NEH SUMMER SEMINARS & INSTITUTES FOR SCHOOL
TEACHERS
APPLICATION INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS
Summer Seminars and Institutes for School Teachers are
offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide teachers an
opportunity for substantive study of significant humanities ideas and
texts. These study opportunities
are especially designed for this program and are not intended to duplicate
courses normally offered by graduate programs. On completion of a seminar or institute, participants will
receive a certificate indicating their participation. Prior to completing an application, please review the
enclosed letter/prospectus from the project director (or letter/prospectus
downloaded from the director’s website, if available) and consider carefully
what is expected in terms of residence and attendance, reading and writing
requirements, and general participation in the work of the project.
A seminar for
school teachers enables 15 participants to explore a topic or set of readings
with a scholar having special interest and expertise in the field. The core material of the seminar need
not relate directly to the school curriculum; the principal goal of the seminar
is to engage teachers in the scholarly enterprise and to expand and deepen
their understanding of the humanities through reading, discussion, writing, and
reflection. An institute for school teachers, typically led by a team of core
faculty and visiting scholars, is designed to present the best available
scholarship on important humanities issues and works taught in the nation's
schools. The 25 to 30
participating teachers compare and synthesize the various perspectives offered
by the faculty, make connections between the institute content and classroom
applications, and often develop improved teaching materials for their
classrooms. Please note: The use
of the words “seminar” or “institute” in this document is precise and is
intended to convey differences between the two project types.
ELIGIBILITY
These projects are designed for full‑time
teachers including home-schooling parents, but other K-12 school personnel,
such as librarians and administrators, may also be eligible to apply, depending
on the specific seminar or institute.
Substitute teachers or part-time personnel are not eligible. Applications from teachers in public,
private, and religiously affiliated schools receive equal consideration.
Teachers at schools in the United States or its
territorial possessions or Americans teaching in foreign schools where at least
50 percent of the students are American nationals are eligible for this
program. Applicants must be United
States citizens, residents of U.S. jurisdictions, or foreign nationals who have
been residing in the United States or its territories for at least the three
years immediately preceding the application deadline. Foreign nationals teaching abroad at non-U.S. chartered
institutions are not eligible to apply.
Applicants must complete the NEH application cover
sheet and provide all the information requested below to be considered
eligible. Individuals may not
apply to study with a director of a seminar or institute who is a current
colleague or a family member. Individuals
must not apply to seminars directed by scholars with whom they have previously studied. Institute selection committees are
advised that only under the most compelling and exceptional circumstances may
an individual participate in an institute with a director or a lead faculty
member who has previously guided that individual’s research or in whose
previous institute or seminar he or she has participated. An individual may apply to only one project in any one year. Anyone found to have applied to more than one project will
be ineligible to participate in any seminar or institute that year.
SELECTION CRITERIA
A selection committee reads and evaluates all properly
completed applications in order to select the most promising applicants and to
identify a small number of alternates.
(Seminar selection committees consist of the seminar director, a school
teacher who is usually a participant in a previous NEH seminar, and a colleague
of the director. Institute
selection committees consist of three to five members, usually all drawn from
the institute faculty and staff members.)
While recent participants are eligible to apply, project selection
committees are directed to give first consideration to applicants who have not
participated in an NEH-supported seminar or institute in the last three
years (2006, 2007, 2008). Recent participation in NEH’s
Landmarks of American History and Culture Program does not negatively affect
eligibility or competitiveness.
The most important consideration in the selection of
participants is the likelihood that an applicant will benefit professionally and
personally. This is determined by
committee members from the conjunction of several factors, each of which should
be addressed in the application essay.
These factors include:
1. effectiveness and commitment as a
teacher/educator;
2. intellectual interests, both generally
and as they relate to the work of the project;
3. special perspectives, skills, or
experiences that would contribute to the seminar or institute;
4. commitment to participate fully in the
formal and informal collegial life of the project; and
5. the likelihood that the experience will
enhance the applicant's teaching.
When choices must be made among equally qualified
candidates, several additional factors are considered. Preference is given to applicants
who have not previously participated in an NEH seminar or institute, or who
significantly contribute to the diversity of the seminar or institute.
