Pathways to Science Summer Scholars is a free two-week summer STEM program designed for 100 rising 10th, 11th, and 12th grade Yale Pathways students. Each summer, Pathways Summer Scholars select from a variety of STEM workshops collaboratively designed and taught by Yale faculty and graduate students. The program covers a wide range of workshop topics, including, but not limited to, chemistry, neuroscience, engineering, and more. Current Yale students serve as teaching assistants and mentors in the program. Rising Pathways seniors are also eligible to apply to the residential program, where they reside in Yale dormitories and take part in college preparatory programming in addition to STEM workshops during the day. See the video from the 2024 Closing Ceremony here! Check out our instagram here!
Note: Pathways students in 9th through 11th grades will receive an application to their emails in January. Program dates are in July.
Program Description
The strength of the Summer Scholars curriculum lies in broad-based support from the Yale community. In summer 2024, over 200 Yale community members were involved in the program—supporting the program by teaching classes, serving as residential advisors, welcoming students into Yale research laboratories, and supporting the planning and preparation for the program.
Hands-on laboratory courses form the cornerstone of the Pathways Summer Scholars curriculum, exposing students to college-level science courses and sparking their curiosity about new scientific fields. This summer, students selected from 24 STEM workshops. Workshop topics included The Microbes On and Around Me; Consciousness - Self, Science, and Society; Radio Astronomy; The Physics of Light; and more. During the program, students could be found dissecting worms with Yale research scientists; building string instruments in Yale’s Center for Engineering, Innovation & Design; controlling a robotic claw with their own muscle movements; and “smaashing protons” in simulations with Yale Physics faculty.
Rising high school seniors also recieved guidance on personal college essay in an intensive two-week writing workshop and engaged in discussions during Doing College seminars. These sessions explored the broader social issues that influence the successful completion of a college degree, including topics related to transitioning to college life, understanding inequality in the higher education system, and finding the right college. By living in Yale student dormitories, rising seniors had the opportunities to experience college life and participate in a variety of enrichment activities involving Yale’s world class researchers and cutting-edge laboratories.
Sample Day Program Schedule
9:00 – 9:30 Group Meeting
9:30 – 11:00 Morning Workshop: Consciousness
11:15 – 12:15 Enrichment Lecture: Cosmic Archaeology: A Trip Back in Time
12:30 – 1:30 Lunch in Yale Dining Halls
1:45 – 3:15 Afternoon Workshop: College Essay Writing (Seniors Only)
3:30 – 4:00 Feedback, Dismissal and Pick-Ups
Sample Residential Program Schedule
8:30 – 9:15 Breakfast in Yale Dining Halls
9:30 – 11:00 Morning Workshop: Peanuts to Plasma Cells: Immulonogy
11:15 – 12:15 Enrichment Lecture: Drosophila and their Natural Enemies
12:30 – 1:30 Lunch in Yale Dining Halls
1:45 – 3:15 Afternoon Workshop: College Essay
3:30 – 5:00 “Doing College Right” College Prep
5:30 – 6:30 Dinner in Yale Dining Halls
7:00 – 10:00 Activity Time in the Yale Residential Colleges
11:00pm Lights Out/Sleep