Geffen Academy at UCLA About Us

Welcome to Geffen Academy

Geffen Academy at UCLA is a university-affiliated school for students in grades 6-12. We value academic depth and inspiration within a humane educational environment. Our community is guided by principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Geffen Academy students are encouraged to be questioners, analysts, and presenters, who are creative, collaborative, and active young adults. Our students practice their skills, competencies, and relationships with deliberation.

Geffen Academy graduates believe that knowledge is beautiful, transformative, and relevant to one’s life and civic responsibility in a global community.

Message From The Head of School

Welcome to Geffen Academy at UCLA. I am proud of the work we do here at Geffen Academy. Through hard work in academics, athletics and the arts; a focus on individual identity and growth; and a commitment to the world beyond one’s self, students at Geffen Academy will experience an educational culture that not only looks forward but leads forward.

Message From The Chancellor

At Geffen Academy, secondary education is redefined. The school models a new wave of learning that places equal emphasis on community, mental health and diversity alongside high-quality academics, research-based practice and hands-on experience. Every student’s unique potential is nurtured through a vision that encourages intellectual curiosity, creativity and a deep commitment to the public good—values closely aligned with UCLA’s core principles.

Our Vision For The Future Begins With Our Students

Geffen Academy encourages students to be creative, collaborative and engaged young adults who question, analyze and practice their skills with deliberation. Through inspired learning in our classrooms, we strive to instill in our graduates the understanding that knowledge is beautiful, transformative and relevant to one’s life and civic responsibility in a just, free and global community.

Pursuing Engagement. Finding Balance.

Getting enough sleep, sharing meals and connecting with the people who are important to you, developing active persistence and having a sense of purpose beyond oneself are habits and traits shared by children who go on to have lives with strong interpersonal relationships, professional satisfaction and financial stability. We encourage and support the development of these habits each and every day.

Committed to Adolescent Development

First and foremost, the school day at Geffen Academy runs from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Adolescents’ biological rhythms operate differently from those of children or adults—and students need to get adequate sleep. We also believe that families should be eating and talking together, whenever possible. Again, research clearly demonstrates that children benefit from eating meals with their families.

Our students learn persistence and confidence from sticking with activities and interests over time. We seek to help students find a sense of purpose beyond themselves. Whether it’s connecting to the world under a microscope, on the athletics field, or with fellow writers, artists, and historians, Geffen Academy honors students’ interests and connects them to opportunities to engage in the work they love.

The Power Of Partnership: Geffen Academy and UCLA

UCLA is a renowned research university, a beacon for knowledge and creativity on campus and across the globe. By partnering with UCLA, Geffen Academy students are uniquely positioned to take advantage of the diversity of thought, sense of purpose, and boundless optimism that can be experienced on campus.