exploration || senior program

Senior Program Site
The main Senior Program website features a complete overview of the Program.

Senior Program Summer Site
The Senior Program summer site features photos from last summer.

Senior Program Student Roundtable
A roundtable conversation with students about their Senior Program experience.

Senior Program Course Listings
Senior Program Mini-Course Listings
A listing and description of courses and mini-courses offered last summer.

What does one take away from a summer working at EXPLO? Ask Jeffrey Fine — former Senior Program faculty member and current advertising consultant — and you’ll get a list of skills, experiences, and close friendships.

Fine, a Dartmouth College math major with a master’s in engineering from Northwestern University, worked at the Exploration Senior Program for six summers, at a variety of positions. In 1996, he started as a Program Assistant.

The next summer he became an Instructor — "my first time teaching… it was an invaluable experience." Three summers later, Fine became the Program’s Trips Coordinator. "I was managing multiple projects," he says, "juggling priorities, dealing with outside contacts, realizing I couldn’t please everyone… not that different from what I do as a consultant actually."

Today, Fine works out of the New York City office of Ogilvy & Mather, one of the world's largest advertising agencies. "To say I matured at EXPLO would be an understatement," Fine says. "I learned a great deal during those summers and made some amazing friends. It was hard, challenging, exhausting… but a lot of fun too.”

Click Here For More Faculty Profiles

The Senior Program is located on the campus of Yale University and is for students in grades 10-12. At the Program, students have the opportunity to explore innovative academic courses, live in a university dorm, choose where to direct their interests, and decide how to spend their days. They are maturing intellectually and socially, and a critical role for the Senior Program faculty is to help foster and cultivate this development.

>> Click Here To See A Typical Day At the Senior Program

We have found our students respond most positively to hands-on and project-based courses. 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. Working with our Curriculum Department, you will be well-prepared to engage and challenge your students with an array of materials, class activities, and back-up plans.

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. Students at this age level are pushing boundaries, both academically and socially, and as a Residential Advisor you will be asked to help provide a structure that supports students make good decisions outside the classroom.

One particular challenge for faculty members at the Senior Program is the close age proximity of students and faculty. 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, engage, 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 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!

Exploration Summer Programs is operated by Exploration School, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)3 educational organization.