15 In-person Architecture Programs for High School Students
- Stephen Turban
- 2 hours ago
- 9 min read
If you are interested in architecture and want to explore it seriously before committing to a major, in-person programs can be an excellent option. They offer structured exposure to studio work, design thinking, and architectural critique. Architecture is a discipline best understood through practice. Sketching concepts, building models, and presenting ideas in critiques require more than reading about design principles. That is why in-person programs are especially valuable. Being physically present in a studio environment allows you to experience the pace, expectations, and collaborative nature of architectural work.
Why should I participate in an in-person architecture program in high school?
An in-person architecture program gives you early exposure to studio-based learning. You may work on design projects, receive feedback during critiques, and learn how ideas evolve through revision. This helps you understand whether you are comfortable with iterative design, visual communication, and constructive criticism. An architecture program can also strengthen your college applications by giving you portfolio pieces that show deep engagement and technical growth.
Without further ado, here are 15 in-person architecture programs for high school students!
Location: BSA Space, Boston, MA
Cost: Free (stipend provided after participation)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: February 17–20
Application Deadline: January–February (via Boston PIC)
Eligibility: 9th–12th grade students enrolled in Boston Public Schools
Arch Design Thinking Week – Boston Society for Architecture takes place over four days in Boston and is open to Boston Public Schools students in grades 9 through 12. You work inside BSA Space, which functions as a temporary design studio during the February break. Local architects will guide you through a design prompt that involves sketching, physical model-making, and presenting your ideas. The structure mirrors a short studio cycle, where you develop a concept and refine it through feedback. Participating firms include Finegold Alexander Architects and Goody Clancy. A stipend is provided after completion.
Location: Oxford, Cambridge, Singapore, Sydney, Toronto, and Boston
Cost: Varies; financial aid available
Application Deadline: Multiple summer cohorts; rolling admissions.
Program Dates: 2 weeks during the summer
Eligibility: Students aged 13-18 currently enrolled in middle or high school
The Academic Insights Program lets high school students experience university life firsthand. You will live on campus and study in small groups of 7-10, and learn from tutors from eminent top universities like Oxford and Cambridge. You can explore a wide range of subjects, spanning over 20 options, including Architecture, AI, Business Management, Computer Science, Economics, Medicine, Philosophy, and more. The courses are experiential and focus on hands-on learning. You may find yourself conducting dissections in medicine, designing a robotic arm in engineering, participating in a moot court for law, or building creative writing portfolios and business case studies. By the end of the program, you’ll complete a personal project, receive written feedback, and receive a certificate of completion. You can find more details about the application here.
Location: Chicago, IL
Cost: Free (stipend provided; paid internship in final summer)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: There is no information available
Dates: June 22–May 8
Application Deadline: March 31
Eligibility: Incoming sophomores, juniors, and seniors who attend high school in Chicago or the surrounding area
Teen Fellows is a 15-month, intensive architecture and design program run by the Chicago Architecture Center for Chicago-area high school students. Through a mix of summer and academic-year programming, you’ll build foundational architecture skills while taking college courses at Harold Washington College and earning credits through City Colleges of Chicago. The program combines studio projects, physical model-making, and digital design using industry-standard software like AutoCAD, Rhino, Revit, and Adobe tools. You’ll also explore Chicago’s built environment through site visits and firm tours, helping you connect design ideas to real places and communities.
Location: Boston, MA
Cost: Paid internship
Acceptance rate/cohort size: There is no information available
Dates: July 6–August 14
Application Deadline: February (via Boston PIC)
Eligibility: 9th–12th grade students enrolled in Boston Public Schools
The Arch/Design High School Internship is a six-week, paid summer program run by the Boston Society for Architecture that places Boston Public School students at local architecture firms. You’ll work Monday through Thursday at a host firm, gaining firsthand exposure to architectural practice while contributing to real projects and office workflows. The experience is complemented by a BSA-led “Summer Fridays” series, where you’ll tour architectural, cultural, and historical sites across Boston and connect with peers placed at other firms. Internships are offered through a long-standing partnership with the Boston Private Industry Council and are part of the City of Boston’s Mayor’s Summer Jobs Program, meaning you’re paid for your time.
