SWA Summer Student Program: Laguna Beach, CA

Whether they know it or not, nearly a third of the U.S. population lives in the “wildland-urban interface,” or WUI—a transitional zone where developed and undeveloped lands meet. Across these vast borders, tensions rise: rigid infrastructure meets dynamic ecology, sparking continual conflict over land, resources, and a changing climate.

In California, where urban sprawl races outward into increasingly fire-prone terrain, the WUI has become a flashpoint for urgent issues of climate adaptation, housing affordability, and environmental conservation. When designers and planners work in these highly contested areas, difficult questions arise: how can the state increase its affordable housing stock while safeguarding communities from wildfire risk? How can cities accommodate growth without compromising the resilience and health of natural systems?

SWA’s 2025 Summer Student Program invites a select group of graduate students to our Laguna Beach studio for an immersive exploration of Southern California’s WUI. Over the course of this intensive, participants will grapple with the complexities of these landscapes, developing bold, multiscalar design and planning strategies that interrogate and redefine the future of these precarious urban fringes.

For the past 50 years, SWA’s summer student program has gathered emerging designers to explore critical contemporary design questions. Many participants have become leaders within the firm and the discipline. We invite full-time upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in planning, urban design, architecture, and landscape architecture to apply. Applicants must be returning to their academic program in the 2025 school year (graduated students ineligible).

Important dates

SWA’s Summer Student Program is eight weeks, divided into two parts: first, four weeks devoted to the year’s research topic, then, four additional weeks for a general internship with project work within the studio. Selected applicants will receive a stipend and housing for the full duration of the program.

Submission deadline: March 7

Notification: Mid-March

SSP research portion: June 1–30

SSP internship portion: July 2–31

Submission requirements

Please submit all entries via the Breezy form linked on SWA’s website. Electronic submissions only.

1-minute introductory video

Letter of interest

Resume

Contact information for 2–3 references

Portfolio (max. 10 pages)