Introduction to Architecture and Design Precollege Program
Develop your ideas and find new design inspiration at Cornell this summer! Architecture at Cornell’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP) advances creative and critical design practices that have a lasting impact. We balance rigorous research and scholarship, assume responsibility for our natural and built environments, and reimagine the world at every scale to build a just and sustainable future for all. At Cornell Architecture, we see design as a process of creative experimentation and iterative analysis, ensuring non-judgmental, holistic, and open-ended inquiry enabled by independent, critical thinking and bold thought leadership.
It was wonderful! Not only did I attain knowledge of basic architectural concepts, but I also learned how to think and analyze like an architect.
Qi Yun (Christine) Gao, Summer Program Student
Lay foundations. Explore new ideas. Open possibilities.
The Cornell Architecture Introduction to Architecture and Design Precollege Program is an inspiring and rigorous six-week summer program for high-achieving and high-potential high school students interested in studying architecture and related design disciplines. The program introduces students to foundational principles of design at multiple scales, ranging from design objects and urban installations to buildings and landscapes. Cornell faculty build on students’ creative interests and inspire them to explore architecture and design practice, history, and theory at one of the nation’s most prestigious programs in architecture.
Application Deadlines
Applications open on January 12, 2026.
Past In-Person Courses
Students study and make in our world-class facilities, which offer personal and common work areas, state-of-the-art tools for physical model-making, and access to the abundant resources of our Mui Ho Fine Arts Library.
ARCH 1110
Introduction to Architecture: Design Studio
June 23–August 1, 2025: The summer program’s design studio introduces students to the principles and methods of solving architectural problems as well as to concepts of space, form, function, and technology in a supportive and creative learning environment that includes faculty and guest reviews, culminating in a major final project.In-Person Courses
ARCH 1300
An Introduction to Architecture: Lectures
June 23–August 1, 2025: The summer program’s survey course covers the many facets of architecture that inform and influence practice past and present, including design history, principles, theory, preservation, landscapes, cultures, and technologies.