Location: Sasaki, Boston, MA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: August 14–16
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Students ages 9–14
Project Pipeline is a three-day, in-person summer design camp led by BosNOMA as part of the national Project Pipeline initiative, created for students who are interested in buildings, cities, and creative problem-solving. Over the course of the program, you’ll collaborate with architects and design professionals on drawing, model-making, brainstorming, and design exercises rooted in Boston and its neighborhoods. Through hands-on activities and close mentorship, you’re introduced to architecture and urban design in an engaging, supportive environment. A strong emphasis is placed on design as a tool for social impact, pushing you to think about how architecture can respond to urban challenges and promote more equitable communities.
Location: Berkeley, CA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 12 students per cohort
Dates: October–November (Fall); January–March (Winter); Spring session; one week in July/August (Summer)
Application Deadline: By invitation, beginning August 1
Eligibility: 9th–12th grade students with 3+ years of Girls Garage carpentry- or construction-based programming
Advanced Design Build in Berkeley is an invitation-based program for students with prior construction experience at Girls Garage. Over multiple sessions, you will work in a small cohort to design and build projects for community clients. The process includes drafting, construction documentation, carpentry, welding, and on-site fabrication. Students present their work publicly and collaborate with industry professionals. The program is free and limited to twelve participants per cohort.
Location: Berkeley, CA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 30–40% acceptance rate; 16 students per cohort
Dates: June 15–19 or June 22–26
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Rising 9th–12th grade girls and gender-expansive youth
For students eager to explore hands-on building in a collaborative, community-centered setting, the Young Women’s Design and Building Institute offers a one-week summer experience at Girls Garage. Over five days, you’ll work with a small cohort to design and construct a project for a local nonprofit, moving from early concepts to a completed installation. Along the way, you’ll learn practical maker and STEM skills, including carpentry, welding, applied math, screen printing, and architectural drafting, with no prior experience required. Daily conversations and readings around identity, making, and community help connect the building work to larger social contexts.
Location: Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Cost: $4,361 (Scholarship available to cover the full cost of the program)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: July 12–25
Application Deadline: March 31
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors in high school
The Architecture Discovery Program at Washington University in St. Louis is a two-week residential studio for rising juniors and seniors. You will spend most of your time in a design studio working through drawing exercises and small architectural projects guided by Sam Fox School faculty. Instruction covers perspective, proportion, light, shadow, and spatial relationships. Field visits to architecture firms and cultural sites in St. Louis connect studio work to built projects. Students who complete the program earn two college credits.
Location: Los Angeles, CA (on campus at Southern California Institute of Architecture)
Cost: $3,350 (Fully covered scholarships available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: There is no information available
Dates: June 15–July 10
Application Deadline: There is no information available
Eligibility: High school students
Design Immersion Days (DID) is a four-week, studio-based summer program that offers an inside look at what architecture school is really like. You’ll work in a college-level design studio environment, developing architectural proposals through sketching, drafting, physical model-making, and digital tools such as Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator, and 3D printing. The curriculum emphasizes architectural thinking across multiple scales, moving fluidly between analog and digital workflows while encouraging experimentation and critical inquiry. You’ll receive frequent feedback through one-on-one desk critiques, group pin-ups, and reviews that mirror the structure of an undergraduate architecture program.
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (on campus at Carnegie Mellon University)
Cost: Residential - $10,744 | Commuter - $8,253 (Full scholarship available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 20–July 25
Application Deadline: March 1 (early deadline: February 1)
Eligibility: High school students aged 16 by June 20, rising 10th–11th or 11th–12th graders
This five-week pre-college architecture program offers an intensive introduction to architectural thinking through a true college-level studio experience. You’ll engage with design problems that emphasize creativity, critical thinking, and speculative approaches to the built environment, guided by Carnegie Mellon Architecture faculty. The curriculum blends architectural design studio with analog drawing, digital media, seminars, workshops, and field trips, giving you exposure to both traditional and contemporary practices. Projects grow in complexity over time, helping you build confidence in 2D and 3D representation, conceptual development, and spatial reasoning.
