Arts and Sciences Summer Institutes

The College of Arts and Sciences at Drexel University offers a number of research-rich summer programs that enable students to bond with each other while gaining valuable experience that will support their academic and professional futures. Students will:

• Discover Drexel's nationally ranked hands-on model of education.  
• Engage in rigorous academics and cross-departmental experiential learning.
• Work side-by-side with our dedicated faculty experts and mentors. 
• Explore ambitions and gain invaluable experience that may be applied in the real world.

Drexel Environmental Science Leadership Academy – Barnegat Bay Field Station, Waretown, NJ 

The Drexel Environmental Science Leadership Academy (DESLA) takes place at the Barnegat Bay Field Station situated on 194 acres of land with a wide range of habitats available for education and research including a maritime forest, salt marsh, tidal streams, and a freshwater impoundment. Students gain hands-on field experience across a range of research areas: local community habitats and environments; beach, marsh, and Pine Barren ecology; botany and lake ecology; and geology and paleontology. Students will learn what it means to be an environmental scientist and what it takes to be a leader in this rapidly growing field.

The DESLA staff on this adventure are all-star Drexel professors from the Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science (BEES) and expert scientists from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, America's oldest natural history museum, located in Philadelphia, PA. From these career scientists, students will gain a broad understanding of what it means to be an environmental or geo-scientist, and what it takes to be a leader in the field.

Drexel Environmental Science Leadership Academy – Lacawac Sanctuary & Field Station, Lake Ariel, PA

The Drexel Environmental Science Leadership Academy (DESLA) at Lacawac Sanctuary is a summer adventure and learning experience for high school students at the Lacawac Sanctuary & Field Station in Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania. Students gain hands-on experience while studying and working in the lush forest and lake ecosystems of the Pocono Mountains. The DESLA staff on this adventure are all-star Drexel professors from the Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science (BEES) and expert scientists from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, America's oldest natural history museum, located in Philadelphia, PA. From these career scientists, students will gain a broad understanding of what it means to be an environmental or geo-scientist, and what it takes to be a leader in the field.

Drexel Environmental Science Leadership Academy – Bighorn Basin Paleontological Institute, Red Lodge, MT and Yellowstone National Park, WY

Drexel Environmental Science Leadership Academy (DESLA) in Bighorn Basin, Montana, and Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, is an exciting opportunity for high school students to gain hands-on field experience, learn about the history of the planet, and discover the processes that shape the landscapes around us today — all set against the backdrop the country's most impressive natural wonders! Students do not need to have any formal geology education to attend this summer camp.

The DESLA staff on this adventure are all-star Drexel professors from the Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science (BEES) and expert scientists from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, America's oldest natural history museum, located in Philadelphia, PA. From these career scientists, students will gain a broad understanding of what it means to be an environmental or geo-scientist, and what it takes to be a leader in the field.

Global Philadelphia

See the world in Philly! In this weeklong camp, students will be introduced to the many global and cultural facets that Philadelphia has to offer. From French architecture to food from China, Korea, and West Africa, to art from Japan and dance from Latin America, students will learn from experts in the Department of Global Studies and Modern Languages and experience Philadelphia's global culture first-hand through activities and excursions throughout the city and surrounding areas. Students will use their smartphones to document their activities during the week with photography and video and will share these through Cartoneras, a book style originating in Argentina, which they will create and design themselves.

One partial scholarship of up to $250 is available for this program. See application for more details.

Math, Music, and Coding Camp

Have you ever wondered why music sounds the way it does? Why are some combinations of notes pleasant while others are unpleasant? Or why do some sounds make us feel joyful and others melancholy?

Students in Drexel's Math, Music and Coding Camp will investigate these harmonic questions through the lens of mathematics. In this one-week non-residential program, we'll explore how math can help us make sense of different aspects of sound and music. Each day, students will apply musical and mathematical concepts using a coding platform called Sonic Pi, an open-source live coding language for music creation and performance used by professional musicians, VR developers, and programmers. This program is open to students regardless of musical background. We will be using algebra and trigonometry, but calculus is not a prerequisite.

Big City Journalist Boot Camp

This dynamic five-day summer program is cross-presented by Drexel's Department of Politics and Department of Communication, and provides students with an introduction to the exciting and rapidly changing environment of news media and journalism. This is an intensive, hands-on experience where students will learn about the theory and history of media and journalism in Philadelphia, and about relationships between journalism and public relations in today's digital/social media environment. Campers will pitch and produce stories for various local media outlets, including radio stations, newspapers, podcasts, and blogs, amongst others.

Big City Journalist Boot Camp will be hosted at Drexel's University City Campus in Philadelphia, but students will also spend time shadowing working journalists at various sites throughout the city.