Jefferson College of Architecture, Design and Engineering

05/09/2026

Register TODAY for Jefferson’s Summer Academy! This summer, we have even more in store 😎

Jefferson’s award-winning College of Architecture, Design & Engineering offers a pre-college experience for high school students to explore the architecture and design fields ONLINE AND ON CAMPUS. This internship-style experience is a great way to explore multiple professional fields while participating in design projects.

The Summer Academy offers students hands-on and real-world learning, taught by faculty and industry experts. Through the following tracks of Architecture or Design (or a combination!), students can select specially curated week-long deep dives to build a robust understanding of the skills and methods practiced professionally.

Customize your Summer Academy Program to be a 1- to 4- week-long summer design experience. Join us!

📐🧱Architecture Track | Deep Dive Weeks Include: Architecture, Interior Design, Design-Build

OR

✨NEW! 🖊️ 🖥️ Design Track | Deep Dive Weeks Include: Graphic & Web Design, Industrial & Product Design

All courses are taught by Jefferson faculty and industry experts, with connections to our current students, alumni, and industry mentors. Learn through participating in week-long design projects, activities, research initiatives, and design thinking methods.

☀️Summer Schedule: One (1) Career Discovery Week (in week 1 or 2) is a prerequisite to participate in any Deep Dive Weeks 2-4.

🛜 SUMMER ACADEMY ONLINE
🔵 Week 1: July 13-17 - Career Discovery Week 1: Exploring the Architectural Disciplines OR Design Professions Discovery
🔵 Week 2: July 20-24 - Career Discovery Week 2: Exploring the Architectural Disciplines; Deep Dive Architecture OR Interior Design

📍 SUMMER ACADEMY ON CAMPUS in East Falls
🔵 Week 2: July 20-24 - Deep Dive: Graphic Design & Web
🔵 Week 3: July 27 -31 Deep Dive: Architecture & Design OR Industrial & Product Design
🔵 Week 4: August 3-7 Deep Dive: Design-Build

🎉 August 1: Summer Academy Celebration and Symposium ONLINE 🛜

For more information, visit the link in our bio.

Scholarships available for weeklong courses. Registration ends June 24th, and includes a shi

05/04/2026

Check out Gabrille Kemberling '12 (B. Arch) and what she's been upto since graduating!

04/27/2026

Register TODAY for Jefferson’s Summer Academy! This summer, we have even more in store for YOUR EXPERIENCE 😎

Jefferson’s award-winning College of Architecture, Design & Engineering offers a pre-college experience for high school students to explore the architecture and design fields ONLINE AND ON CAMPUS. This internship-style experience is a great way to explore multiple professional fields while participating in design projects.

The Summer Academy offers students hands-on and real-world learning, taught by faculty and industry experts. Through the following tracks of Architecture or Design (or a combination!), students can select specially curated week-long deep dives to build a robust understanding of the skills and methods practiced professionally.

Depending on how you customize your camp, our Summer Academy Program can be a 1- to 4- week-long summer design experience. Explore with us today!

📐🧱Architecture Track | Deep Dive Weeks Include: Architecture, Interior Design, Design-Build

OR

✨NEW! 🖊️ 🖥️ Design Track | Deep Dive Weeks Include: Graphic & Web Design, Industrial & Product Design

All courses are taught by Jefferson faculty and industry experts, with connections to our current students, alumni, and industry mentors. Learn through participating in week-long design projects, activities, research initiatives, and design thinking methods.

☀️Summer Schedule:
One (1) Career Discovery Week (in week 1 or 2) is a prerequisite to participate in any Deep Dive Weeks 2-4.

🛜 SUMMER ACADEMY ONLINE
🔵 Week 1: July 13-17 - Career Discovery Week 1: Exploring the Architectural Disciplines OR Design Professions Discovery
🔵 Week 2: July 20-24 - Career Discovery Week 2: Exploring the Architectural Disciplines; Deep Dive Architecture OR Interior Design

📍 SUMMER ACADEMY ON CAMPUS in East Falls
🔵 Week 2: July 20-24 - Deep Dive: Graphic Design & Web
🔵 Week 3: July 27 -31 Deep Dive: Architecture & Design OR Industrial & Product Design
🔵 Week 4: August 3-7 Deep Dive: Design-Build

🎉 August 1: Summer Academy Celebration and Symposium ONLINE 🛜

For more information, visit: https://www.jefferson.edu/academics/summer-academy/architecture-and-design-academy.htm

Scholarships available for weeklong courses. Registration ends June 24th, and includes a shipped supply kit per student.

Thomas Jefferson University offers an immersive pre-college experience for high school students interested in professional careers in architecture and design.

04/18/2026

Klean Kensington, a youth workforce empowered to clean and green their community. These paid local teens plan to build, maintain, and transform a North Philly lot with the support from a $17,000 grant from a coalition of nonprofits who created the Revive and Thrive pilot program to construct a new garden in the first half of 2026. The program is receiving support from the William Penn Foundation, Circular Philadelphia, and our very own Park In A Truck program at Thomas Jefferson University.

A local organization that employs teens to tend to outdoor spaces received a $17,000 grant for the pilot program.