Location: Raleigh, NC or Charlotte, NC
Cost: $50
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: July 14–18 (Raleigh); July 21–25 (Charlotte)
Application Deadline: Registration opens late February
Eligibility: Rising 7th–12th grade students of color
Project Pipeline is a week-long summer design camp run by NC NOMA that introduces students to architecture and community-centered design. Over the course of the week, you’ll work with architects and volunteer mentors to design and build a physical model of an original project grounded in North Carolina’s cities and neighborhoods. The curriculum blends drawing, model-making, design thinking, and presentations, with all materials and tools provided. You’ll also learn how architecture can be used as a tool for social impact, encouraging you to think critically about issues facing your community and how design can help address them. The week concludes with student presentations that families are invited to attend.
Location: Blacksburg, VA (in-person) or virtual
Cost: $1,050 (in-person); need-based scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 21–27
Application Deadline: May 15
Eligibility: Students in grades 9–12
Explore Architecture is a one-week introductory program from Virginia Tech designed for high school students curious about architecture and design thinking. You’ll participate in design exercises modeled after the first-year studio curriculum in Virginia Tech’s School of Architecture and School of Design. During the in-person Blacksburg session, you’ll work in real studio spaces, use shared desks, and gain exposure to campus life through dorm living, dining halls, and access to design labs and workshops. The program culminates in a final exhibition where you present your work, giving you early experience communicating design ideas.
Location: Los Angeles, CA (in-person commuter) or virtual
Cost: $3,000–$3,500 (limited number of full scholarships available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 22–July 10
Application Deadline: June 12
Eligibility: High school students who will be at least 15 years old by June 22 and have a minimum 3.0 GPA
TeenArch Studio is a three-week, college-level architecture design studio offered through the University of California, Los Angeles Summer Sessions for high school students serious about exploring architecture and design thinking. You’ll work in a studio format similar to undergraduate architecture programs, developing projects through drawing, physical model-making, and digital tools like 3D modeling. The curriculum centers on a focused studio theme and emphasizes process learning, how ideas evolve from early concepts into coherent architectural proposals. Students can choose between an in-person commuter option on UCLA’s campus or a fully virtual format, both of which include seminars and collaborative critiques. Upon completion, you’ll earn 3 units of UCLA academic credit graded Pass/No Pass.
Location: Mill Run, PA (at Fallingwater)
Cost: $1,500 per week (Fully covered, need-based scholarships available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Enrollment is limited
Dates: Multiple dates between June 29 and August 14
Application Deadline: There is no information available
Eligibility: High school students entering grades 9–12 and gap year students
The High School Residencies at Fallingwater are immersive, weeklong studio programs that combine architecture, design, and creative exploration in one of the most iconic architectural sites in the world. You’ll live and work at High Meadow, using a fully equipped studio while completing drawing, model-making, and design projects inspired by Fallingwater and Frank Lloyd Wright’s ideas. Each residency focuses on a specific theme, such as drawing and model making, interior design, sustainability and architecture, biophilic design, or design + build, allowing you to choose an experience that aligns with your interests.
Location: Chicago, IL (In-Person, Residential and Commuter Options)
Cost: $2,500 (Overnight); $1,550 (Commuter)
Program Dates: July 7–18
Application Deadline: May 1
Eligibility: High school students
The Experiment in Architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology is a two-week, in-person studio that introduces you to the foundations of architectural design and spatial thinking. You will work on exercises that cover drafting, 3D modeling, and digital representation, using both physical and software-based tools. Studio sessions focus on iterative design, where you sketch, build models, receive critique, and revise your work. Field trips and visits to architecture firms in Chicago connect classroom learning to professional practice. IIT faculty and practitioners lead discussions and desk critiques modeled on undergraduate studio culture. By the end of the program, you will complete a final design project and assemble portfolio-ready material.
One other option—the Lumiere Research Scholar Program
If you’re interested in pursuing independent research, consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, selective online high school programs for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4,000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.
Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students. Last year, we had 150 students on full need-based financial aid!
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
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