Summer program

Freedom and Citizenship

Cost Free; $2,500 stipend awarded on successful completion of the program

Deadline ~Mar 30, 2026 Estimated; confirm on sponsor site

Freedom and Citizenship is a free, roughly 11-month college-preparatory program for New York City high school juniors, combining a four-week residential summer seminar in political philosophy on Columbia's campus with a year-long after-school civic leadership project and college-application mentoring. It is run by Columbia's Center for American Studies in partnership with the Double Discovery Center, with priority given to first-generation and low-income students.

Eligibility

Grade levels: High school junior
Citizenship: Any
Fields of study: Humanities, Philosophy, Social sciences
States: NY
Essay: Required

Application requirements

Confirm eligibility: current NYC high school junior entering senior year, able to commit to the full summer and academic-year program: Students must live in New York City; priority is given to first-generation college-bound and low-income students, but this is a preference, not a strict requirement.
Obtain signed parental permission for participation and the dormitory residential stay: Parent/guardian must agree to program participation, the Sunday-Friday dormitory stay during the four summer weeks, and the full-year commitment.
Write three short essays: The application requires three short essays.
Submit a high school transcript: A high school transcript is required as part of the application.
Submit a letter of recommendation (optional): An optional letter of recommendation; the recommender's email is submitted in-app and the program contacts them directly.
Submit the online application through the application portal: Application is submitted via the online portal; it cannot be saved across different browsers/computers and must be completed in one session/device.

Verified Jul 8, 2026 · View official source

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