Work for the Center

Yale Citizens Thinkers Writers is a free two-week residential summer program and year-long fellowship program for students from New Haven public schools who want to think deeply about fundamental human questions in a college setting. Residential Teaching Assistants (RTAs) provide mentorship, lead small breakout groups, organize supplementary workshops, help students with the analytic reading and writing skills essential for success at college, and facilitate a positive learning environment and community. RTAs receive full room and board from June 26-July 11th (the CTW summer intensive runs from June 28-July 10) plus a stipend and are paid hourly throughout the 2026-27 academic year.

Responsibilities

• Attend all mandatory training sessions and staff meetings, program sessions and activities
• Read all course materials and be prepared to discuss with students
• Meet daily with a breakout group of five students to facilitate conversations about how the readings relate to civic life in New Haven today
• Organize supplementary workshops
• Work with students on analytic reading and writing skills essential for success at college
• Live with students in the residences
• Foster a supportive and thriving learning environment
• Facilitate community building among students
• Support program and residential check-in and check-out procedures
• Organize and encourage participation in residential life activities
• Assist in communicating rules and ensuring student safety and security
• Serve as positive role models to students at all times
• Mentor students on the college admissions and decisions process throughout the following academic year

Qualifications

• Current Yale undergraduate, rising juniors or seniors only
• Strong academic record with interest in the humanities
• A love of reading, writing, and reflecting on fundamental questions
• Experience working in a mentoring, advising or teaching capacity
• Commitment to working with youth from backgrounds historically underrepresented in higher education, including low-income and first-generation college students
• Excellent organizational and communication skills
• Comfort with leading and facilitating discussions
• Ability to exercise sound judgment

Compensation: $2,000 summer stipend plus room and board from June 26-July 11th; $18/hour during the academic year

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The Yale Center for Civic Thought is seeking a Graduate Reading Group Coordinator to assist with logistics for Center-sponsored reading and discussion groups. Reading and discussion groups are organized and led primarily by Yale students, faculty, and staff, while the Center offers financial and planning support. 

Responsibilities

The Reading Group Coordinator will:

• Coordinate room reservations for faculty-led groups
• Assist in developing operations guides for future reading and discussion group management 
• Follow up on reading and discussion group ideas that spring from topical Fellows Council Intensives
• Purchase supplies including occasional food and catering for active faculty-led groups
• Track reading and discussion group participation and calendar meeting times
• Request progress reports from group leaders
• Consistently monitor active group expenses to ensure compliance with budget expectations
• Shepherd applications for new reading and discussion groups to approval
• Compile reports about active reading and discussion groups for external promotion and outreach and internal record keeping 
• Work on profiles & spotlights of successful active reading groups
• Assist in reading and discussion group advertisement
• Other tasks as assigned. 

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter.

Requirements

The ideal applicant will possess a strong interest in civic thought and the humanities along with excellent interpersonal, organization, record-keeping, and written communication skills. Experience with program organization, operation, or clerical work is helpful. 

Candidates must be proficient in Google systems (especially Google Sheets, Forms, and Calendar) and Yale’s 25Live room booking software platform. The applicant should be a graduate student at Yale University.

About the Center for Civic Thought

The Center for Civic Thought prioritizes small, rigorous conversations, rooted in place, deepened by reading, and linked to practical expertise. At Yale, the Center hosts events that emphasize real back-and-forth among students, faculty, and guest speakers about transformative texts and society’s most challenging public issues. Building on five years of work by Yale’s Civic Thought Initiative, the Center invites scholars, journalists and policy-makers for guest seminars, encourages students to take the lead in designing reading and discussion groups, and supports faculty and postdoctoral associates in developing new courses and research agendas related to civic thought.

The 2025-26 academic year will prioritize three areas of inquiry:

• Constitutional Democracy in America at 250
• The Role of Universities in Civic Life
• Humanity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Compensation: $20/hour

Apply Here