The California State Summer School for the Arts announces new campus partnership
Sacramento, CA (December 23, 2025)
Established by California Legislature in 1985, the California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA) is pleased to announce that California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) will be the new host site for future summer sessions beginning July 2026.
CSSSA offers talented students exciting, intensive learning experiences in the visual, literary, performing and media arts. This partnership will continue CSSSA’s longstanding commitment to arts education for California teens with expanded artistic facilities, and additional amenities for the community.
An RFP was released on July 18, 2025, soliciting proposals to host the CSSSA summer session beginning in 2026. After a highly competitive proposal evaluation which included several outstanding public and private college campuses, the final contract was enthusiastically awarded to Cal Poly Pomona. CSSSA is thrilled to be hosted by such an artistically resourced campus, providing an intimate setting for CSSSA students within commuting distance to the many arts industry resources in Southern California.
Cal Poly Pomona, which is part of the California State University system, is the most diverse polytechnic institute in the nation and ranked one of the top public universities in the West by U.S. News. Its large campus for CSSSA students features many new and state-of-the-art facilities, including a recently opened residence hall complex. The facilities will also provide CSSSA with the first opportunity in many years to expand into new artistic disciplines that are reflective of the creative industries in California. The university’s location closer to San Bernadino and Riverside counties, will allow better access to students in a region that has been underrepresented in past sessions.
Partnering with Cal Poly Pomona is a new and exciting perspective for CSSSA. The polytechnic approach aligns closely with CSSSA’s mission and the needs of California’s creative industry workforce as well as foster the interdisciplinary mindset, and innovative problem-solving abilities demanded by the state’s rapidly evolving cultural and creative sectors.
-Donna Casey, CSSSA co-founder and current Board member
For more information about the California State Summer School for the Arts and this exciting new partnership, please visit the CSSSA website or email comments@csssa.ca.gov.
For more information on Cal Poly Pomona, its academic programs and community, visit the university’s website.