AC Martin and USC Launch Fellowship to Advance Housing and City Design in Los Angeles

AC Martin, in partnership with the USC School of Architecture, announces the AC Martin Fellowship in Housing and City Design for the 2026–2027 academic year as part of a five-year commitment. We are pleased to welcome USC School of Architecture Master of Architecture students Lily Chang-In Jung and Ian Zitney, who will help inaugurate the fellowship program in its launch year.

The fellowship supports incoming graduate students who demonstrate exceptional promise in addressing the housing challenges facing Los Angeles and its surrounding communities. This is a unique opportunity for graduate students to begin their studies with dedicated research support, professional mentorship, and structured engagement with pressing issues in housing and urban development.

The fellowship provides $10,000 per year toward tuition at the USC School of Architecture in exchange for 500 hours of directed research during the academic year. The fellowship is open to newly admitted students entering the Master of Advanced Architectural Research Studies, City Design and Housing program or the Master of Architecture programs. Fellows work closely with faculty advisors, AC Martin leaders, and housing experts to pursue research that connects design, planning, policy, and development to real-world housing challenges.

“Los Angeles is at a critical moment in defining the future of housing, and this fellowship creates a rare platform where academic research, professional expertise, and civic responsibility converge,” said Alvin Huang, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate and Post-Professional Architecture at the USC School of Architecture. “By partnering with AC Martin, whose legacy is deeply intertwined with the growth of our city, we are allowing students to engage directly with the real conditions shaping housing production in Southern California. The AC Martin Fellowship allows our students to study with intention, to collaborate with practitioners and policymakers, and to contribute meaningful insight to the challenges that affect every Angeleno. This partnership strengthens USC Architecture, supports the profession at large, and invests in the next generation of designers who will help chart a more affordable, equitable, and innovative future for Los Angeles.”

Throughout our nearly 120-year history, AC Martin has grown alongside Los Angeles and, with it, has been committed to addressing housing needs — from growth to inequity and affordability, which continue to be among the City's biggest challenges. Our firm has designed over 60,000 units by helping shape policies that affect housing creation in LA, partnering with some of the most active profit- and non-profit-housing developers in LA, and volunteering for causes that support the unhoused population in finding permanent, supportive solutions. Through this fellowship, AC Martin and USC will leverage this platform to effect positive change and increase housing production in LA.

“At AC Martin, we’ve always believed that great design has the power to shape communities for the better, and nowhere is that more important than in addressing the housing challenges facing Los Angeles. Housing scarcity, affordability, and equity affect every aspect of life in the region, and solving these issues requires innovative ideas, rigorous research, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. That’s why we’re proud to partner with the USC School of Architecture for the AC Martin Fellowship in Housing and City Design. This fellowship embodies our dedication to blending professional expertise with academic inquiry to help advance equitable strategies and strengthen the future of multifamily and community-centered development across Los Angeles.” —Tom Hseih, President and CEO AC Martin.

For additional information about the AC Martin Fellowship or USC Architecture's graduate programs, visit arch.usc.edu or contact USC Graduate Architecture Admissions at archgrad@usc.edu