DISC: Design + Innovation for Sustainable Cities
Program Dates 2025: July 7–August 8, 2025
- REGISTER for the April 15, 2025 information session
What does the city of the future look like? In our multidisciplinary DISC: Design + Innovation for Sustainable Cities program, you’ll be part of an international cohort of students exploring innovative design-based solutions to urgent issues facing our cities, including climate change, urban health, and social justice.
Through rigorous design studios, digital workshops, and seminars taught by experienced faculty and practitioners, you’ll gain the knowledge and tools to imagine the sustainable and equitable cities of tomorrow.
Program Elements
An intensive, challenging program built on four main platforms empowers you with the skills and expertise to shape our built environment.
- Seminars in Urban Innovation and Global Cities / Global Challenges provide you with a theoretical framework.
- Studio sessions and digital workshops hone your fundamental making skills and empower you to craft your own design solutions.
- Field work and site visits give you an opportunity to engage directly with the dynamic built and natural environments of the San Francisco Bay Area, using it as a living laboratory for study.
- Guest lectures expose you to some of the most renowned and forward-thinking researchers and practitioners in the Bay Area.
Student work
Students work with each other in small teams and produce a variety of designs throughout the course. View more student work, as well as other program details and photographs from the studio and field trips on the DISC 2024 blog page.
Elena Castellanos | DISC 2019
“Berkeley’s physical location and DISC’s mission challenged me to think creatively and intellectually about the design and maintenance of cities. DISC expanded my imagination of what public spaces can look like.”
Before the program
Elena was in her second year pursuing a public policy degree at Claremont McKenna when she applied for DISC to learn more about creating community-based sustainable solutions.
After the program
Elena worked in Seoul, Korea, at an urban design firm and then went on to Harvard GSD to pursue a master’s degree in urban planning.
Why DISC?
Benefits of attending DISC:
- Identify and explore the major debates around global urbanization and sustainability
- Develop a project from concept to final design
- Conceptualize and communicate your design ideas in 2D and 3D
- Collaborate on group projects with other college students passionate about design
- Connect with experienced faculty and renowned local practitioners
- Use the San Francisco Bay Area as a living laboratory for creative design
- Develop compelling materials for your design portfolio
- Earn college-level credit on an official UC Berkeley transcript
Manaka Hataoka | DISC 2019
“I thought of myself as a ‘planning’ person, rather than a ‘design’ person. During the DISC program, I surprisingly found myself being intrigued by the power of design, which eventually led me to shift my career to be more design-oriented.”
Before the program
Manaka studied urban planning as a junior at Tokyo University. She wanted to go to graduate school outside of Japan and decided to apply to DISC to explore this idea and the subject further.
After the program
Manaka finished her degree in Tokyo and then went to Harvard GSD to study landscape architecture.
Engage in excellence
After graduating from DISC, you’ll join a cohort of more than 300 program alums from 30+ countries. Many have been accepted to top graduate programs — Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Rice, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, University of Washington, Yale, UC Berkeley — poised to become thought leaders in the responsible reshaping of our built environment.
Mollye Liu | DISC 2017
“I ended up getting far more out of the program than I expected. DISC showed me that urban design is not only about drawing and creativity, but also getting closer to the public.”
Before the program
Having recently changed her major to landscape architecture, Mollye wanted to learn more about the whole-project design process.
After the program
Mollye worked for urban design and planning firms in China, then received her master’s degree in urban planning from Columbia University. During a project for the New York City mayor’s office, Mollye successfully used the methodology she learned at DISC to collect public opinions. She currently serves as a planning fellow for a community board in New York City.
Application & Admissions
The DISC program is designed for students who are currently working on their bachelor’s degree in any field. No previous design experience is necessary. We welcome and encourage international students to apply. Note: per UC Berkeley regulations, you must be 18 years or older on the first day of the program.
The online application requires an essay, a statement of intent, a current resume, and a transcript, plus an application processing fee of US$75.
We begin reviewing applications on February 1 and start sending acceptance letters about two to three weeks later. It is important that you follow the instructions in the email by the deadlines provided. Make sure to check your spam folder as well.
Dates, Deadlines & Fees
- Program Dates 2025: July 7–August 8, 2025
- Application portal for DISC 2025 opens on December 16, 2024
- March 11, 2025: virtual information session — register here
- Application priority deadline: March 30, 2025 (incl. stipend application deadline)
- April 15, 2025: virtual information session — register here
- Application deadline for international students: May 11, 2025
- Application deadline for domestic students: May 18, 2025 (also cancellation deadline for a full refund)
Please refer to the Deadlines and Fees page for more details on all dates, tuition, and fees.
Sai Narayan | DISC 2016
“I would recommend to DISC students that the first skill to develop is listening. You may have the knowledge required to understand the needs and goals of the project, but your teammates bring something unique to the table.”
Before the program
Sai received his BArch from Syracuse University after which he worked as an architect in India for one year. He found DISC through his interest in urban design.
After the program
Sai’s experience at DISC solidified his interest in urban design and led him to pursue a graduate degree in the field at Carnegie Mellon.
FACULTY
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Director, DISCGabriel Kaprielian is a designer, urbanist, and artist based in the Bay Area. With degrees in both architecture and city planning, he focuses his creative work and research on resilient cities, sustainable design, emergent technologies, and digital fabrication. He was a design fellow for Architecture for Humanity and an artist-in-residence at Autodesk’s Pier 9 Workshop in San Francisco. Gabriel has served as a lecturer at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, California College of the Arts, and UC Berkeley, and he is currently assistant professor of architecture in the Tyler School of Art at Temple University. Gabriel holds a BArch from Cal Poly and MArch and MCP degrees from UC Berkeley. -
Ghigo DitommasoCo-Founder, DISCGhigo DiTommaso was trained as an architect in Florence, Italy, where he picked up the tools of the trade while feeding a strong interest in urban history and theory. He worked in Barcelona with prominent Catalan architects on numerous award-winning projects while also conducting research at the EtsaB School of Architecture and teaching at the ESDi School of Design. Based in the Bay Area since 2010, he has been a member of the Rebar Art & Design Studio and of Gehl Studio. Ghigo holds a BArch and a MArch from the Facoltà di Architettura di Firenze, and a MSArch and PhD from EtsaBarcelona.
Not what you are looking for?
Check out our other CED Summer Programs:
- Summer Institutes, ideal for post-baccalaureate professionals who are considering a career change or applying for an advanced degree
- embARC Summer Design Academy for high school students entering 12th grade (and exceptional students entering 11th grade)
- Design + Build Bootcamp for local high school students entering 10th or 11th grade
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 on the Summer Program FAQ page.
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