Summer Discovery UCLA

Class time is fairly short, and the rest of the day is planned for you. In Summer Discovery's sample residential day, a morning course runs from 9:30 to 11:30 AM and an afternoon course from 1:00 to 3:00 PM, or an academy fills both slots, with a long lunch in between and classes sometimes heading off campus on field trips.

From 3:30 PM you sign up for activities such as sports, shopping, museums or the beach. Dinner is at 6:00 PM, and evening events, from comedy shows to major league games, start around 8:00 PM. You're back in the residence hall by 10:30 PM, on your floor by 11:30 PM and in your room by midnight. Weekends bring bigger group trips, which at UCLA include Disneyland, Universal Studios, Hurricane Harbor, concerts and baseball games.

On UCLA's 2026 schedule, classes in the three-week session met Monday to Thursday, while the two-week session met Monday to Friday in its first week and Monday to Thursday in its second. Commuters were dropped off at 8:45 AM and picked up by 6:00 PM, and they could join every on-campus event and two off-campus events that don't need tickets.

UCLA designs the courses and hires the instructors, and those courses are open only to Summer Discovery students. Summer Discovery doesn't name the UCLA instructors, but across its programs it says enrichment courses are taught by university instructors, graduate students, area professionals and top secondary school teachers.

Some UCLA courses bring in outside partners. The Day Trading Masterclass was co-designed with Peter Tuchman and David Green, co-founder of Wall Street Global Trading Academy, and Build the Movement runs with DoSomething.org. Class sizes aren't published, although Summer Discovery says most classes are small, and high school students only ever share a class with other high school students.

Each course you finish earns a Summer Discovery certificate of completion and a letter of recognition. Summer Discovery says the letter is meant to strengthen college applications, but that's its own view rather than any university's. Courses are graded pass/no pass, and to get the certificate you have to pass every course, keep up satisfactory attendance, finish all coursework and final projects, and stay in good standing. Instructors' final evaluations can't be appealed.

What else you take home depends on the course. Careers in Medicine ends with a disease-research poster and Red Cross CPR certification, while the Future Founders academy leaves your team with a venture portfolio and an investor pitch deck. A performance report for each course appears in your account a few weeks after the program, and Summer Discovery will mail it to your school if a parent asks in writing. The UCLA courses lead to a certificate rather than college credit.

For 2027, living on campus in the high school program costs $7,499 for two weeks, $9,599 for three, $11,999 for four and $14,899 for five. Commuting costs $4,499 to $7,499, and commuter sessions end a day earlier. The residential price covers tuition, housing and bedding, lunch and dinner, activities every afternoon, evening and weekend with transport to them, and use of campus sports facilities. Commuters don't get meals included.

Every applicant also pays a $100 application fee, which doesn't count toward tuition and isn't refunded if you cancel. Flights, airport transfers, breakfast, laundry, meals off campus, medical costs and spending money are extra, and Summer Discovery suggests about $100 to $150 a week for spending. In 2026, airport transfers cost $95 each way. In the three-week high school session, Careers in Medicine and Fashion Design each add a $95 fee and Surfing adds $125, and you'll need your own laptop. Students who live outside the US pay a $379 international registration fee if they live on campus or $239 if they commute, which covers US medical insurance and, for residents, airport transfers. Parents must also have their child covered by medical and baggage insurance.

The deposit is $1,900 if you enroll before 31 January 2027, $2,500 from 1 February and $3,500 from 1 April, when the full tuition is also due at enrollment. Otherwise the balance is due on 1 April 2027. Card payments carry a 3.5% surcharge, while eCheck from a US bank account is free. Scholarships exist but are limited and go mainly through mentoring organizations, and if you apply for one and aren't chosen, the application fee is refunded. Cancellations must be made in writing, and the refund shrinks as summer gets closer:

• Before 1 February 2027

  You get everything back except the $100 application fee and any travel protection plan you bought.

• 1 February to 1 April 2027

  The cancellation fee equals the deposit you paid.

• 1 April to 1 May 2027

  The fee is $3,500 or the deposit you paid.

• 1 May to 1 June 2027

  The fee is $4,500.

• After 1 June 2027

  There's no refund at all, and a student sent home for breaking the rules gets nothing back either.

Summer Discovery runs its high school programs at one staff member for every 10 students, and at UCLA it has more than 80 campus staff, with an office and a nurse in the residence hall. The high school group lives in its own building, Hedrick Summit Residence Hall, while middle school students have dedicated floors in Centennial Hall. Resident counselors are at least 20, live on students' floors and have passed background checks and Summer Discovery's safety training. The organizer's safety and security policy has the full detail.

• Curfew and checks

  Students sign in daily, staff do room checks every night, and everyone has to be in their room by midnight.

• Leaving campus

  Students can't leave campus alone. An approved visitor aged 21 or over has to sign them out at the office with photo ID and have them back by 10:30 PM, and overnight stays need a visitor aged 25 or over.

• Medical care

  Students have medical care around the clock, staff go with them to appointments and tell parents afterward, and prescription medication has to arrive pre-packaged by date so it can be held in the Health Center.

• Arrival

  Staff meet students flying alone at LAX baggage claim, or outside customs on international flights, and only high school students aged 16 and over may arrive by ride share.

Applications go through Summer Discovery's application portal.

1. 1

   Pick your session, residential or commuter, and either one all-day academy or a morning and an afternoon course. Check your grade first, since UCLA's high school courses are for students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th grade.

2. 2

   Fill in the application, typing in your current GPA yourself and giving your counselor's full name and exact email address, because Summer Discovery contacts them directly.

3. 3

   Applicants to the Institute for the Gifted (grades 6 to 8) also need one proof of eligibility: a nationally normed test score at the 95th percentile, a record of gifted program participation, or a recommendation from a core-subject teacher.

4. 4

   Pay the $100 application fee and submit, then expect a decision, usually within 3 to 5 business days, with qualified students accepted first come, first served.

5. 5

   If you're accepted, enroll and pay the deposit, ideally by 15 December 2026 to guarantee your first choice.

6. 6

   Choose your two courses through the registration link that arrives within 24 hours of the deposit, unless you picked an academy, which registers you automatically.

7. 7

   Pay the balance by 1 April 2027 and complete the pre-arrival forms, including a physician's exam, health history and roommate profile, because students can't check in without them.