2026 SWA Summer Student Program

In the heart of Westside Los Angeles County, a mile-long runway cuts through the city. For over a century, the Santa Monica Airport launched aircraft over the city. In 2014, voters approved a measure limiting new development on airport land — prioritizing parks, open space, and recreational facilities for its future. Although it’s still in limited operation, the airport’s full closure is expected at the end of 2028. Over the past two years, the City has undertaken a robust engagement process to develop a vision for the site’s future as a “great park” for Santa Monica.

SWA’s 2026 Summer Student Program, hosted in our Los Angeles studio, takes this once-in-a-generation civic transition as its focus. Over eight weeks, selected students from across the U.S. will examine how large urban parks are conceived, funded, and implemented in partnership with agencies and communities—grappling with the scale, complexity, and political realities of converting an active airfield into an enduring public realm.

For the past 50 years, SWA’s summer student program has gathered emerging designers to explore critical contemporary design questions. 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 2026 school year (graduated students ineligible).

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Important dates
Selected applicants will receive a stipend and housing for the full duration of the program.

Submission deadline: March 7
Notification: Mid-March
SSP Internship: June 1–July 31

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