Through dedicated mentorship with faculty managers and the ability to partner with community members and experts across various fields of discipline, students engage in authentic research and creative work beyond a traditional classroom experience. 

Signature students arrive to the program with their own ideas and ambitions: a student who wants to join Signature fills out an application in the spring, detailing any ideas they have, and meet with one of the department managers (managers are faculty members and staff who serve as their mentor for the duration of the project) to discuss details and help get a sense of their idea before classes begin the following fall. 

The program’s structure has evolved over the years, and now includes dedicated class time during which students work on their projects, meet with their manager and/or outside experts, and collaborate with peers. Though each student is working on a different project topic, they come together in class to give feedback and work collaboratively to find solutions and share ideas for their individual work. The scheduled class time ensures that students have a moment in their busy schedules to bring their visions to life. 

Throughout the year, students can make use of both on-campus and off-campus resources. This includes the Makerspace (something about what this is), community engagement in the local area, collaboration with professionals in their field, or access to archives and laboratories. The connection to resources beyond the classroom, learning how to contact professionals and organizations, with many opportunities within the Capital District, is integral to the program’s mission of real-world, hands-on learning. 

The culmination of each Signature project is a formal presentation to the Emma Willard School community in the spring, known as Spring Showcase. Alongside the Emma Artists, presenters share their final projects alongside the processes, challenges, and lessons they learned along the way; in Signature, the learning journey is just as valuable as the finished product. 

While all classes at Emma Willard School integrate experiential learning into their curriculum, Signature offers a unique opportunity to dedicate an entire year to a single interest or passion, providing the structure, support, and time to practice a line of inquiry over a long period of time. The program is nationally known and has become a model for other schools in how to give students the freedom to explore something that genuinely excites them, and helps to develop the confidence and experience to turn an idea into reality.