STIPEND, TENURE, AND CONDITIONS OF AWARD
Teachers selected to participate in six-week long
projects will receive a stipend of $4,400; those in five-week projects will
receive $3,800; those in four-week projects will receive $3,200; those in three-week
projects will receive $2,600; and those in two-week projects will receive $2,000. Stipends are intended to help cover
travel expenses to and from the project location, books and other research
expenses, and living expenses for the duration of the period spent in
residence. Stipends are taxable. Applicants to all projects,
especially those held abroad, should note that supplements will not be given in
cases where the stipend is insufficient to cover all expenses.
Seminar and institute participants are required to
attend all meetings and to engage fully in the work of the project. During the project's tenure, they may
not undertake teaching assignments or any other professional activities
unrelated to their participation in the project. Participants who, for any reason, do not complete the full
tenure of the project must refund a pro-rata portion of the stipend.
At the end of the project's residential period,
participants will be asked to submit online evaluations in which they review
their work during the summer and assess its value to their personal and
professional development. These
evaluations will become part of the project's grant file and may become part of
an application to repeat the seminar or institute.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
These general application instructions from the NEH
should be accompanied by a “Dear Colleague Letter” from the project director
that contains detailed information about the topic under study; project
requirements and expectations of the participants; the academic and
institutional setting; and specific provisions for lodging, subsistence, and
extracurricular activities. If you
do not have such a letter/prospectus, please request one from the director of
the project in which you are interested before you attempt to complete and
submit an application. In some
cases, directors have websites for their projects and the “Dear Colleague”
letter may be downloaded from their website. All application materials must be sent to the project
director at the address listed on the program poster. Application materials sent to the Endowment will not be
reviewed.
CHECKLIST OF APPLICATION MATERIALS
A
completed application consists of three copies of the following collated items:
- the completed application cover sheet,
- a résumé, and
- an application essay as outlined below.
In
addition, it must include two letters of recommendation as described below.
The application cover sheet
The application cover sheet must be filled out online
at this address: <http://www.neh.gov/online/education/participants/> Please fill it out online as directed
by the prompts. When you are
finished, be sure to click on the “submit” button. Print
out the cover sheet and add it to your application package. Note that filling out a cover sheet is
not the same as applying, so there is no penalty for changing your mind and
filling out a cover sheet for more than one project. A full application consists of the items listed above, as
sent to the project director.
Résumé
Please include a résumé detailing your educational
qualifications and professional experience.
The Application Essay
The application essay should be no more than four
double‑spaced pages. It
should address reasons for applying; the applicant's interest, both academic
and personal, in the subject to be studied; qualifications and experiences that
equip the applicant to do the work of the seminar or institute and to make a
contribution to a learning community; a statement of what the applicant wants
to accomplish by participating; and the relation of the project to the
applicant's professional responsibilities.
Reference Letters
The two referees should be familiar with the
applicant's professional accomplishments or promise, interests, and ability to
contribute to and benefit from participation in a community of intellectual
inquiry. Letters from colleagues
who know the applicant's teaching and from those outside the applicant's
institution who know the applicant's intellectual strengths can be particularly
useful. Referees should, if
possible, be familiar with the work of the National Endowment for the
Humanities and the seminars and institutes program. It is helpful for referees to read the description of the
project sent by the director and the application essay. If an applicant has previously
participated in an NEH summer seminar or institute, a recommendation from the
director or lead scholar of that program would be useful. Please ask each of
your referees to sign their name across the seal on the back of the envelope
containing their letter, and enclose the letters with your application.
SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS AND NOTIFICATION
PROCEDURE
Completed applications should be submitted to the
project director and should be postmarked no later than March 2, 2009.
Successful applicants will be notified of their selection
on April 1, 2009, and they will have until April 15 to accept or decline the
offer. Applicants who will not be
home during the notification period should provide an address and phone number
where they can be reached. No
information concerning the status of an application will be available prior to
the official notification period.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT: Endowment
programs do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex,
disability, or age. For further
information, write to NEH Equal Opportunity Officer, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave.,
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20506.
TDD: 202/606‑8282
(this is a special telephone device for the Deaf).