Arcosanti Workshops and Seminars
Paolo Soleri is hands-down the granddaddy of sustainable design; he’s taught “arcology,” architecture plus ecology, as an alternative to urban sprawl since 1970. Participants in his conceptual and construction workshops are sure to get their hands dirty. The program is offered year-round; students live and work at his experimental town, Arcosanti, where they learn the history and philosophy behind Soleri’s signature domes as well as construction techniques such as silt-casting. arcosanti.org

Location: Arcosanti, Mayer, Ariz.
Open to: Everyone 18 or older
Cost: One-week seminar, $485; five-week workshop, $1,350. Fees cover tuition, meals, and accommodations.

Chicago Architecture Foundation Docent Education Program
The Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) is known for its walking tours led by enthusiastic docents. Every January through April the CAF Docent Education Program cultivates new guides to lead its “Historic Downtown: Rise of the Skyscraper” and “Modern Skyscrapers” tours. Students learn Windy City history from lectures by local historians, architects, and construction managers, and tackle a deep reading list, but the real test comes from on-street practice sessions. architecture.org/volunteer.html

Location: Chicago Architecture Foundation, Chicago, Ill.
Open to: Adult architecture enthusiasts
Cost: $15 application fee, $175 in books and materials.

Glenn Murcutt International Architecture Master Class
Pritzker Prize–winning architect Glenn Murcutt leads a summer design studio in Sydney, Australia. The future of eco-minded design is at the heart of the intensive, two-week-long course. Offered to practicing architects, academics, and recent graduates, the course centers around a team design charette, with lectures and field trips to sustainably designed Murcutt works in the area. ozetecture.org

Location: Sydney, Australia
Open to: Architects, academics, and recent grads by application
Cost: $5,300 for 2009 (includes accommodation and most meals, but not international travel).

The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America (ICA&CA)
At chapters across the country, the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America is dedicated to keeping the tradition of hand drawing alive. New York City courses include an Introduction to Linear Perspective as well as Basic Proportion. The Rocky Mountain chapter offers a class in a classic form of architectural illustration nearly lost to computer screens: the labor-intensive Beaux-Arts Ink Wash Technique. Check regional chapter listings for local course schedules. classicist.org

Location: Nationwide
Open to: Students of art, planning, and architecture, design professionals, and the general public
Cost: $200 ($180 for ICA&CA members) for an all-day session.

Leading by Design Fellows Program
Beginning in May 2010 at the California College of the Arts, the Leading by Design Fellows Program will offer seven intensive weekend charettes—for senior professionals from all fields—that apply design thinking to global business. With an interdisciplinary and strategic approach, the program will feature notable faculty such as IDEO’s Tim Brown and Saatchi & Saatchi CEO Adam Werbach. cca.edu/academics/graduate/design-mba/fellows-program

Location: California College of the Arts, San Francisco
Open to: Executives and senior managers from all fields
Cost: $14,500, including books, materials, and special receptions.

ModeLab Parametric Design Workshop
Hosted by ModeLab, the research and education spin-off of Ronnie Parsons and Gil Akos’s Brooklyn, N.Y.–based practice Studio Mode, the Parametric Design Workshop immerses students in the modeling software plug-in Grasshopper. Both conceptual and technical, the two-day course emphasizes constraint-based design and associative modeling techniques. modelab.nu/?p=1839

Location: New York City
Open to: Everyone (bring your own laptop)
Cost: $550