Black Youth Summer Institute

Overnight Camp

In partnership with the Black Southern Oregon Alliance, the Black Youth Summer Institute (BYSI) is a week-long summer camp exploring a broad range of classes, lectures, cultural experiences and recreational activities in a university setting for students completing grades 7-12.

Selected students will interact with other students living throughout Oregon who identify as a community member of the African diaspora, a worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans. Additionally, the BYSI campers will also spend time with Black and African American leaders and instructors during classes, presentations, and recreational activities to learn and explore topics of culture and heritage.

In collaboration with the Southern Oregon Black and African American Student Success Grant Team, Youth Programs is proud to be able to cover the costs of the program. Therefore, accepted campers will have their entire camp tuition fully waived!

To learn more about the Black Youth Summer Institute partnership work, visit the Black Southern Oregon Alliance.

BYSI Camper Application

Camp Schedule & Information

Camp Schedule and Information
Black Youth Summer Institute will be held on July 13 – 18, 2025 on the Southern Oregon University campus. Camp applications will go live on Monday, January 13 at 9:00 am.

Applying as a New Student

The online Black Youth Summer Institute application will be available starting January 13.

If you are applying as a new student to the overnight camp, follow the steps below:

Start your application by visiting the SOU Youth Programs application portal Ideal-Logic.
You will be prompted to create an account. Please use your personal email address, and not your school email.
Select the Black Youth Summer Institute program on the menu page and progress through the application.

If you have questions or need assistance with these steps, please contact our office at youthprograms@sou.edu.

Applying as a Returning Student

The online Black Youth Summer Institute application will be available starting January 13.

If you have previously applied for the overnight program, follow the steps below:

Return to your account by visiting the SOU Youth Programs application portal Ideal-Logic.
When you return to the system, press the Account Login button and enter in your login credentials.
If you have forgotten your login credentials, press Account Login then Forgot Your Password.
You will be contacted to reset your password and log into the portal.
On the portal, find the Black Youth Summer Institute application and click into the application.

If you have questions or need assistance with these steps, please contact our office at youthprograms@sou.edu.

Black & African American

Black Youth Summer Institute

SOU Youth Programs