Summer Programs

Summer learning programs are crucial to ensuring that children are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to succeed in school, and beyond. New Haven students are welcomed to Yale’s campus for a diverse array of academic and enrichment programming during the summer months. The Ulysses S. Grant Program draws from the experience and enthusiasm of Yale undergraduates to challenge New Haven middle school students to acquire the academic support and skills they need to excel in school and prepare for college. Local high school students can also take Yale courses through the Shafer Scholars program, hone their musical talents at the Morse Summer Music Academy, work in laboratories alongside Yale Scientists at the Pathways Summer Scholar program, and much more.

Summer Programs Programs

Camp Kesem At Yale

Camp Kesem at Yale was founded in 2013 to support children and youth in Connecticut whose families have been affected by a cancer diagnosis. Kesem’s mission is to support children through and beyond a parent’s cancer. Run by about 45 student volunteers, Camp Kesem works to provide year-round support and a week-long free summer camp to over 100 children ages 6-18. Camp Kesem at Yale also provides support throughout the year with constant communication, care packages, reunion days, and other support networks.

Citizens Thinkers Writers

Citizens Thinkers Writers (CTW) is a two-week summer residential program for students from New Haven public schools who are interested in exploring fundamental human questions in a college setting. In seminars led by Yale professors and lecturers, students gain experience in close reading, analytic writing, and college-level discussion. During the program, students participate in a philosophical conversation that dates back to ancient Greece and Rome and link this conversation to their own experiences. After completing the summer program, students become CTW Fellows and continue to meet with the faculty, undergraduate residential teaching assistants, and a graduate coordinator throughout the academic year.

David Geffen School of Drama Dwight/Edgewood Project

The Dwight/Edgewood Project (D/EP) is a community-engagement program out of the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University (DGSD) and the Yale Repertory Theatre that serves middle school–aged students from Barnard Environmental Science & Technology School. Students in grades six and seven are paired with mentors (DGSD students from all disciplines) to write their own plays, culminating in fully produced plays performed by DGSD students and the New Haven community.

Discovery to Cure High School Internship Program

Discovery to Cure exposes students to laboratory research and promotes interest in science and medicine. Rising high school seniors spend six weeks working in a laboratory with a research scientist utilizing research techniques such as gel electrophoresis, RTPCR, and electron microscopy. Since its inception in 2003, more than 260 high school students, undergraduates, and high school teachers have successfully completed the program. Several interns have presented their research work at science fairs and approximately 20% of student interns have published their findings in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Music in Schools Morse Summer Music Academy

The Morse Summer Music Academy is a free music program for intermediate and advanced music students in the band, choir, and/or orchestra programs in New Haven public schools. Over the course of four weeks, students are taught and mentored by a team of music educators from the New Haven public schools and teaching artists from the Yale School of Music. This month-long program offers opportunities for growth in musicianship, technique, and personal achievement. New Haven public school students entering grades 4–12 are eligible to apply and audition.

Pathways Summer Scholars Program

The Pathways Summer Scholars program brings 100 high school students from New Haven, West Haven, and Orange public schools to study science for two weeks on Yale’s campus. Summer Scholars provides an intensive, hands-on science curriculum that emphasizes discovery, critical thinking, and problem solving. Rising seniors have the opportunity to live on campus during the program and engage in a variety of college-prep enrichment activities. The curriculum is designed by Yale University faculty, graduate and professional students, as well as teachers from local public schools. Yale students serve a vital role as teaching assistants and mentors.

Play2PREVENT Lab - ForAGirl Program

Using an innovative videogames research program as a platform, the ForAGirl program provides training and mentorship to summer-program participants in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM); medicine; and research. The program, which is open to both girls and boys, focuses on promoting girls’ engagement in these areas. Scholars learn about research, serious and commercial game development, game intervention design and evaluation methods, data collection and analysis, and community engagement. Scholars also learn first hand how games can be used for purposes other than entertainment and add to their broader understanding of how innovations in the STEM fields affect our lives.

Shafer Family Summer School Scholarships for Yale University Summer Session

Shafer Scholars are New Haven high school juniors nominated by their high school guidance counselors to enroll in a five-week Yale Summer Session program in the summer between their junior and senior years. A scholarship from the Shafer family of New Haven provides full tuition for two courses, room and board, a book allowance, and a stipend for each student. Students take Yale College courses in the company of college students and are able to earn college credits. Shafer Scholars live on campus in one of Yale’s residential colleges for the duration of their program and have the opportunity to participate in co-curricular, recreational, and social programs with students from other high schools and colleges from across the country.

