Urban Design and Planning Studio

Enhance your Summer Academy – Boston experience with the Urban Design and Planning (UDP) Studio, a hands-on program for high school students exploring city design, urban planning, and the forces that shape vibrant communities. Through joint enrollment in Summer Academy – Boston, students gain immersive, practical experience in designing and transforming urban spaces.

Guided by leading professionals from Boston and beyond, UDP students explore how design and planning can address major societal challenges—climate resilience, sustainability, social justice, and human health—while building practical skills in GIS mapping, digital fabrication, and model‑making. The program blends immersive studio work with pre‑professional training, offering a powerful head start for students considering careers in urban design, urban planning, architecture, and related fields.

SUMMER 2026 REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

See What Summer Academy Plus UDP Studio is All About!

Pre-College Summer Programs
Virtual Info Session

Join us and learn more at the upcoming virtual info session:

Tuesday, March 24: 12PM EDT
Wednesday, April 22: 2PM EDT
Tuesday, May 19: 9 AM EDT

Mar RSVP Apr RSVP May RSVP

Summer 2026 Information

Program Dates:: Live Sessions: June 29 - August 7, 2026*
Program Times:: Monday-Friday | 10:00AM-4:30PM EDT*
Format:: Onsite, non-resident day program
Tuition for Both Programs**:: Base Price, credit bearing (6 college credits):
$4,000 - Early bird discount: $3,800 (if students register by March 1, 2026)
Base Price, not for credit:
$3,600 - Early bird discount: $3,400 (if students register by March 1, 2026)
Onsite Program Registration Deadline:: June 9, 2026

*Lunch is included each day for this program.
**Rates apply to students enrolling in both the Urban Design and Planning (UDP) Studio and the Summer Academy – Boston. Enrollment in Summer Academy – Boston is required to participate in UDP.

BAC Summer Academy students explore the courtyard inside the Harvard Art Museum on a field trip.

Who Is Eligible?

Students, ages 14 and older, are welcome to join this onsite, non-resident* day program. Students are enrolled in both Summer Academy - Boston and UDP Studio. No experience needed—just a passion for design. Ideal for aspiring artists, architects, interior designers, engineers, urban designers, game designers, and more.

*The BAC does not issue I-20s for a student visa for our summer program. Therefore, international students are not eligible for the Urban Design and Planning module.

Student sketching an architectural concept in a notebook with a red pencil during BAC Pre-College Urban Design and Planning Studio work session.

Why Attend BAC Pre-College?

For over 50 years, the BAC has provided high school students with hands-on design education. Students work in small studios (8-10 students) with a dedicated Studio Lead, developing essential design skills through individual and collaborative projects.

A student using a utility knife to cut cardboard for an architectural model during hands-on work in the BAC Pre-College Urban Design and Planning Studio.

What Will You Learn?

UDP Studio empowers students to understand how cities work while tackling today’s most pressing challenges—climate resilience, sustainable design, and equitable community planning. Through hands-on projects, students build in‑demand skills in GIS mapping, digital fabrication, and model‑making, supported by pre-professional training that deepens understanding of urban systems and career‑focused guidance that prepares them to launch impactful futures in urban planning and design.

Student painting small model trees with a watercolor palette as part of a landscape or site design project in the BAC Pre-College Urban Design and Planning Studio.

What to Expect?

In addition to all that the Summer Academy - Boston Program offers, UDP includes:

In-depth explorations of relevant design-planning foundations and topics
Lunch speaker series with leading practitioners in Boston and around the world
Civic service learning and leadership engagement within the City of Boston and beyond
Professional and career development exploration and preparation
Hands-on urban design project that includes creating virtual and digitally fabricated cityscape models
A final showcase where students present their urban design ideas to City of Boston representatives, Boston area design and planning professionals, along with BAC faculty during the last week of the program

BAC Pre-College Urban Design and Planning Studio student cutting geometric shapes from cardboard with a utility knife while constructing an architectural model in studio.

Options to Earn College Credit!

Students can enroll either for credit with the Credit Bearing Option (CBO), or choose a Not For Credit (NFC) option. If enrolled in CBO, students who complete UDP receive 6 college credits (3 for Summer Academy - Boston and 3 for UDP). All students are eligible for a $2,000 scholarship toward one of the BAC’s undergraduate programs, once they complete the Summer Academy program.

A BAC Summer Academy student's collage with the words Bright Future in the center.

Scholarships

The BAC’s mission to provide excellence in design education emerging from practice includes fostering the next generation through hands-on engagement. Through the Pre-College Design Access Fund, government grants, and the generosity of sponsors such as Prellwitz Chilinski Associates, Inc. and Robert Houseman, scholarships and fellowships are available to students for all our Pre-College programs, including Summer Academy - Boston, Summer Academy - Global, and Urban Design and Planning Studio.

The scholarship priority registration deadline is March 1, 2026.