2026 Exploring Transfer Residential Teaching Fellow Application Form

Each Residential Teaching Fellow will be required to attend class. Residential Teaching Fellows will complete the readings and keep up with the assignments, hold evening office hours each weekday and Sunday afternoons, and facilitate communication between the instructors and students for the class. Residential Teaching Fellows are also required to attend weekly faculty and staff meetings and are also required to attend weekly faculty and staff meetings and are expected to design and host social events for students. Residential Teaching Fellows live in the dormitory with students to support the them throughout the summer program.

Residential Teaching Fellows will receive free room and board and will be paid $18 an hour for an estimated 37.5 hours a week.

Qualifications

Residential Teaching Fellows (RTFs) are graduates of the Exploring Transfer program or students/graduates of Vassar College. Residential Teaching Fellows must possess the following:

Evidence of academic excellence;
Demonstrated maturity and capacity to use sound judgment;
Marked proficiency in writing analytical essays;
Ability to work collaboratively with students, faculty and staff;
Strong communication and organizational skills;
Commitment to the philosophy and mission of the Exploring Transfer Program

Residential Teaching Fellows are required to be in residence full time (weekends included) June 23–July 25 and will receive one day off each week.

This application will reset if you close it without hitting the submit button.
All *asterisked questions are required.

Applications are due by April 15th.

Application Information

Name*

First Last

Address*

Street Address Address Line 2 City State ZIP Code

Phone*

Email*

Do you currently attend Vassar College?*

Yes
No

Have you previously participated in the Exploring Transfer Program?*

No
Yes (Student)
Yes (Counselor/Staff)

List all 2- and 4- year colleges that you have attended.*

Name of School	Major(s) or Concentration(s)	Class Year

Current GPA

Application Statements and Resume

Please upload the following in PDF format:

Educational Justice Statement: Please submit a 1-2 page statement about what you perceive to be the greatest obstacle to gaining access to higher education.

Rationale Statement: Please submit a 1–2 page statement describing why you want to be a teaching assistant in the Exploring Transfer Program this summer and why you would be a good fit for this program (this should include both your strengths and areas needing improvement).

Your most recent resume.

For items #1 & #2, please use Times New Roman, 12pt. font, 1-inch margins, and double-space your document.

Educational Justice Statement*

Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 10 MB.

Rationale Statement*

Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 10 MB.

Resume*

Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 10 MB.

College Transcript

If you are not a Vassar Student we will need an unofficial transcript from any and all colleges you have attended.

Transcript*

Max. file size: 10 MB.

Reference

Please provide the name and email contact information of one reference who has taught or supervised you. Your reference may not be a peer or current student. Once you submit your application, a request for reference will automatically be sent to your reference. Please tell your reference that the reference request form was sent (your reference should check the spam folder if a request is not received). We will contact you if we do not receive a response from your reference.

Reference Name*

First Last

Reference Email Address*

Exploring Transfer 2026 Course

Features, Not Bugs: Problems of Race in Social and Political Life

Instructors: Taneisha Means, Associate Professor of Political Science, Vassar College, and Zachary Sunderman, Instructor of Sociology, Westchester Community College

Course Description: This course examines the inherent complexities of race, racial identity, and racial inequality in America and other multiracial and multicultural societies. Students in the course will examine conflict, crisis, and complications as they show up in the social and political lives of marginalized and non-marginalized populations. Through social scientific (theory and evidence from sociology and political science) and cultural (poetry, music, art, film) lenses, students will gain the practical ability to recognize and apply the course's themes in their knowledge and analysis of society, politics, power, and inequality. This course is divided into three parts that reflect a coherent arc from micro-level identity development to macro-level applied institutional analysis. In Part I, students will focus on identity development and politics, examining factors that shape individual and group-based political and social identities. Part II focuses on identity and the politics of collective action, especially past and present social and political movements aimed at addressing racial inequality and realizing democratic possibilities. Finally, in Part III, students will explore identity and institutionalized politics within political and legal systems via policies, legislation, and legal cases, to better understand political representation, governance, policymaking, and power. Through a paper, research project, debate, presentation, dialogue, and data analysis opportunities, this course will aid in further developing students’ familiarity with relevant data and theoretical and empirical scholarship, in addition to improving their analytical, methodological (qualitative and quantitative), and communication skills.