Annenberg Youth Academy for Media and Civic Engagement

Now accepting applications for Summer 2026. Click here for the application instructions. Click here to apply.

Application deadline: Sunday, April 19, 2026 by 11:59 pm PT

The Annenberg Youth Academy for Media and Civic Engagement is a three-week summer intensive academy for 26 talented high school students from the communities surrounding the USC University Park and Health Science Campuses. Students are exposed to the equivalent of first-year college-level courses and develop a rich conceptual understanding and practice of the necessary role that media communications and journalism play in fashioning civic-minded thought leaders and innovators.

AYA strengthens students’ skills in writing, critical thought, public speech and debate, multimedia production, interviewing and ethnography — all essential competencies required for excellence in and out of the classroom in the 21st century. The students are introduced to USC Annenberg’s undergraduate programs and services and possible careers in media and journalism. They have opportunities to meet the school’s innovative scholars and practitioners who are shaping the future of communication, journalism and public relations, and creating interdisciplinary solutions for complex societal and organizational challenges. 

To be eligible for AYA, students must reside and attend high school in the communities surrounding USC. These communities include: Boyle Heights, Compton, Crenshaw, East Los Angeles, Historic South Central, Huntington Park, Hyde Park, Jefferson, Korea Town, Lincoln Heights, Lynwood, Mid City, Monterey Park, Pico Union, South Gate, Vernon, Watts, and Westlake.

Read about two former AYA students’ experiences in the program — and their stories as current USC Annenberg students: Abraham Flores and Kymia Freeman.

View the AYA 2025 Student Communication Projects here.

View a student Newscast from the Journalism course here.

For more information about Annenberg Youth Academy, please contact:

Rogelio Alejandro Lopez, Ph.D.

Director, Annenberg Youth Academy

ascjaya@usc.edu