To: New Haven Public High School teachers, staff, and community education partners
Please help us find students who would benefit from our program by nominating them online.
If a student has already applied and is asking for your recommendation, please submit your recommendation here.
Citizens Thinkers Writers is a tuition-free two-week summer residential program and year-long fellowship program at Yale University for students from New Haven public schools who are interested in exploring fundamental human questions in a college setting. In small discussion seminars led by professors, students will gain invaluable experience in close reading, analytic writing, and college-level discussion. They will see themselves as active participants in a long-running philosophical conversation that dates back to ancient Greece and Rome, and will link this conversation to their own experiences as citizens of twenty-first-century New Haven.
Who?
- Current sophomores and juniors who love to read and discuss big questions
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Curious, engaged, and committed students from a range of academic ability levels and interests
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Aspiring college students who attend public school in New Haven
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Preference to students who would be first in their immediate families to attend college
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No minimum GPA or prior experience with philosophical texts required
What?
- A tuition-free two-week residential program at Yale, followed by a year-long fellowship program with regular meetings
- Small seminars with professors and undergraduate & graduate mentors
- A chance to explore great books and the questions they raise
- An additional source of support through the college application process in the fall
- Eligible participants will receive a $500 stipend to help support those who would otherwise have to work during the program
When?
- Program dates are July 13-25, 2025
- Students live on campus Sunday evening through Friday and go home for the weekend
- Students become part of the CTW Fellowship Program and meet bimonthly from September 2025 – May 2026
How can teachers, staff, and community education partners help?
- Tell us about students who would be a good fit for this program by nominating them online.
- Nominations are due by February 14, 2025.
- We’ll contact the students that you nominate and we’ll encourage them to apply.
- Students will have until March 20, 2025 to complete their applications.
Questions? Please contact CitizensThinkersWriters@yale.edu