Ulysses S. Grant Program

The Ulysses S. Grant Program is a six-week academic summer program for motivated middle school students from New Haven Public Schools held on the Yale University campus. Since 1953, U.S. Grant has drawn upon the enthusiasm of Yale undergraduates to deepen students’ current interests and explore completely new ones, while developing their critical thinking and collaborative skills.

WILL POWER! Yale School of Drama and Yale Repertory Theatre

WILL POWER! is Yale Repertory Theatre’s annual educational initiative offered in conjunction with one or more of its productions. It features specially priced tickets and early matinees for middle and high school student groups. The program often includes free professional development for educators, study guides for students, and post-performance discussions with members of the company. Since the program’s inception in 2003, more than 26,000 students and educators from across Connecticut have participated.

Yale Center for Analytical Sciences

YCAS Young Scholars is an intensive, two-week summer program geared to promising high school juniors and seniors interested in math and science. Students are introduced to biostatistics and statistical computing using the R programming language and to research methods used in medical science. Students work in teams, using real health-science data, to address study questions and develop a final presentation of their work.

Yale Center for British Art Summer Teacher Institute

The Summer Teacher Institute offers practicing teachers an enriched understanding of how visual art can support their students’ reading, writing, and thinking. Workshops, discussions, and lectures by university faculty and museum educators demonstrate how “visual text” can be used to enhance literacy instruction. Institute sessions include hands-on experience with works of art and exploring ways to make the museum an extension of the classroom. Participants are given the tools they need to lead dynamic museum visits and to incorporate visual arts into classroom instruction.

Yale Community Rowing

The Yale Community Rowing Program (YCR) officially began in 1999 with the idea that opportunities in the sport of rowing could be made available to young people throughout this community. The program has grown to become one of the largest programs of its kind in the nation, unique in its scope and inclusiveness. Each year, close to 900 young people between the ages of ten and seventeen take part in YCR-sponsored activities.

Yale Daily News Summer Journalism Program

Run by members of the Yale Daily News, the Summer Journalism Program is a one-week intensive course in journalism for high school students. Students participate in workshops on the fundamentals of reporting and writing, attend lectures by guest speakers from major national publications, and create a full summer edition of the Yale Daily News by the end of the week. The program is open to all Connecticut high school students and is free for New Haven Public School students.

Yale Pathways Research Internships

The Yale Pathways Research Internships (YPRI) connects highly qualified Yale Pathways students with science research internships at Yale. During the summer, students participate in a series of workshops and activities that supplement their internship experiences and enhance their scientific research skills. Students are paired with Yale undergraduate mentors, who provide one-on-one-one guidance throughout the six-week internship experience.

Yale Pathways to Arts & Humanities Summer Scholars Program

Pathways Summer Scholars is a free two-week summer arts and humanities-focused program for local high school students. Each summer, Yale faculty, graduate students, and staff come together to create a program designed to share Yale’s rich resources with New Haven students. Pathways Scholars take a variety of workshops where they examine the vast resources of the Beinecke, discover art and sculpture at the Yale University Art Gallery, explore the world of comics, learn professional photographic techniques, practice graphic design, study ancient languages, and more.

Yale Summer Debate Program

Offered by the Urban Debate League, the weeklong Yale Summer Debate Program is open to all New Haven high school students, regardless of debate experience. During the program, students develop their skills in public speaking, constructing arguments, and delivering rebuttals. The program is premised on the philosophy that students can use debate as a tool to critically engage with the world around them, helping them to become better debaters and students and more active members of society.

Yale University Art Gallery Sidewalk Studio

Sidewalk Studio is a summer outdoor program set up in front of the gallery that fosters impromptu art making on a drop-in basis. Led by gallery staff and Yale University undergraduate and graduate students, each session focuses on a single medium and connects to related works in the collection.

Yale University President's Public Service Fellowship

Established in 1994, the President’s Public Service Fellowship (PPSF) provides full funding for up to 35 Yale students to work full-time with public sector and nonprofit organizations in New Haven each summer. PPSF has created a legacy of current Yale students and recent graduates who have a sophisticated view of community development and remain active in community building in New Haven and other cities. To date, more than 900 Yale undergraduate, graduate, and professional-school students have contributed more than 380,000 hours of community service to local organizations serving New Haven residents through this program.