Admission

The SCA Summer Program offers more than just a summer course - it's an academically rigorous and creatively inspiring 6-week journey where your active and supportive participation plays a key role in shaping the experience.

With rolling admission, students aged 16 and above are encouraged to apply. Once accepted, enrollment is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Each course you complete earns elective credits (called Units, here at USC), that are transferable to USC and other universities/colleges. Upon completing the program, you'll receive an official transcript through the USC Registrar's Office.

All of the SCA Summer Program courses are specifically designed and intended for students who are not matriculated USC/SCA students. D-Clearance will not be granted to USC/SCA students.

Admission Process

• Submit an application.
  • Applicants will have to select three courses in ranking order for their Main Course but will only be put into one.
  • Applicants may also choose an additional course(s) in ranking order, as their Secondary Course to take at the same time as the Main Course.
• Applications will not be reviewed until ALL tasks have been completed and submitted.
  • Applicants are responsible to monitor the status of their application and the submission of application documents via the application portal.
• Students will be notified via email of their admission status.
  • Admission notifications can take up to 4 weeks to be emailed.
  • Once a student is accepted into the Program, the non-refundable $750 Commitment Deposit must be submitted within 5 Business Days after the date of the Acceptance Notification. The Commitment Deposit will be credited back to the student's USC account toward their tuition.
  • Failure to submit the Commitment Deposit within 5 Business Days after the date of the Acceptance Notification could jeopardize your place in the course(s) you have selected.
  • All tuition and housing fees must be paid in full by June 20 in order to secure your enrollment in the Program and to guarantee your housing assignment.
  • Failure to pay the tuition and housing fees in full by June 20 could jeopardize your enrollment in the SCA Summer Program and could impact your future standing with the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

How to Apply

All communication from the SCA Summer Program office will be sent through email. When registering for the application, applicants must make sure to use an email address that is checked frequently.

• Complete and submit the online application through the application portal.
  • Applicants can find a list of the Application Requirements on our website.
  • Please make sure that the correct application is selected on the Online Application page.
  • Create a login on the application portal.
  • Pay the $65 nonrefundable application fee.
  • Submit the application!

Waitlist

When a course becomes full, a waitlist option will open up for a limited time. Applicants who are interested in a full class may sign up to be on the waitlist for that specific class.

When a spot opens up in the class, the waitlist will be checked and applicants will be contacted to apply for the course if they are still interested. Applicants will be contacted in the order of when they signed up on the waitlist. Applicants will then have two business days to respond back or they will lose their spot.

Please note that putting your name on the waitlist is not a guarantee that a spot will be available for you.

The SCA Summer Program applications open for the following summer each year on December 15.

Application status notifications will be sent out up to 4 weeks after the submission of your application.

The non-refundable $750 Commitment Deposit must be submitted within 5 Business Days after the date of the Acceptance Notification. The Commitment Deposit will be credited back to the student's USC account toward their tuition.

Failure to submit the Commitment Deposit within 5 Business Days after the date of the Acceptance Notification could jeopardize your place in the course(s) you have selected.

Payment Due Date

USC makes the student's fee bills available 3 - 4 weeks before the start of the program.

All tuition and housing fees must be paid in full by June 20 in order to secure your enrollment in the Program and to guarantee your housing assignment.

Failure to pay the tuition and housing fees in full by June 20 could jeopardize your enrollment in the SCA Summer Program and could impact your future standing with the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Tuition and Fees

The SCA Summer Program follows the tuition set by the University. Tuition costs differ based upon the number of Units a student takes. Please refer to the table below for the tuition and fees.

Additional Fees

Production Insurance

Student productions are insured at the School of Cinematic Arts when they are properly vetted by the faculty and approved by the Office of Physical Production and sometimes the greater University as required. Our insurance policy protects each production with basic industry standards that allow our students to effectively interact with the larger community, without which the student's projects would be seriously limited. Please note that there is a deductible that must be paid first before the insurance will cover the rest of the expenses.

USC School of Cinematic Arts Production Insurance includes, but is not limited to:

• A student's ability to use actors.
• A student's ability to use USC facilities in accordance with USC rules and policy.
• Access to SCA facilities as available in accordance with USC rules and policy.
• Access to SCA industry union agreements.
• Outside rentals.
• Protection when using off-campus locations.
• Use of equipment from SCA's Production Equipment Center, Camera Equipment Center, and Sound Equipment Center in accordance with class and Center rules and policies, as available.

