faculty hiring || senior program overview

find out
more about the
senior program

senior program site
The Senior Program website has detailed information about the Program, including academic and extracurricular opportunities.

senior program
summer site
Here, you will find pictures, stories, and interviews of students and faculty from last summer. We particularly recommend reading the student interviews and flipping through the daily photos to get a sense of our student body and daily offerings.

about exploration
  background info
  our philosophy
  working at explo
  positions available
  faculty guidelines

program info
  senior
  intermediate
  junior

application process
  PDF downloads
  info sessions
  interviews
  on-line application

senior program overview 1 | 2

The Senior Program is located on the campus of Yale University and is for students aged 15 to 17-years-old. Many come to Exploration for a first taste of college life, and while we do offer an array of choices and opportunities, we recognize that they are still high school students. At the Senior Program students have the opportunity to explore innovative academic courses, live in suites in a university dorm, and choose where to direct their interests and how to spend their day. We recognize that our students are beginning to articulate their own viewpoints on a variety of intellectual and social issues; therefore, a critical role for the Senior Program faculty is to help foster and cultivate this development.

Academically, we have found our students react best to hands-on and project-based courses. Students at the Senior Program are proud of what they produce; directing a one-act play, designing a house, or making closing arguments in a mock murder trial. They are often eager for exposure to new ways of thinking and are constantly looking to expand their own perspectives. Students enter Senior Program courses with varying levels of ability and experience, so you need to be well-prepared with an array of materials, class activities, and back-up plans. Our Curriculum Department works closely with Instructors before the Program begins to assist you in developing your most effective courses and mini-courses.

As teenagers, Senior Program students are focused on developing good peer relationships. As a faculty member at our Program, you will play an important role in encouraging students to take advantage of the diverse community at Exploration, urging students to explore friendships and activities they might not otherwise experience. One central way that faculty members get involved in student life at the Program is through their role as Residential Advisors for living groups of 20-25 students. Students at this age level are pushing boundaries, both academically and socially, and as an RA you will be asked to help provide a structure that supports students as they make choices about what to do with their time outside the classroom. You also will be asked to prepare daily "living group" activities for your advisees that are meant to develop a sense of community. Most Senior Program faculty members are RAs and residential life is a critical part of the Exploration experience, as well as a significant portion of the daily schedule.

One particular challenge for faculty members at the Senior Program is the close age proximity of students and faculty. Faculty at the Senior Program must maintain a professional distance between themselves and students at all times. During the summer, you will find yourself in the role of mentor, role-model, leader, collaborator, and teammate with students at our Program, but you must always keep in mind that the students are not your peers. The emotional and physical well-being of students is always the first priority of our faculty; therefore, faculty must have the maturity and confidence to simultaneously respect and supervise our students at all times.

The Senior Program looks for faculty members who are dynamic, outgoing, and take a good deal of initiative. Faculty members must be able to work as part of a team within the structure of the Senior Program and bring their own ideas to the forefront. During the day, faculty prepare for and teach courses and mini-courses, lead a number of extracurricular activities, and act as residential or day advisors for our students. Working at the Senior Program is not always easy; in fact, it is almost always exhausting. However, it may also be the most fun and personally challenging work experience you will ever have!

<< faculty guidelines || senior program overview (2) >>