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.
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
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.
Learn more & Register for Waitlist
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.