NOTE: Virtual program offering for Summer 2021 was sent directly to Pathways to Science Scholars.
Pathways Summer Scholars is a free two-week summer science day program for 100 rising tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade Yale Pathways students. Each summer, Pathways Summer Scholars will have the opportunity to select from a variety of STEM workshops collaboratively designed and taught by Yale faculty and graduate students. The program for Summer 2020 includes new workshop topics, including but not limited to sustainability, coding, 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, living in the Yale student dormitories and taking part in college preparatory programming in addition to attending STEM workshops during the day
We are moving virtual for Summer 2021!
Program Dates for Summer 2021: July 11-July 22, 2021
Application Requirements
Note: Pathways students in 9th through 11th grades will receive an application to their and emails in February 2021.
Program Description (in-person)
While the summers 2020 and 2021 must be virtual, we hope to get back to in-person programming in Summer 2022! Here is our description:
The strength of the Summer Scholars curriculum lies in broad-based support from the Yale community. In summer 2019, 142 Yale community members were Qinvolved 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 Scholars curriculum, exposing students to college-level science courses and sparking their curiosity about new scientific fields. Last summer, students selected from 21 STEM workshops. Workshop topics included the Physics of Atmospheres, Sensory Physiology, Using Computers for Simulations & Modeling, Evolution and Medicine, and more. During the program, students could be found manipulating single molecules with chemistry professor Ziad Ganim; dissecting worms and crayfish with medical school research scientists; building string instruments in Yale’s Center for Engineering, Innovation & Design; extracting iron from breakfast cereal; or using their new DIY microscopes at the Yale Farm.
Rising high school seniors also completed a personal college essay in an intensive two-week writing workshop and engaged in sociological 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. Moreover, by living in Yale student dormitories, rising seniors experienced what life is like outside of daily laboratory workshops, students participated in a variety of enrichment activities that provided opportunities to interact with Yale scientists, learn about cutting-edge research, and tour Yale laboratories and research collections.
Sample Day Program Schedule (inperson)
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 (in person)
8:30 – 9:15 Breakfast in Yale Dining Halls
9:30 – 11:00 Morning Workshop: Bugs and Us
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