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Abstract Amphiphilic graft copolymers were prepared via a grafting through approach to yield materials with a hydrophilic backbone and hydrophobic arms. The thermally responsive macromonomers were designed to contain a Diels–Alder adduct such that cyclo‐reversion would cleave the arms from the backbone thus altering polymer topology, composition and solubility. The macromonomers were prepared via light‐inducted atom transfer radical polymerization followed by post‐polymerization modification to install a polymerizable functionality. Next, free radical polymerization was employed to yield thermally responsive amphiphilic graft copolymers, whose solution state characteristics were extensively characterized by UV/Vis spectroscopy and fluorimetry. Due to the amphiphilic nature of the graft copolymer, some unexpected results occurred because of aggregation and solubility limitations. Furthermore, it was discovered that poly(N‐isopropyl acrylamide) exhibited distinct and unique aggregation properties by itself.