04/12/2026

Congratulations on your offer of admission! TODAY, we’re excited for you to join our faculty and admissions staff to learn more about your academic program and next steps. This on-campus visit will include academic sessions, financial aid sessions, a student resource fair, celebration station, photo opportunities, lunch in our dining center and more! You will also have the option to view a residence hall and take a campus tour.

Image 1: Ramp up to the Architecture & Design (A&D) building on campus, leading to upperclassmen studios and faculty offices
Image 2: professor sitting next to a 3D printer, talking to two students standing in the studio space with the discussion that is energetic and exciting
Image 3: various models sitting at various heights by windows overlooking the A&D ramp; models are made of basswood, plexiglass, vertical white plastic pieces, all of different building typologies built by students

04/07/2026

Earlier this semester, design and preservation students in the Restoration and Rehabilitation course enjoyed an afternoon touring the Oaks Cloister, designed by architect Joseph Huston as his private residence and built in 1900. The current owner gave a talk and then took students on an in-depth tour of the house, which became a living lab for Huston to try out design ideas after he won the commission for the Pennsylvania State Capitol. Highlights included the many ornate fireplaces, grand stair, and rear living space. Thank you, Russ, for your hospitality!

 behindthescenes

04/02/2026

The 7th International Symposium for Smart and Healthy Cities at Thomas Jefferson University convenes international scholars, practitioners, and UNESCO Chair holders to advance interdisciplinary dialogue on smart, healthy, and learning cities. Featuring panels on learning ecosystems and climate-responsive urban futures, the program explores how education, public health, and design innovation intersect to shape inclusive, resilient environments. The symposium underscores equity-driven, data-informed approaches to urban development while reinforcing Jefferson’s role as an emerging center for international research, collaboration, and thought leadership in shaping future cities.

Join a global dialogue on the future of cities on Monday, April 20, 2026 from 5:00–7:00 PM at the Lawrence Field DEC Center Auditorium
Thomas Jefferson University - East Falls Campus, Philadelphia, PA. Presented by the UNESCO Chairs - Smart Healthy Learning Cities:
Edgar Stach, PhD.
Katie Di Santis, PhD
Barbara Klinkhammer, Dipl.-Ing

This symposium reflects UNESCO’s core commitment to fostering international cooperation, interdisciplinary exchange, and knowledge sharing. It also marks an important milestone in establishing Thomas Jefferson University as an international hub for research, innovation, and policy leadership in smart, healthy, and learning cities.

We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the Provost Office of Thomas Jefferson University, the College of Population Health, the College of Nursing, and the College of Architecture and the Built Environment, whose contributions make this work possible.

Event details and registration available in the link in our bio and online, here:
https://www.jefferson.edu/institute-for-smart-and-healthy-cities/events/shc-symposium.html

03/09/2026

We would love to meet you!

03/06/2026

Did you attend? What did you think? Let us know in the comments.

03/03/2026

Marking its sixth year, the International Neurodiversity & the Built Environment Symposium explores how design can honor diverse sensory, cognitive, and relational experiences. This year’s theme, Building Empathy, invites cross‑disciplinary practitioners, researchers, artists, and self‑advocates to rethink how environments can support dignity, agency, and belonging. The symposium examines how empathetic, art‑informed approaches can move beyond accommodation toward more caring, collaborative, and human‑centered futures.⁠
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This year builds on the momentum of our previous symposia—FALL 2020: Building Community & Rethinking the Built Environment, FALL 2021: Immersive Experiences, FALL 2022: PlaceMaking, SPRING 2024: Intentional Connections, and SPRING 2025: Interdependence in Action. Together, these cross‑disciplinary gatherings foster international dialogue among neurodivergent individuals, communities, advocacy groups, and professionals across design, health, art, and technology.⁠
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Presented by the Synesthetic Research and Design Lab, College of Architecture & the Built Environment, in collaboration with the Jefferson Health Center for Autism and Neurodiversity. The event is generously sponsored by Cigna Healthcare, Heckendorn Shiles Architects (HSA), HOK, and Perkins&Will.⁠
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Event Details:⁠
We invite all participants to join us for the in-person reception event the evening before the Symposium to meet and cross-pollinate.⁠
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Opening Reception at The Landing Lounge⁠
🗓️ When: Thursday, March 26, 2026⁠
🕕 Time: 6 - 9 p.m. EST⁠
📍 Place: The Landing Lounge, 617 Righters Ferry Rd Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004⁠
🎟️ Free for all symposium registrants⁠
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Symposium at East Falls Campus⁠
🗓️ When: Friday, March 27, 2026⁠
🕘 Time: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. EST⁠
📍Format: Hybrid. In-person at Thomas Jefferson University (East Falls Campus, DEC Center, 2nd Floor, Rooms 211/212) and Virtual (Zoom webinar link to be shared with registrants at a later date). ⁠
🎟️ Free with registration⁠
⁠
Register, here:

The event is co-organized by the Synesthetic Research and Design Lab, College of Architecture & the Built Environment at Thomas Jefferson University and the Center for Autism and Neurodiversity, Jefferson Health in Pennsylvania, as well as the Inclusive Design Research Centre of Ireland at UCD in pa...