Description: The Yale Summer Session (YSS) Summer Counselors (SCs) are each responsible for advising and counseling Yale Summer Session students over the course of Sessions A and B. SCs oversee the welfare of each of their students and are the first point of contact when students have questions or problems. Counselors work under close supervision of a Residential Director (RD), with whom they meet weekly for reporting and planning. Throughout the summer, SCs participate in community duties and committee work, helping to organize events and activities and to ensure the colleges run smoothly. To accommodate the needs of the many YSS programs and provide sufficient coverage for YSS participants, counselors may be asked on short notice to move to different rooms at different times during the summer.
Responsibilities:
- Counselees and Communication: SCs are each assigned groups of students. SCs should get to know their students well and so must be accessible and approachable. Prior to move-in, counselors post a calendar in each entryway so that posters advertising summer program regulations, emergency phone numbers, and daily events are available in one place for students to see. SCs help ensure that this information is regularly updated. SCs also create nametags for doors to facilitate an easy and hospitable move-in day. Each Sunday, at the mandatory All- Staff Meeting, each counselor must collect the week’s posters and display them in the entryway. SCs should regularly check in with their students and address any questions or problems quickly and courteously.
- Community Building: When it is not a counselor’s weekend off they should be present in all available college spaces, including the dining hall, library, courtyard, etc. during the evening hours and weekends. In addition to running events, staff members should attend events and encourage their counselees to do likewise. They should make themselves available to the students if they need help. Counselors may be away from campus for short periods of time with the explicit permission of the HSC.
- Shifts: Duties may include, but are not limited to: curfew duty, library duty, evening or weekend residential office duty, buttery duty, morning rounds, and evening rounds. Any pre-assigned duties may be exchanged with other counselors to arrange for a more compatible schedule IF (a) both counselors agree, (b) the RDs are informed, and (c) the switch is made at least 24 hours in advance of the assigned duty (so that the RD on duty is aware who is responsible for the respective shifts). For instance, a counselor who was assigned to buttery duty until 1 am on June 30 but has an exam on the morning of July 1 may switch duties, so long as conditions (a), (b), and (c) are met. To ensure the smooth operation of the YSS program, counselors should avoid frivolous, repeated, and last-minute shift changes. SCs who request a shift change but are unable to secure a replacement are still responsible for covering their assigned shift.
- Counselor Groups: SCs will be assigned to counselor groups at the beginning of the summer, primarily to plan on-campus events and activities. Attending counselor group meetings is required and is essential to the effective functioning of these events. Participation in committee work is an essential part of an SC’s job. These counselor groups are led by an RD and an ARD. Above and beyond the planning of on-campus events and activities, these groups are support structures for SCs in their counseling work.
- Committees: SCs will be assigned to committees to facilitate the smooth operations of the Summer Colleges program, such as a social media committee.
- Trips: SCs are assigned to lead several off-campus trips for the summer. At least two counselors lead each trip.
- Weekends Off: SCs are required to work eight of the ten YSS weekends (that is, from Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. through Sunday evening). Each session includes an all-hands-on-deck event, which all SCs must attend unless it falls on their assigned weekend off. Session B Transition Weekend is also considered a major weekend and requires full staff participation. In addition, all SCs must be on campus for the mandatory All-Staff Meeting each Sunday night; this meeting must be attended in person. Weekend-off assignments are determined by the RDs based on counselor preferences and overall program needs. All counselors must be in residence during registration, move-in, and move-out periods.
- Move-In/Move-Out: SCs help to move students into their colleges as assigned during the designated move-in periods. SCs escort students to their rooms with their luggage and talk to students about mandatory meetings, the dining hall, facilities, etc. At the end of the summer, SCs inspect student rooms and suites to ensure that garbage is removed, and furniture is intact and collect the students’ keys and turn them into the housing office.
- Policies and Conduct Follows all Yale Summer Session and University policies and models exemplary behavior as a member of the Summer Colleges community.
- Other Duties May perform other duties as assigned.
Meetings: Most weeks, SCs will attend a required meeting, the All-Staff Meeting, held on Sunday evenings. They will also have other required meetings (most notably, a weekly counselor group meeting). Such meetings are mandatory, and failure to attend on time without prior release from the RDs may result in dismissal.
Required Education and Experience: Any currently enrolled Yale undergraduate or graduate student in good academic standing or any Yale alumnus is eligible to apply. The ideal candidate will have spent one or two years in a residential college. Applicants should be mature students who enjoy working with others and who feel committed to the intellectual and social values of residential college life. The job also requires resourcefulness, integrity, good judgment, excellent listening skills, and energy. Previous counseling experience is a plus. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. Yale College alumni who studied at Yale on a student visa should proactively check with the Office of International Students & Scholars about their eligibility for employment in this role.
Compensation: SCs receive free room and board for the orientation period (approximate value of $8,460) and the ten weeks of the program, plus a tuition reduction for the equivalent of one summer course credit (value of $5,480). If an SC decides not to enroll in a summer course, this tuition reduction cannot be converted into a stipend. Each counselor is also allowed two weekends away during the summer by pre-arrangement with the Head of Summer Colleges. Counselors may undertake limited part-time employment and other activities only if these extra commitments do not conflict with their scheduled counselor responsibilities.
Additional Information: Counselors will be required to attend mandatory training sessions before the summer classes begin and must be on campus at Yale by 4:00 p.m., Thursday, May 21, 2026, for the start of counselor training. Training starts on Thursday evening and is held all day on Friday and Saturday, ending with the first move-in of counselees on Sunday. This training cannot be missed, made up, or sacrificed due to conflicts with other programs’ commitments or training sessions. Inability to attend the training sessions will result in the forfeiture of the counselor position. Many graduation events at Yale and other schools fall during this period; please ensure you are available for the entirety of the training prior to applying. Counselor duties continue through Sunday, August 2, 2026. The Summer Colleges staff is expected to participate in the end-of- summer staff event.
Each session includes an all-hands-on-deck event, which all Summer Colleges staff must attend unless it falls on their assigned weekend off. Session B Transition Weekend is also considered a major weekend and requires full staff participation. Weekend-off assignments are determined by the RDs based on counselor preferences and overall program needs. All Summer Colleges staff must be in residence during registration, move-in, and move-out periods.
To be effective in their work, counselors should be familiar with the academic, dormitory, and dining hall regulations of Yale Summer Session. The counselors pledge to uphold these regulations and ensure that YSS students comply with them as well. This obligation is especially strong with regard to monitoring the protection of personal and university property, the residents’ right to safety and quiet, and the legal control of alcohol and other drugs. RCs must conduct themselves in a way that models the behavior expected of the students in the college.
Summer Colleges staff may only take one course per each five-week Session. Any more coursework may only be undertaken with the written permission of the HSC.
General Conduct Statement: Yale Summer Session is an academic community dedicated to the advancement of learning and abides by similar guidelines detailed by Yale College’s Undergraduate Regulations as follow: 1) All staff and students should be committed to protecting free expression and peaceful dissent and to preserving mutual respect and charitable relations among all members of the Summer Session community. 2) Physical restriction, coercion, or intimidation of any member of the YSS community is contrary to the basic principles of the University. 3) Violations of these principles may result in immediate and permanent separation from Yale Summer Session.