2023 Summer Pre-College Programs

UPDATE:  ALL THE 2023 PRE-COLLEGE PROGRAMS (LISTED BELOW) ARE FILLED. 

BE THE FIRST TO KNOW WHEN REGISTRATION OPENS FOR OUR 2024 PRE-COLLEGE PROGRAMS BY COMPLETING THIS SHORT INTEREST FORM.

 

 

Register Now!

Weeklong summer immersion programs at UNC Asheville offer students a deep dive into academic topics and hands-on experience.

UNC Asheville’s Pre-College Programs introduce high school students to college-level study, university life, and career options in a dynamic learning environment. Each one-week program offers deep immersion into an academic topic, challenging activities, and the opportunity to engage with industry professionals.


Below is a highlight video and slideshow from previous summers:

Registration is now open!

Dates: June 18-23 and June 25-30, 2023

Format:  Pre-College Programs run from Sunday to Friday, and each day is filled with both classroom and recreational activity. All programs include hands-on learning and projects, and many programs will feature off-campus excursions. All students live on campus to fully experience university life and the surrounding community. 

Eligibility: Pre-College Programs are open to rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Programs will follow COVID protocols and community expectations will continue through the program. 

Living on Campus: Double occupancy in a shared suite.  Residence halls are air-conditioned.  Meals will be in Brown Dining Hall.

Tuition:  Programs start at $1,350 and include lodging, meals, all course materials, activities, and excursions.

 

 

Summer 2023 Program Offerings:


Arts

student working at a laptop with musical equipment

Film Scoring & Sound Design

June 18 – June 23, 2023 – PROGRAM FILLED!  REGISTER FOR THE WAITLIST

Learn how to compose an original score for a film scene. Learn how to develop a score concept, where to create harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic themes and motifs. Study the dynamics of a scene using sound design.
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Music Composition & Songwriting

June 25 – June 30, 2023

Develop creative and performing skills through exercises in composition, song-writing, and improvisation. Create original music individually, and compose music collaboratively with other students. Perform original and improvised music on your instrument/voice. The week will culminate in a performance of a new, original musical work.

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Creative Writing: The Great Smokies Young Writers Workshop – Developing Voice & The Poet’s Toolbox

June 18 – June 23, 2023

Hone your literary skills through workshops with experienced local authors and poets. Generate new pieces, revise works-in-progress and critique works of others in a collaborative workshop setting.

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Creative Writing: The Great Smokies Young Writers Workshop – Creating a Compelling Plot & Generative Writing

June 25 – June 30, 2023 – PROGRAM FILLED!  REGISTER FOR THE WAITLIST

Hone your literary skills through workshops with experienced local authors and poets. Generate new pieces, revise works-in-progress and critique works of others in a collaborative workshop setting.

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students working on hand made pottery

Ceramic Pottery 

June 18 – June 23, 2023 – PROGRAM FILLED!  REGISTER FOR THE WAITLIST (Spaces still available for the June 25-30th program)

Gain hands on experience in the ceramics studio and learn new techniques. Express creativity while learning to manipulate clay into sculpture and pottery. Create vessels by wheel-throwing and coil building. Learn to paint with underglazes. Form plates & shallow bowls by rolling out clay and carving. Take home your creations!

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ceramics students working in studio at a large workbench, unfinished vases drying on shelf

Ceramic Pottery

June 25 – June 30, 2023

Gain hands on experience in the ceramics studio and learn new techniques. Express creativity while learning to manipulate clay into sculpture and pottery. Create vessels by wheel-throwing and coil building. Learn to paint with underglazes. Form plates & shallow bowls by rolling out clay and carving. Take home your creations!

Learn more & Register


Sciences

Geology & Adventure

June 18 – June 23, 2023 PROGRAM FILLED!  REGISTER FOR THE WAITLIST

Learn about the geology of the Southern Appalachians while hiking and rafting to scenic landmarks. Practice field-based learning while rock climbing and rappelling on the beautiful granite bodies of western North Carolina. Experience the geology of caving systems while spelunking. Enjoy time outdoors, build lifelong friendships, participate in adventure experiences, and see what it is like to be a geologist for a week!

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Two students in a canoe on a lake, holding paddles, wearing life jackets, trees in the background

River Ecology & Adventure

June 25 – June 30, 2023 – PROGRAM FILLED!  REGISTER FOR THE WAITLIST

Explore and discover our natural, aquatic world. Engaging field-based learning will pair with outdoor skills and trips. Learn about Southern Appalachian stream ecology while canoeing sections of pristine rivers, hiking to wilderness swimming holes and investigating local aquatic species, and be challenged to think critically about human impact on the environment while rafting exciting whitewater.

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A large model rocket launching in a field while several people watch from a distance

Climate, Robotics, Rocketry & Aerospace Engineering

June 18 – June 23, 2023 – PROGRAM FILLED!  REGISTER FOR THE WAITLIST

Interactively learn about robotics, rocketry, aerospace and satellite engineering, and climate science. Participate in numerous hands-on robotics and engineering tasks such as building a robotic rover and a model rocket. Build an Arduino controlled mini weather station, launch them on tethered weather balloons, and conduct data analytics. Learn from STEM professionals about all the opportunities STEM fields have to offer.

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students standing with a large weather device

Meteorology

June 25 – June 30, 2023

Interactively explore the wonders of our atmosphere and experience the joys of a career in meteorology. Learn the fundamental principles of atmospheric science through hands-on demonstrations and study the relationship between pressure, temperature, and elevation during field trips in the mountains. Build your own research-quality weather station. Visit federal and state government agencies, and permanent weather stations, and a local media outlet to learn about careers in professional meteorology. Become a broadcast meteorologist and present your forecast in a real television studio.

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A science lab with students wearing goggles and PPE, the student in focus is holding what looks like a heart, getting ready to do a dissection

Pre-Med

June 18 – June 23, 2023 PROGRAM FILLED!  REGISTER FOR THE WAITLIST

Work with a team on a simulated patient case, run microbiological and biochemical tests, debate treatment options and navigate the patient-doctor relationship. Learn about heart anatomy and function through hands on dissection of a pig heart.

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