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Georgia Tech College of Design

Formerly known as the College of Architecture

Pre-College Design Program

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High school students learn to sketch in the Pre-College studio.

>>>>>>> 2019 Programs Are Full <<<<<<<

We'll release the 2020 dates for next summer's progams in December.

The Program

The Pre-College Design program consists of two-week residential workshops in architecture, industrial design, and music technology. Hosted by the College of Design at the Georgia Institute of Technology, this program provides the opportunity to engage with our world-class faculty, current students, and research facilities. The Pre-College Design program is open to rising 10-12 graders who want to experience the unique nature of studying technology-focused design.

The Difference of Design at Georgia Tech

The College of Design's academic approach is more dynamic than other design programs based in fine arts. While our students and our faculty have strong foundations in the traditional industries of architecture, industrial design, and music technology, at Georgia Tech they regularly collaborate with engineers, computer scientists, and entrepreneurs. Our Pre-College Design Program focuses on the symbiotic relationship between technology and design.

Introduction To The Best of Atlanta

Our Schools have strong ties to industry in Atlanta. We regularly collaborate with the innovation divisions of large corporations like Delta, NCR, Chick Fil A, MOOG, Bose, and Google. Students that participate in the Pre-College Design Program will have the opportunity to visit local design firms, studios, and tour Atlanta as part of the workshop curriculum.

What the Studios Are Like

A typical day in one of our Pre-College Design workshops starts with breakfast at North Avenue Dining. Mornings could include attending a lecture in the John and Joyce Caddell Building, working in the Photoshop lab, or meeting with graduate students to learn about robotics.

Afternoons are often spent exploring real world application of design, whether that is sketching the BeltLine, meeting with local music technologists, or visiting an Atlanta design firm. Lunch is usually spent on campus, giving students the opportunity to socialize with TAs and peers.

Evenings and weekends are spent giving students the full Georgia Tech experience: playing kickball on the Georgia Tech Green, watching a movie in the Reinsch-Pierce Auditorium, going bowling at the Student Center, and dreaming up project hacks with their fellow students in the dorms.

Program Fee

Tuition to participate in the 2-week program is $2300 (includes housing, all meals, field trips, supplies and social activities). All students are required to live on campus for the duration of the two weeks.

Limited scholarships are available for students who display both academic merit and financial need. Students interested in a scholarship must indicate this on their application. In addition to the summer studio application, scholarship applicants must submit the Scholarship Application Sheet in addition to the program application.

Choose From Three Workshops

A robot shaves the face of a quadroplegic man.

Architecture

Have you always been curious about architecture? Are you interested in learning how to use emerging technologies to design buildings?

Come join us for an energetic immersion into the field of design and making where students will interact with professors, current students, recent graduates, and local practitioners.

Our Pre-College summer experience provides hands-on experience in drawing and making to test design ideas for an architectural project. Participants will understand the path to a career in architecture, as well as leave with a design project ready for inclusion in their own portfolio.

Apply Now
James Hallam from the Interactive Product Development Lab displays the haptic gloves he invented.

Industrial Design

Industrial Designers design the products we use every day! Appliances, phones, tools, bikes, and many more products emerge through the creative thinking and making of Industrial Designers.

Come explore the possibilities of this exciting career in our hands-on camp. Students will enjoy drawing and modeling to test design ideas, along with visiting local industrial design firms on their way to making their very own consumer product.

All will leave with a new understanding of this exciting profession, and a design project ready for inclusion in their own portfolio.

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A student creates music through virtual reality technology.

Music Technology

Music technologists imagine new inventions for, new ways of listening to, and new ways of playing music.

The Music Technology Pre-College program explores ways we create and experience music. In addition to music production, we explore machine learning, music information retrieval systems, immersive audio environments, and performance technologies. We study the use of popular software and hardware in music creation, manipulation, and what future developments are on the horizon.

Each student will have the opportunity to create projects suitable for their own portfolio

Apply Now