NextGen Leadership Institute

Our 3-Week Exploratory Pre-College Institute

The NextGen Leadership Institute

Sunday, June 29th- Friday, July 18th, 2025

Spend a summer at Barnard College in New York City! The NextGen Leadership Institute is for curious and passionate high school students who want to engage with complex topics and explore leadership, all through a feminist lens. As a student in the NextGen Leadership Institute, you’ll take a course within one of our four tracks — STEM, writing and literature, global humanities, or art, movement, and performance. You’ll see what leadership in action looks like, while developing your own leadership skills, with the support of Barnard’s Athena Center for Leadership. And you’ll get to explore New York City alongside your peers and program leaders. 

Explore the four tracks we offer within this institute and find one that is just right for you.

 

 

STEMinist Track

Designed for fearless and inquisitive young minds, the STEMinist track is perfect for students looking to develop their STEM skills in both lecture and laboratory settings. In this program, you will be able to explore science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in motion through field trips and projects. In addition to your coursework, this program begins to address some of the inequalities that women face in the STEM field and how our students can begin to rewrite the narrative with their presence. 

Writing and Literature Track

Our Writing and Literature Track encourages writers to find their voice and share it with the world. Students will spend their mornings learning from Barnard instructors in courses such as The Art of the Essay, Writing New York, and playwriting, on the same campus where writers like Greta Gerwig, Zora Neale Hurson, Jhumpa Lahiri got their start. Afternoons will be spent in intensives focused on developing a writing portfolio, getting published, and careers for writers.

Global Humanities Track

Excited to discover the intricacies of our world? This track encompasses a diverse range of courses in urban studies, sociology, gender studies, political science and economics, offering a comprehensive view of global cultural, social, and political dynamics.

Art, Movement and Performance Track

Want to learn about the history of art while immersing yourself in New York City's art world or explore what dance is in New York City? Explore the vibrant world of visual and performing arts in this track. Dive into a journey that blends the rich history of art with the dynamic world of dance, where creativity, expression, and historical understanding come alive.

Leadership in Action Series

What does leadership in action look like? What can it look like for you? Through Leadership in Action, Barnard’s Athena Center for Leadership will bring together students from all four tracks in the NextGen Leadership Institute and introduce you to people leading change in a variety of areas, along with initiatives and ideas that will help you think about how you can put what you’re learning in your classes into action so you, too, can lead change from where you are.