California State Summer School for the Arts

The California State Summer School for the Arts, commonly known as CSSSA ("SEE-SUH"), is a rigorous four-week, pre-professional visual and performing arts training program for high school students held each summer at the California Institute of the Arts. The goal of CSSSA is to provide a supportive environment in which students acquire experience and training that extends beyond the practice and improvement of aesthetics and technique. Artistic disciplines offered by the program include: animation, creative writing, dance, film and video, music, theatre arts, and visual arts. Its purpose is to provide a training ground for future artists who wish to pursue careers in the arts and entertainment industries in California. Admitted students are designated California Arts Scholars, honored throughout the state’s fifty-eight counties. Upon completion of the program, the students are awarded a Governor's Medallion, the highest distinction in California for artistically talented students. Founded in 1987, CSSSA is a California State agency funded through a unique public/private partnership.