University of the Pacific is launching a new summer institute for high school students around the nation who want to experience college life by living, learning and growing on the historic campus of California’s first university.

Participants in the Pacific Summer High School Institute can select from more than a dozen hands-on programs, including filmmaking, video game design, cancer research, eSports performance, music sound and recording, drug development, sports analytics, stock investment, entrepreneurship, competitive debate and more.

Ranked in the top 20 universities in the West, Pacific is known for its hands-on, personalized approach to learning. The institute programs will be taught by the university’s award-winning faculty and staff in our state-of-the-art laboratories, studios, digital centers and makerspaces. 

Institute students will live on the 175-acre campus in Northern California, often cited as one of America’s most picturesque college campuses, living in the same residence halls where university students reside during the academic year.

The DeRosa University Center will serve as the hub for the wide array of out-of-class activities at the Pacific Summer High School Institute.

Institute participants will dine at the Marketplace at the DeRosa Center, with food prepared by Bon Appetit. Pacific was recently named in the top 10 worldwide of college campuses for food sustainability. 

On the second floor, the Lair provides students with a lounge area to perform, watch events, play pool and dine at the grill. Outside on the DeRosa Lawn, students can play chess on the giant chess board, bocce, badminton and frisbee golf or just lie in a hammock or gather around the firepit.

Next to the DeRosa Center is the Baun Fitness Center, which includes state-of-the-art cardio equipment, weightlifting and a climbing wall.

The Pacific Institute also will feature planned co-curricular activities each night such as movies under the stars, bocce and chess tournaments, films at the Janet Leigh Theatre, basketball, soccer and beach volleyball games, arts and crafts, karaoke and access to the Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center and the Douglass M. Eberhardt Aquatics Center.

Professional and college-student staff will supervise the residence hall experience and co-curricular activities. Campus security is provided by the university’s police department. 

The Pacific Institute is led by University Vice Provost Edie Sparks. Dr. Sparks has held a wide array of leadership roles in her 22 years at University of the Pacific, including Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, University Librarian, Chair of the Department of History and Senior Associate Dean of the College of the Pacific. She holds MA and PhD degrees in history from UCLA and received her BA in English Language and Literature from University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Sparks has won the university’s Women of Distinction Award, the Judith M. Chambers Excellence in Student Life Award and the inaugural Stephen E. Corson Award for the Distinguished Teaching of Freshmen. She is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi National Honors Society. 

The institute will run from June 19 through July 1.

Learn more and register at Pacific’s website.