Architecture Preparatory Program (ArcPrep)

Photo Credit: Taubman College

The University of Michigan Architecture Preparatory Program (ArcPrep) provides Detroit Public School juniors with an immersive, semester-long college preparatory course in architecture, urbanism and studio design. Meeting three hours per day, five days a week over the course of a semester, U-M ArcPrep works to broaden career horizons, meet future demand, and bring diverse voices into the fields of architecture, planning and design by serving students typically underrepresented in American architecture schools and thus the profession of architecture.

Under the directorship of Yojairo Lomeli, ArcPrep Program Director and Anya Sirota, Associate Dean of Academic Initiatives, ArcPrep is led by Michigan Mellon design fellows and supplemented by an educational ecosystem composed of Taubman College faculty and a range of scholars from the University of Michigan. Additionally, the program is strengthened through its Detroit partnerships, bringing leading design firms, community advocates, artists, and civic leaders into the classroom. 

The program is supported by Taubman College, U-M’s School of Education, and the Detroit Community Public School Department. Funding support was provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Kresge Foundation, and the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.

Visit the Taubman College ArcPrep page to learn more information about the program.