Summer Discovery UCLA School of Law

Both courses are open to students who've completed 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th grade, and neither asks for legal experience. Foundations of Trial Advocacy is the place to start. Over three weeks you follow a criminal case from arrest to verdict, learn how evidence, objections and the burden of proof work, and deliberate as a juror before taking part in a full mock trial.

Advanced Trial Advocacy is the more demanding of the two. You build your own theory of the case, argue pretrial motions, answer objections in real time and challenge witnesses on cross-examination, ending with a full jury trial. You don't need to have taken Foundations first, because Summer Discovery says school mock trial or simply an interest in trial law is enough of a starting point.

Summer Discovery admits students on a rolling basis and says most decisions come within five business days, with earlier applicants getting more choice of sessions. It doesn't publish an acceptance rate.

Both law courses are full-day academies, so class takes up most of your weekday. Summer Discovery's sample residential day has a morning class from 9:30 to 11:30 AM and an afternoon class from 1:00 to 3:00 PM, with lunch in between. In Advanced Trial Advocacy, most mornings go on drafting and most afternoons on performing that work for classmates and taking their critique. Both courses also include a trip to a courthouse to watch a jury trial.

After class, residential students choose from activities starting at 3:30 PM, eat dinner at 6:00 PM and head out for evening events at 8:00 PM, such as comedy shows, concerts or major league games. 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 and baseball games. Commuters are dropped off at 8:30 AM and picked up at 6:00 PM, Monday to Friday, although Summer Discovery says these times can vary by campus.

UCLA and Loyola faculty teach both courses, which UCLA School of Law developed and offers with Summer Discovery. UCLA School of Law names John Henry, J.D., as the program's instructor. He's Director of Trial Advocacy Programs at Loyola Law School and spent his earlier career as a prosecutor in the Los Angeles County and Riverside County District Attorney's Offices, where he tried about 80 jury trials to verdict and rose to Chief Deputy District Attorney. He has also coached Loyola's Byrne Trial Advocacy Team to regional and national championships.

In Foundations you'll also hear from practicing civil and criminal trial attorneys about their work. Summer Discovery doesn't publish a class size for either course.

A residential place costs $9,599 for the three-week Foundations course and $7,499 for the two-week Advanced course, while a commuter place costs $4,699 and $4,499. The residential price covers tuition, a room on campus, breakfast and dinner each day, activities and excursions every afternoon, evening and weekend, and transport to those activities.

On top of that you pay a $100 application fee that's never refunded, plus flights, airport transfers, meals off campus and any medical costs. Families must also have medical and baggage insurance for the student. International students living outside the US pay a registration fee of $379 if residential or $239 if commuting. It includes US medical insurance and a letter to support a visa application, and residential students also get airport transfers. Any visa fee itself is extra. Paying by credit card adds 3.5%, while an eCheck from a US bank account costs nothing extra.

Enroll before 31 January 2027 and the deposit is $1,900. From 1 February it rises to $2,500, and from 1 April it's $3,500 with full payment due at once. If you enroll earlier, the balance is due by 1 April 2027. Cancellations must be made in writing, and the charge grows as summer gets closer:

Summer Discovery runs its high school programs with one staff member for every 10 students, and every staff member passes a criminal background check and training for working with minors. At UCLA, high school students live in Hedrick Summit, an air-conditioned residence hall that Summer Discovery doesn't share with anyone else, with its own office and nurse in the building. Resident Counselors, who are at least 20 years old, live on each floor.

Staff are on duty 24 hours a day, they check rooms every night, and students wear an ID on a lanyard at all times. Students stay within a mapped home area and never leave campus without staff, although older students may sometimes move around campus in small groups. Staff keep and hand out all medication and go with students to medical appointments, and parents must approve every outside visitor. The conduct rules are strict, so a student dismissed for breaking them is sent home at the family's expense with no refund.

Both courses end with a certificate of completion, and from Advanced Trial Advocacy you also take home the trial arguments you drafted. Summer Discovery says the certificate comes from UCLA School of Law and that every high school course also includes a letter of recognition, which it presents as support for college applications. Neither course is described as earning college credit, and no university says how admissions offices weigh the certificate. It's best treated as proof that you explored law seriously, not as a qualification.