CITYterm at The Masters School

Housed at The Masters School, a college preparatory institution, the semester-long CITYterm program accepts 30 high school juniors and seniors from across the country to study New York City through a combination of classroom seminars and hands-on, experience-based projects in the city. Students spend three days a week on expeditions in the city and three days a week reading, writing, and thinking. CITYterm develops an increased awareness of when and how learning occurs and a community of learners who regularly engage in collaborative projects. ($: Financial aid from home institutions can be applied to CITYterm tuition.)

On-site programs: CITYterm students interact with a wide array of neighborhoods, sites, cultural events, and individuals throughout New York, ranging from landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge, art galleries, museums, and performances to leading walking tours, neighborhood study presentations, and interviewing professionals and experts as part of research for various projects. Students also take part in selected social service projects involving the city's homeless population.

In-school programs: CITYterm is interdisciplinary. However, there are distinct threads in History of New York City, Literature of New York City, and Urban Environments that are woven together both in terms of the content as well the skills needed to explore each of those disciplines. The goal of the program is to build intellectual bridges between work in the classroom and work in the city in such a way that the student comes to a greater understanding of how she learns as an individual. Reading and writing seminars with authors, actors, architects, urban planners, political activists, government officials, and university professors are held at least weekly so that students develop the capacity to engage in effective inquiry with highly creative people. Electives in math and languages (available up to the Advanced Placement level) ensure that students return to their home school with a full semester's credit.

General information: Address: 49 Clinton Avenue, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522; Phone: (914) 479-6502; Web: www.themastersschool.com/CityTerm.

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