Please see the table below.

	Fee Amount	Applicable Courses
Production Insurance Premium	$250	Action Film Production Digital Cinematography Directing Intensive Documentary Filmmaking Filmmaking Intensive Filmmaking with Visual Effects Horror Film Production Music Video Production Poetic Filmmaking USC/Warner Bros Producing and Directing
Insurance Deductible	$1,000

International Student Fees

International students applying for an F1 visa from USC (I20 for Canadian students) are required to pay the fees laid out in the table below.

Please note: Citizens of Canada and Bermuda do not need a visa (only need an I-20) and therefore are not required to pay a visa application fee.

Notes	Fee Amount	Link
*USC I-20 Processing Fee	$350	An email invoice will be sent.
Visa Application Fee	$182	https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/
SEVIS I-901 Fee	$350	https://www.fmjfee.com/i901fee/index.html
* Application Fee may vary from country to country. Please check here to see if your country has any additional issuance fees.

The SCA Summer Program does not offer financial aid to non-USC students. However, outside loans, scholarships, and financial assistance from other institutions may be applied to the program.

We encourage prospective students to utilize the listed scholarship search engines to seek out financial aid opportunities that might be available for the SCA Summer Program.

• Fastweb - https://www.fastweb.com/
• Scholarships.com - https://www.scholarships.com/
• BigFuture - https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarships
• Scholly - https://myscholly.com/
• Appily - https://www.appily.com/scholarships
• Unigo - https://www.unigo.com/

Note that many of these scholarships will only cover a portion of tuition, housing, dining, and fees. Multiple scholarships may be needed; research and plan, applying as early as possible to any qualifying scholarships that could assist in covering any or all costs.

Also, use this opportunity to familiarize yourself with what financial aid opportunities may be open to you for future undergraduate studies.

USC on-campus housing is available for any SCA Summer Program students needing accommodations. Please read the following carefully as the procedures differ for Pre-College Students and individuals 18 plus. 

Individuals 18+
Housing accommodations for adults (18+ years old) are managed through USC Housing, not through the SCA Summer Program.
The housing brochure and application are now available for summer program students.

Pre-College Students (16 & 17 year-olds)

• Location: USC Village in the McCarthy Honors Residential College-across the street from the main campus and a short walk to the SCA Cinema Complex.
• Housing Costs
  • Security Deposit: $500*
  • Housing Cost: $2,107 - 2,967**
  • Move-In Date: 06/20/2025 9 AM - 5 PM
  • Move-Out Date: 08/02/2025 by 4 PM

Please visit the Information for Pre-College Students webpage for more detailed information. 

*Covers incurred damages, if any, otherwise refunded fully **Please note that Housing Costs are subject to change

Please note that housing costs are separate and NOT covered in the student tuition.

All tuition and housing fees must be paid in full by June 20 in order to secure your enrollment in the Program and to guarantee your housing assignment.

Failure to pay the tuition and housing fees in full by June 20 could jeopardize your enrollment in the SCA Summer Program and could impact your future standing with the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

A mandatory virtual student orientation will be held before the arrival of all accepted students. Various times will be available to accommodate different time zones. Students only need to attend one session.

• Date: TBD
• Time: TBD
  

Zoom links will be sent out 48 hours prior.

Health Services and Insurance

A mandatory student health center fee will be applied upon registration into our program. This fee cannot be waived and is different from health insurance. This fee allows students to use the services offered by the USC Engemann Student Health Center.

Health insurance is required for all SCA Summer Program students. USC does offer summer health insurance for students who do not have it. Health insurance is needed if a student has an emergency or a need to go to the hospital.

Dining

USC has multiple dining options on and off campus. Please see here for more information on dining options. Please note that USC is a cashless campus.

Event and Seminars

The SCA Summer Program is a focused academic program designed to offer a deep dive into the world of cinematic arts. While we don't schedule traditional extracurricular activities, the USC School of Cinematic Arts comes alive in the summer with a range of exciting industry experiences, including:

• Exclusive events with top industry professionals
• Pre-release screenings
• Interactive workshops and thought-provoking seminars

Let your summer be a springboard into the heart of Hollywood!

Rec Sports and Fitness Center

USC Rec Sports and Fitness Center is only available to students 18 years old and up. Unfortunately, due to a change in USC policy, the USC gym will no longer be available to students under the age of 18.

More information about summer gym membership will be given out upon admission.