printDesign Immersion Days
A 4-week Summer Program for High School Students
| About | Cost |
| Curriculum | Scholarships |
| Dates | How to Apply |
About the program
A 4-week, day session program at SCI-Arc, Design Immersion Days (DID) introduces students to careers in architecture and design as they explore how products, buildings, and environments are imagined and made. DID students experience first-hand what it’s like to work in a college level design studio. They are given rare access to prominent designers, learn what the study of design & architecture entails and create substantial portfolios.
Last summer, our Design Immersion Days was a considerable success. Students worked one-on-one with prominent designers and had private tours of museums, design firms and galleries. They learned sophisticated 3D modeling techniques used by our faculty and created models by hand. The studio classes were led by SCI-Arc’s graduate and undergraduate faculty who gave diligent attention to all the student’s design challenges.
Rising Juniors and Seniors are eligible to apply. Students are selected for based on a personal statement. Information regarding the online application process is available below.
Back To TopCurriculum
HANDS ON
Architecture and design live and breathe in both the classroom and the world. DID is dedicated to immersing the student in these realms. Through a series of lectures given by esteemed Los Angeles-based designers and field trips exploring the city of Los Angeles, students will be exposed to examples of design and modes of production at all scales. In the classroom and in the city, students will be introduced to fundamental ways of seeing, thinking, and doing that are essential for anyone interested in pursuing a degree and/or career in architecture or design.
VISUALISATION
Design is doing and thinking. DID's Visual Studies program emphasizes the doing by introducing students to a range of basic skills essential to exploring, discovering, and describing design work. The coursework covers freehand sketching, mechanical drafting, computer drawing, physical model making, and computer-based 3D modeling. Students are introduced to processes and work flows that will allow them to move freely between physical and virtual realms.
DID Class of 2011 at LACMA
DESIGN
Design is also thinking and doing. DID's Design Lab exercises help students explore further the things they are encouraged to "see" in the world. The Design Lab is a place where students work through assigned design projects. It is also an approach to the creative process and a design education. In Design Lab, students create projects which they discuss with SCI-Arc faculty in a process of one-on-one feedback. Students also present their work to juries of faculty and peers in a process of discussion-based group feedback, preparing them for the design school environment.
PORTFOLIO BUILDING
For anyone interested in any field of design or creative production, a portfolio is essential. Every student applying to architecture or design school is required to submit one. The culmination of this program is a one-day comprehensive portfolio workshop, which is designed to introduce beginning design students to the concepts, techniques, and strategies necessary to complete a successful design portfolio.
SKILL SETS ACQUIRED
Seeing: Freehand Sketching, Photography
Thinking: Critical/Analytical Thinking, Non-Linear Thinking, Problem Solving, Verbal Presentation
Doing (by hand and computer): Design Drawing, Design Modeling, Graphic Presentation, Portfolio Layout and Design
Dates
Summer 2012 Session:
Program dates: Monday, June 25—Saturday, July 21
Application Deadline: Rolling admission (until program is full)
Cost
Tuition: $3,000
Other costs (lunch, field trips, materials fee): $250
TOTAL: $3,250
A $200 enrollment deposit is required upon acceptance in order to secure a place in the class. Tuition may be waived for students whose family income requires scholarship to attend.
Back To TopScholarships
Scholarship support is available for students whose family income qualifies them to receive financial aid. To be considered for a scholarship, applicants need to fill out a separate Financial Statement & Scholarship Application, in addition to the required application materials listed below. Qualified applicants will be reviewed for scholarship on May 15th. All materials must be submitted and completed by May 15th. No additional scholarships will be awarded after that date.
Back To TopHow to Apply
Admission for Design Immersion Days is on a rolling basis until the program start date (June 25) or until the program is full. Early application is recommended to secure a place in the program. Later applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Application Materials:
- $25 Application Fee
- Online application form
- One-page statement of purpose
- Financial Statement & Scholarship Application (to be considered for scholarship)
If you have any questions, please contact our Admissions Office at 213.356.5345 or kirstie@sciarc.edu.
Back To Top
SUMMER 2012
June 25-July 21, 2012
CLICK TO REQUEST PROGRAM INFORMATION
2012 PROGRAM COST
Other expenses:
DID is not a residential program; housing and after-class hour supervision not provided.
Transportation: $250
TOTAL: $3,250
*Lunch included
CONTACT US
kirstie@sciarc.edu
213.356.5345
FACULTY
Darin Johnstone
Program Coordinator
Darin Johnstone, a Los Angeles based architect and SCI-Arc design faculty member since 2002, directs and teaches in the DID program along with other SCI-Arc design and visual studies faculty and undergraduate teaching assistants. In addition to the regular faculty the school invites esteemed local architects and designers to come and talk to the students about what they do and why they do it.