We offer pre-college enrichment programs for middle and high school students and gifted and talented students in elementary, middle, and high school located in the United States and abroad. Our US campuses include UCLA, University of Michigan, Dartmouth, Georgetown University, University of Texas at Austin, Yale University, UC Santa Barbara, Bryn Mawr College, University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School, and Fairfield University. We also have international programs at the University of Cambridge and Real Madrid School Universidad Europea.

You will participate in an academic program that combines college credit and/or enrichment classes, social activities, travel, recreation, and sports. Summer Discovery provides you with the chance to make new friends and experience pre-college living and learning before entering college. It will help you achieve success in high school and prepare you for college. You'll live and learn with peers from all over the US, and the world, as part of a dynamic university community.

At Summer Discovery Institute for the Gifted, we offer a proprietary STEAM+ curriculum. The unique SIG curriculum develops critical, complex, and creative thinking skills. Courses include a wide range of disciplines, allowing students to enhance existing talents while acquiring new ones. Fields of study include humanities, and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) course options that provide intellectual engagement through multidisciplinary studies through the practice of a problem-based learning approach. Combining challenging academics with social, cultural, and recreational opportunities nurtures students’ cognitive, social, and emotional needs and enhances their natural talents and abilities. By engaging in wide-ranging and diverse topics, students are exposed to new ideas that stimulate their interests and enhance their previous knowledge while also attracting interest in new fields of study.

The Musiker Family has been in the summer experience industry for nearly six decades and has been providing superior pre-college programs for 40 years. Bob and Jimmy Musiker and our staff have vast experience working with and mentoring middle school and high school students. Our administrative staff on each campus have an average of 14 years of experience working with us.

They include: Director, Associate Director, Academic Coordinator, Programs and Activities Coordinator, Health and Wellness Coordinator, and Head Resident Counselor. Most are teachers, guidance counselors, or school administrators.

Our Resident Counselors are teachers, graduate students, and college seniors who are at least 20 years old — in fact, our college student counselors are often pursuing degrees related to education, psychology, and other fields relevant to their work as Resident Counselors. Resident Counselors are great people to hang out with, talk to, learn from, help you with your classes, and get you involved in activities. Our team goes above and beyond to provide an unforgettable summer experience to these students by supporting them throughout the day and evening.

College credit classes are taught by university instructors and distinguished visiting instructors.

Enrichment classes are taught by university instructors, graduate students, area professionals, and top secondary school teachers.

Yes! An individual performance report for each course taken will be available on the student's login site a few weeks after the close of the program. Students’ performance reports can be mailed to schools, but only after Summer Discovery receives a written request from parents. Students attending SIG will receive feedback, including a student performance review from each instructor based on the capstone project and recommendations for future growth. They will also receive general feedback throughout the program from their instructors via Canvas, which will be available through December 2024.

College Credit:

A grade report and transcript-request form will be sent to all Summer Discovery students who have completed college credit classes. Students make transcript requests directly to the university. It is up to the university that you attend if they will accept the credits earned, but most universities do accept these credits.

Summer Discovery and the Summer Institute for the Gifted celebrate our diverse community on campus and welcome students from all over the world. Typically about 30% of our students across our campuses will be from outside the U.S. and represent 50-60 countries worldwide.

For Summer Discovery, the commuter option enables students to attend a program at a residential location without the need for them to reside on campus. The commuter option is perfect for students living near a residential campus who are looking for an academic enrichment experience during the summer, but for one reason or another aren't ready, or are unable, to enroll in an overnight program. Many of our commuter students are engaged in other summer activities in the evenings and on weekends; some just aren't ready to live away from home for three weeks or don’t want the residential experience. 

Commuter students have the option of converting to Residential status as long as there is dorm space available. The conversion must be for the remainder of the session with the minimum being one week (7 days). All conversion fees must be paid in full at the time of status change. The fee calculation to convert from Day to Residential status is as follows: The Residential program fee minus the original Day program fee divided by 20 days times the number of days for conversion.

At Institute for the Gifted, there are half-day and full-day options available at select campuses for elementary school-age students.

• Half-day option - Your child will take one course. They have the option to come to the program in the mornings or afternoons.
• Full-day option - Your child will take two courses in total.

Academies are learning experiences focused on a certain topic or subject area. Academy students will be immersed in the academy course content and activities for the whole instruction period of the day for the program. Students may also choose to take two enrichment courses in any discipline offered within that program. Students choosing enrichment courses will take one course in the morning and one course in the afternoon. These courses may be within the same or similar disciplines or completely different subjects.

Our goal is to provide excellent customer service and support your travel details to the best of our ability. You can contact your campus representatives using the emails below:

UCLA: ucla@summerdiscovery.com 

UCLA Middle School: jrucla@summerdiscovery.com 

Michigan University: michigan@summerdiscovery.com 

University of Texas at Austin: utaustin@summerdiscovery.com 

Georgetown University: georgetown@summerdiscovery.com 

Georgetown University Middle School: jrgeorgetown@summerdiscovery.com 

UC Santa Barbara: ucsb@summerdiscovery.com 

Dartmouth: dartmouth@summerdiscovery.com 

UC Berkeley: ucberkeley@summerdiscovery.com 

Cambridge University: cambridge@summerdiscovery.com 

Real Madrid School Universidad Europea: realmadrid@summerdiscovery.com 

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School: pennlaw@summerdiscovery.com 

Institute for the Gifted: gifted@summerdiscovery.com

Explore 300+ courses and academies across many disciplines on our courses page: https://summerdiscovery.com/courses. Download our comprehensive course books on this page for our high school program, middle school program, and Institute for the Gifted.