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Santa Monica College Offers High School Students Pioneering Media and Tech Program This Summer

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April 2, 2018 -- High school students can get a taste of the burgeoning tech and media fields in a pioneering program at Santa Monica College' new Media and Design Center this summer.

“Media & Tech Summer Experience” -- two six-week summer courses that begin June 18 -- offers ninth to 12th graders classes in app programming, cloud-based computing, journalism, photography and screenwriting.

Students who are California residents do not pay enrollment fees, school officials said. Those who apply will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Students at SMC's Media and Design Center (Photo by Charles Mark-Walker)

Applications for the summer program are due by April 23 for priority consideration and are currently being accepted at smc.edu/summerCMD.

The summer program "will attract innovative and aspiring young talent who want to get a head start on career training while at the same time earning high school and/or college credit -- and have a lot of fun in the process,” said SMC Superintendent and President Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery.

The first-of-a-kind program will be offered at SMC's new $115 million state-of-the-art facility at 1660 Stewart Street, which includes an outdoor stage, viewing platforms within KCRW's new headquarters and a large screening auditorium ("Santa Monica College Opens New Media Campus, KCRW Center," December 4, 2017).

Students enrolled in the summer program will have access to the center's classrooms and computer labs equipped with the latest technology, broadcast booths and editing suites and tutoring services, among other offerings.

The new 35,000-square-foot center, Jeffery said, "is a vibrant and creative environment designed to inspire student creativity and open their imaginations as they prepare for media and high-tech careers right in the heart of Los Angeles’s exciting entertainment and tech industry."

Unveiled in December, the Center for Media and Design is home to SMC’s nine media content development and design programs, including its award-winning Film Production program and California’s first baccalaureate program in Interaction Design, SMC officials said.

Other programs include Animation, Digital Media and Game Design, Journalism, Graphic Design and Interior Architectural Design.

During the summer program, SMC also will hold “Career Connection Friday Experiences” that "give high school students opportunities to meet local industry professionals and SMC career counselors, to explore and help clarify their education and career pathways," officials said.

For more information on the summer program for high school students, contact Kiersten Elliott at Elliott_Kiersten@smc.edu or 310-434-4173, or Nancy Cardenas at Cardenas_Nancy@smc.edu or 310-434-8621. Comprehensive information is available at smc.edu/SummerCMD.