embARC Summer Design Academy
PROGRAM DATES: JULY 6–31, 2026
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 college credit on an official UC Berkeley transcript and receive a certificate of completion
- Take part in building a project for a local nonprofit organization
About embARC
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. View Community Build projects.
“The highlight of the program for me was the design and 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. 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. Currently, I’m studying architecture at Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.
Typical Daily Schedule
Typical schedule includes:
- Architecture + Urban Design Studio: 9 a.m.–12 p.m., Guest lectures on Tuesdays
- Workshops in Materials Exploration, Digital Design, and Sustainable City Planning: 1–4 p.m.
- Extended studio time / socials: 4–6 p.m.
embARC is a fast-paced program, and important information is covered in every class. Students are expected to attend all classes and be present every day for the full four weeks of the program. Students who anticipate missing too much class time will not be allowed to participate in the program. If it is unavoidable that a student must miss a day or two of the program, the student will be expected to clear the absence with their instructor in advance. It is also the student’s responsibility to check with their instructor about making up missed work or assignments. Any anticipated absence or tardiness must additionally be reported to the embARC Administrative Team by emailing 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.”
Eligibility
- High school students who will be rising seniors (entering 12th grade) and exceptional rising high school juniors (entering 11th grade).
- Students must be at least 16 years old by July 5, 2026*
- GPA of 3.0 or higher
- No prior design experience is required
*Per UC Berkeley policy, we cannot make any exceptions or provide a waiver to the age requirement. You must be 16 by July 5, 2026, to participate in the program. If you do not meet the age requirement by July 5th, please consider applying to the program for summer 2027.
To Apply
Program dates: July 6–31, 2026
To be considered for the program, you must submit the following by the application deadline:
- Completed embARC online application with essay
- $82 application processing fee
- 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. The letter should address your academic achievements, work ethic, intellect, creativity, professional goals, and/or ability to succeed in a rigorous pre-college program.
- International students should check this web page for additional requirements
For updates and reminders, sign up for our mailing list.
Dates, Deadlines & Fees*
- Priority application deadline: February 17, 2026 (11:59 PM Pacific Time) – this is the final application deadline for financial aid and housing
- Cancellation deadline for a full refund: March 15, 2026
- Final application deadline for commuter students: April 1, 2026 (11:59 PM Pacific Time) – Note: the program may fill up before this deadline.
- Total program tuition: Domestic Student – U.S. $5,193 // International Student – U.S. $8,233 – a few need-based scholarships are available. The total program tuition includes Summer Session fees.
- The additional fee for embARC campus housing is U.S. $5,300 and includes meals.
- Please refer to the Deadlines and Fees page for more details on all dates, tuition, scholarship information, and fees.
(*Dates, deadlines, and fees may be subject to change.)
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. 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 as a commuter student. Students who will be 18 years old by July 5, 2026, may attend only as commuter students.
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 who are able to provide care, shelter, meals, and supervision 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/or require a visa/I-20 or accommodation support must request on-campus housing. Residential students stay in Stern Hall, which offers traditional residence hall rooms. Stern Hall is within walking distance of Bauer Wurster Hall, where the embARC classes take place.
Please note: 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 July 5, 2026, 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. Students who will be 18 years old by July 5, 2026, cannot stay in embARC campus housing.
Faculty
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Program Coordinator, embARC Summer Design Academy + Lecturer in City & Regional PlanningKim Suczynski Smith is principal at PYATOK, where she contributes her holistic, multidisciplinary perspective and interest in education to the firm’s most complex projects, including the Balboa Reservoir Master Plan and Blocks C and D in San Francisco, the multiphase Paradise Creek affordable housing project in National City, and Jones Berkeley Market-Rate TOD on San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley. She is currently overseeing the construction in Santa Rosa, California, of the Caritas Village Navigation Center, an innovative, three-story health services hub for people experiencing homelessness. She guides PYATOK Architecture ’s equity and community outreach programs, including its Diversity Fellowship through UC Berkeley. -
Aly ArdFabrication and Build Lead, embARC Summer Design AcademyAly Ard is a designer and fabricator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is currently the shop director at CrunchLabs, a STEM toy company. Aly studied architecture at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where she discovered her love for hands-on fabrication on the human scale. She allows her architecture background, fabrication experience, and desire to explore all materials (new and discarded) to influence and drive designs. Every project is an opportunity to work with new people and ideas, and find creative solutions that make the world around us better.
Contact
Specific questions about embARC? Email us: embarc@berkeley.edu
Not what you are looking for?
Check out our other CED Summer Programs:
- DISC: Design + Innovation for Sustainable Cities – primarily designed for current college students
- Summer Institute – ideal for post-baccalaureate professionals who are considering a career change or applying for an advanced degree
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 Programs FAQ page.
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