Academics

Signature Programs

Signature Programs That Set Us Apart

Milken’s Signature Programs expose students to emerging trends and equip them to transform how we live as a global society. Our school is renowned for its emphasis on innovative excellence and its dedication to helping students invent the fields of the future. Milken’s signature programs apply our educational philosophy and contain the three key elements of our portrait of a graduate--think well, belong to something greater than yourself, and take positive action. Rooted in academic coursework, signature programs are curricular, co-curricular, and extra curricular.

Milken's Signature Programs

List of 5 items.

  • Mitchell Academy of Science+Technology (MAST)

    Mitchell Academy of Science+Technology  (MAST) prepares students to pioneer new frontiers of scientific discovery. Through MAST, they access extraordinary elective and extracurricular opportunities that inspire and motivate them for success. In collaboration with Milken’s Innovation & Fabrication and Science Departments, MAST offers students a wide variety of programs in advanced research and design, computer science, engineering and robotics.
  • Architecture + Design Institute

    Architecture + Design Institute is a national leader in preparing students with a comprehensive foundation in product and structural design. Using mathematical, scientific, and artistic processes, students harness creative solutions to real-world problems, learning from professional architects and designers through presentations, panels, field trips, and hands-on experiences in the community. Courses include design arts, graphic design, fashion design and architectural design.
  • Beit Midrash Fellowship

    Beit Midrash Fellowship is an advanced, innovative Jewish studies program that integrates high-level text learning, social action, leadership, community-building and celebration. Beit Midrash students develop sophisticated teaching on contemporary personal and social issues, enrich the Jewish life of the larger Milken community, and work together to develop the Global Beit Midrash program, enabling Jewish teenagers from around the world to connect, collaborate, and create.
  • Finance and Entrepreneurship Program

    The Finance and Entrepreneurship Program thrives with a spirit of innovation, attuning students to the needs of a changing marketplace and equipping them with skills of creative problem solving, leadership and innovation. Students who are bold, brave, think out of the box and seek academically rigorous elective courses are perfect candidates for this program. They have the opportunity to explore finance and investing at an introductory level or dive deeply into advanced investing and/or entrepreneurship.
  • Storytellers

    Storytellers utilizes writing as a form of art and self-expression. Refining ideas, studying successful works, and forming a nurturing community are cornerstones of the program. Students experiment with a variety of writing forms, from feature-length screenplays to short stories and poems. By participating in writing workshops and storytelling events, students learn how to provide thoughtful and caring critiques. Through elective writing courses, students develop their own creative process as they navigate different genres within the creative writing space.

Signature Spaces

Milken is also home to two Signature Spaces. Located on the Upper School campus, the Guerin Family Institute and Fab Lab is one of the only Fab Labs in the region, a groundbreaking place for student exploration and invention, equipped with high and low tech machines. It serves as a place for students, faculty, and Milken families to play, experiment, learn, and innovate. At the Middle School Campus, the Idea Lab introduces students to fundamental skill-building projects such as soft circuitry and design challenges. Milken graduates take that creativity out into the world with their honed problem-solving skills to positively impact their community.

Division Culminating Programs

Milken is also known for its incredible culminating programs that are our mission in action, the application of our core values, and the realization of our educational philosophy. These programs are an expression of the learning and growth during each students’ time in a division.

List of 3 items.

  • Division 6-8: Grade 8 Siyyum

    The culminating Grade 8 Siyyum ceremony is a poignant reflection on the middle school journey of our students. It serves as a significant milestone where we collectively acknowledge our students' academic accomplishments, personal development, and celebrate the friendships and community they've cultivated throughout their Division 6-8 experience. This event symbolizes their transition into the next phase of their educational journey as they prepare to step up to Upper School. The Siyyum encapsulates the essence of their growth, underscoring the profound impact that the middle school experience has had on their lives and education, setting the stage for the exciting adventures and challenges that lie ahead.
  • Division 9-10: Israel Experience

    The Jews of the Second Aliyah to the land of Israel sang, “We have come to this land to build and be built,” seeing their own work in building the land of Israel as a way of transforming themselves. In that spirit, grade 10 students have one of the following opportunities to experience Israel, helping them build their own Jewish identities.

    Tiferet Israel Fellowship
    Through Milken’s Tiferet Israel Fellowship, a cohort of 10th grade students embark on the journey of a lifetime: a thrilling, hands-on quarter of study of study in Israel. While studying in Israel, Tiferet Israel Fellows participate in a full program in general and Jewish studies. Students learn both in the classroom and on tiyulim (guided trips) all over Israel. They have the chance to explore their own personal relationship with Israel, and the origins, meanings, and development of Zionism. Students must apply and be accepted into this program. 

    Robin Family 10th Grade Tiyul
    In 2023, Milken implemented a two week 10th grade tiyul (guided trip)
    to Israel. This program ensures that all students have a meaningful
    experience in Israel before the end of 10th grade and deepen Milken’s
    core value of Ahavat Israel. The program provides Milken students the
    opportunity to travel across Israel, join together with their entire grade for meaningful Shabbat experiences, and visit the most iconic and historical sites of the Jewish people.
  • Division 11-12: Masa Senior Capstone Program

    This new program invites students to reflect on the Grade 12 Essential Question, “What am I (metaphorically) taking with me and what am I leaving behind as I head to college and beyond?” With the focus on senior preparation and legacy, the senior class has the opportunity to apply to participate in one of four distinct Masa Pathways: 
    • Deli and Herb Weisberg Israel Advocacy Leadership Circle: Seniors will learn, explore, and teach on topics around Israel on college campuses, the concerning rise of antisemitism in our country, and building a meaningful connection to Israel. Learn more.
    • Vatikim Mentor Program: Seniors will advise and shape Milken school culture through work as mentors for the 9th grade class, while reflecting on central aspects of their own Milken experience and learning Jewish texts to deepen their activities.
    • Milken Interns Program: Seniors will take part in our school’s individualized internship experience while building their career skill set and integrating their Jewish values into the professional setting.
    • Beit Midrash Fellows: Seniors will culminate their Beit Midrash program by developing a unique project to contribute to the Jewish world.
    • Service and Leadership:
      Seniors will create service learning projects to establish and solidify partnerships with organizations throughout Los Angeles, taking positive action through both service learning and social justice.
    • Jewish Culture and Creativity: Seniors will explore art and culture as a mirror of Jewish values, assessing what has characterized Jewish art throughout history. Seniors will reflect on how art and creativity help deepen their understanding of their own experience and identity.
    • Science Research: Seniors enhance their work in Honors Science Research and Design, doing on site laboratory work and connecting their learning to Jewish texts, values and ideas.

-Grade 11 A+DI Student

When I saw a building, I didn’t know what went into it such as design plans, materials, and figuring out how to make it sustainable. Now I know how they work. I’ve learned so much in this class and it has really helped me use my creativity.

Tiferet Israel Fellowship Highlights

Honors Science Research

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At Milken Community School, we think education is more than what you know. Our School, founded on Jewish values, is about who our children can become and how they can help others become who they might be. Because the world our children will create tomorrow is born in the School we build today, our mission is to educate our children so they can surpass us.
Non-discrimination Policy: Milken Community School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, financial aid, athletic, and other school-administered programs.