About
AYA GROUP PIC

Annenberg Youth Academy for Media and Civic Engagement

The Annenberg Youth Academy for Media and Civic Engagement is a two-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. 

Students must reside and attend high school in Los Angeles County to be eligible to apply. Application is scheduled to open on March 1, 2025, and close on April 14, 2025.

Program Dates: Monday, June 16, 2025 – Thursday, July 3, 2025

AYA 2024 included:

  • Free breakfast and lunch daily
  • AYA swag
  • One TAP card with a $50 value (if needed)
  • Educational field trips
  • Three periods per day
  • College advising and college essay preparation from the USC Annenberg Admissions Team.
  • Ability to meet new peers and engage with our faculty, students and staff
  • Sessions with award-winning bilingual journalist Allan Lopez, and with scholar, media maker and adjunct lecturer Rogelio Lopez.

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 2024 Student Communication Projects here.

View the AYA 2024 Student Newscast here.

View the AYA 2024 Journalism Projects here.

For more information about Annenberg Youth Academy, please contact:

Annenberg Youth Academy
ascjaya@usc.edu

JaBari Brown
Director
Advisement and Academic Services & Civic Engagement
jabari.brown@usc.edu
(213) 740-0900