About

Camp ARCH — Texas A&M University College of Architecture
Camp ARCH is a one-week residential pre-college program at Texas A&M University's College of Architecture in College Station, Texas, running July 6–11, 2026, and open to incoming 10th, 11th, and 12th graders (students who will have already graduated by summer 2026 are not eligible). Campers choose one of four tracks — Architecture, Construction Science, Landscape Architecture, or Urban Planning — and spend the week living as a full-time student in that discipline, attending classes taught by College of Architecture faculty and industry professionals.

Each track is discipline-specific rather than a shared general curriculum. The Architecture track puts students in a design studio environment, working with the tools and methods used by first-year architecture majors. The Construction Science track covers construction management fundamentals — teamwork, LEED principles, cost estimating, scheduling, plan reading, and jobsite safety and technology. The Landscape Architecture track mirrors a professional design studio, building skills in design, visualization, and data analysis. The Urban Planning track works through site analysis, design workshops, and public presentations focused on real community planning challenges. Campers are assigned to one track based on stated program preference and course availability, not a mix of tracks.

Camp ARCH costs $1,500, all-inclusive: three meals a day plus snacks, dormitory housing, social activities, class supplies— this is a single flat price. Applications have typically opened in winter with an early-March deadline, requiring a completed application form, official high school transcript, a two-minute video essay on the applicant's interest in TAMU and Camp ARCH, one letter of recommendation (teacher, counselor, or professional mentor — only one accepted), and an optional scholarship essay for need-based aid. Admission decisions weigh the full application — personal statement, recommendation, academic record, and stated intent to major in a College of Architecture program — and explicitly do not consider SAT/ACT scores. A limited number of need-based scholarships are available.

Camp ARCH is a strong fit for a student who already has a specific one of these four disciplines in mind and wants a week of immersive, track-specific studio or fieldwork experience at a major research university before committing to a major — it's less useful for a student who wants breadth across design fields, since campers commit to a single track rather than sampling several. The all-inclusive $1,500 price and week-long residential format put it in the same tier as other single-week discipline-specific design camps (comparable to WashU Sam Fox's Architecture Discovery Program, though shorter and less expensive), rather than the multi-week, credit-bearing programs aimed at building a portfolio.