much class time will not be allowed to attend the program. If it is inevitable that a student must miss a day or two in the program the student will be expected to clear the absence with their instructor ahead of time and it will be the student's responsibility to check with their instructor about making up any missed work or assignments. Any anticipated absence or tardiness must also be reported to the embARC Administrative Team at embarc@berkeley.edu.
“Thank you all for creating such a dynamic summer program. The embARC staff was nothing short of fantastic: each day they arrived fully vested with awesome energy and each week they continued to mentor and find ways to listen to, help, and motivate our son. He really enjoyed learning what led the local architect guest speaker to become a designer. He also enjoyed meeting and working with students from around the Bay Area, country, and globe. He gained new perspectives, experiences, and insights. He felt connected.”
— Parent of embARC student
Eligibility
- High school students who will be rising seniors ( entering 12th grade). We will also consider accepting exceptional rising high schools juniors (entering 11th grade).
- Students must be least 16 years old by June 30, 2025*
- GPA of 3.0 or higher
- No prior design experience required
*Per UC Berkeley policy, we cannot make any exceptions or provide a waiver to the age requirement. You must be 16 years old by June 30 to participate in the program. If you do not meet the age requirement by June 30, please consider applying to the program for summer 2026. If you are local and under 16, you may want to consider attending our Design + Build Bootcamp.
To Apply
Program dates 2025: July 7–August 1, 2025
To be considered for the program, you must submit the following by the application deadline:
- Completed embARC online application with essay.
- $75 application fee (2024).
- High school transcripts that include all grades from 9th grade through the fall semester preceding your application.
- Letter of recommendation from a high school guidance counselor, teacher, principal or community leader.
International students should check this web page for additional requirements.
Deadlines & Fees 2024
March 11, 2024: Deadline for embARC priority application, embARC scholarship application, and embARC housing application.
April 15, 2024: Final embARC application deadline (if space is still available). NOTE: scholarships and housing cannot be offered after the March 11 deadline.
Commute or Choose Campus Housing
COMMUTER : Students who live locally, within 45 minutes of the UC Berkeley campus, may opt to commute to embARC as a day program. Also, domestic students who live outside the local Bay Area, who do not require a visa/I-20 or campus housing, and plan to stay with a parent or extended family in the area, may apply to the embARC program.
Students are allowed to stay with an adult family member residing in the San Francisco Bay Area while attending the program. Students must stay with responsible adult relatives that are able to provide care, shelter, meals, and supervision to the student for the duration of the program. Please note: embARC participants are not permitted to stay in co-ops, homestays, or other housing arrangements that are with non-family members. Students found in violation of this policy will be immediately dismissed from the program.
CAMPUS HOUSING: Domestic and visiting international high school students who live outside the Bay Area and require a visa/I-20 or accommodation support must request on campus housing. Residential students stay in Stern Hall, which offers both traditional residence hall rooms and suite-style accommodations. Stern Hall is within walking distance of Bauer Wurster Hall, where the embARC classes take place.
IMPORTANT: The number of residential students we can accommodate in the embARC program is limited. If you wish to live on campus, you must be 16-17 years old by June 30, 2025, and request housing by the posted deadline indicated on our website’s Deadlines & Fees page. The cost of housing is a separate fee and not included in the embARC tuition. Housing costs include three meals per day.
Faculty
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have questions? Read more about Applications & Admissions, Program Cost & Financial Support, Course Credit, How to Prepare, Housing & Transportation, Cancellation & Withdrawal, After the Program, embARC, embARC Housing, embARC studio on the Summer Program FAQ page.
Connect with CED Summer Programs
- Sign up for our mailing list to receive reminders and updates
- Specific questions about embARC? Email us: embARC (at) berkeley.edu