The CAC’s 15-month Teen Fellows program provides Chicago youth with a unique opportunity to build foundational architecture skills. Applications for the Summer 2025 - Summer 2026 program are now closed.
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CAC Teen Fellows Showcase, 2023
The mission of the Teen Fellows, developed by participating youth, is to explore the past, experience the present and design the future. As a dedicated community of hands-on learners, Fellows question and identify how the built environment applies to their lives.
This 15-month program is offered at no cost to selected participants, and gives Chicago sophomores, juniors and seniors the chance to explore architecture and design careers, earn college credit and work alongside industry professionals. During the program, Fellows:
Teen Fellows is open to incoming sophomores, juniors and seniors who attend high school in Chicago and the surrounding area, and who are able to commit to the entire duration of the program.
While applicants from outside of the city of Chicago are welcome to apply and participate, some benefits of the program are solely available to residents of the city of Chicago (scholarship tuition from City Colleges of Chicago) or CPS students (dual enrollment credits; high schools outside of CPS may accept those credits at their own discretion). Acceptance of applicants from outside Chicago will be informed by need, and accessibility to similar programs in your area.
The CAC is committed to increasing access to students from populations historically under-represented in architecture, construction, engineering and design, including BIPOC youth and those who identify as female.
Applications for the Summer 2025 - Summer 2026 program are now closed.
Programming will be in-person only, primarily at Harold Washington College in the Loop.
Email us at teens@architecture.org
