Overview

To infuse the grand traditions of a liberal arts education and residential college life, Yale University will host the inaugural class of 150 Yale-NUS students in an innovative summer immersion program. Students will live together with faculty in one of Yale's residential colleges, and they will interact with Yale-NUS and Yale professors in small seminars and colloquia lectures without grades or course credits.  The 3-week experience will create student and faculty cohesion, jump-start student extracurricular and residential life, and instigate Yale-NUS school spirit.

Academics

Each week will feature a different academic theme with a focus on participatory, seminar-style learning. These sessions will be led by interdisciplinary teams of Yale and Yale-NUS faculty configured by theme. Each of the three weeks will feature a different theme below. Beyond these topics, Rector’s Teas in the afternoons will feature other exciting speakers across a broad range of disciplines and professions.

Week 1 will focus on Environment and Sustainability. This module will emphasize the science and policy behind major contemporary issues such as climate change, sustainable energy, environmental health, food industry, farming, and oceans. The week will include short trips to rustic locations around New England and will highlight some of Yale’s state-of-the-art sustainability efforts, such as Kroon Hall, known as Yale’s “greenest” building.

Week 2 will feature Migration and Urbanization: two topics tied closely to the histories of both Singapore and the U.S. This module will overlap with a field trip to New York City, where students will see the successes and consequences of immigration first-hand in a custom bus tour of the city and neighboring boroughs, rich in diversity. Students will also experience the arts through dance, theater, art, or music, as a treat that will showcase the diversity of the “Big Apple.”

Week 3 will promote Leadership, modeled on Yale’s famous “Grand Strategy” and “Yale Global Scholars” program. Some of Yale’s most esteemed teachers will organize a series of lectures, readings, and discussions to delve into what it means to be a leader in a globalized world. Areas of study include strategic analysis of great leaders and empires, global challenges, international security, and international institutions. These topics are approached from the fields of applied ethics, business, economics, history, international relations, law, politics, and public policy.

Extracurriculars

Yale-NUS Summer 2013 will introduce students to the vibrant extracurricular life of a liberal arts college, and provide a team-building foundation for both extracurricular and academic life at Yale-NUS. Students will engage in intramural sports, participate in Rector's Teas, and create their own events via active student government. For example, students can help organize team-building events, dance parties, foodie breaks, trips to amusement parks, local beaches, or professional baseball games. A “Club Leadership” module will challenge teams of students to present plans for new student organizations.

In addition to the New York trip, a field trip to Boston will highlight American colonial history with historic walking tours, and as an elective activity, students will choose between an excursion to Salem, a visit to peer institutions of Harvard and MIT, or an in-depth tour of Boston. 

A final alumni and internship sponsor event, held in New York City, will expose students to one-on-one relationships with adults who have had successful careers coming out of the liberal arts. It will give students an idea of how their education will prepare them for not only their chosen career after graduation, but also for any career they might choose in the future. Summer 2013 will similarly prepare students for any path they might choose at Yale-NUS and beyond.

Dining

From the welcome dinners at Yale during the first week to the farewell dinner at the Yale Club of New York City, Yale-NUS Summer 2013 will bring all students and faculty together over several formal banquets. The meal plan will include three meals a day, plus special events such as an outdoor barbeque, a New England clambake, and a sushi night. In light of the observance of Ramadan, which spans across the program duration, arrangements will be made to serve food before and after sunset each day. In addition, one evening will feature a Ramadan celebration dinner after sunset to further celebrate diversity and inclusiveness.