About

The University of Arizona Summer Engineering Academy (SEA) is a six-week series of one-week engineering day and residential camps for high school students, running June 8–July 25, 2026 on UA's College of Engineering campus in Tucson. Now in its 30th year, SEA introduces rising 9th–12th graders to engineering through hands-on projects, field trips, and exposure to all 18 of UA's engineering disciplines. Activities in prior years have included building and racing cardboard boats, forging tools using CNC machines, visits to a copper mine, water engineering competitions, circuit design, and light box construction. Day camps run $350 per week; overnight residential camps run $750 per week; need-based scholarships are available with applications due April 15. No prior engineering experience is required, and enrollment is first-come, first-served.

SEA is staffed by UA undergraduate engineering students serving as counselors alongside College of Engineering faculty and staff — an unusual feature that gives high school students peer mentors who are actively navigating engineering degrees rather than professionals at a remove from the student experience. Over 200 students attend each summer. Roughly 35% of SEA alumni go on to enroll at the University of Arizona. For a high school student anywhere in the country who is curious about engineering but hasn't committed to a direction, SEA is a practical, hands-on way to find out — at a fraction of the cost of many comparable programs.