NEH GUIDELINES FOR SUMMER INSTITUTES
I. APPLICATION INFORMATION
Summer Institutes for College and University Teachers are offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide college and university faculty members and independent scholars with an opportunity to enrich and revitalize their understanding of significant humanities ideas, texts, and topics. These study opportunities are not intended to duplicate courses normally offered by graduate programs, nor will graduate credit be given for them. Prior to completing an application, please review the project 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. Institutes provide intensive collaborative study of texts, topics, and ideas central to undergraduate teaching in the humanities under the guidance of humanists who are distinguished in their fields of scholarship. Institutes aim to prepare participants to return to their classrooms with a deeper knowledge of current scholarship in key fields of the humanities.
ELIGIBILITY
These summer institutes are designed primarily for teachers of American undergraduate students. Qualified independent scholars and those employed by museums, libraries, historical societies, and other organizations may be eligible to compete provided they can effectively advance the teaching and research goals of the seminar or institute. 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.
Applicants must complete the NEH application cover sheet that is provided below. They must also give all the information requested below to be considered eligible. Applicants must have completed professional training by the application deadline. An applicant need not have an advanced degree in order to qualify. Candidates for degrees are generally not eligible. Individuals may not apply to study with a director of an institute who is a current colleague or a family member. An individual may apply to no more than two NEH seminars or institutes in any one year.
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. Selection committees are charged to give first consideration to applicants who have not participated in an NEH-supported seminar or institute in the last three years.
The most important consideration in the selection of participants is the likelihood that an applicant will benefit professionally. 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. Quality and commitment as a teacher, scholar, and interpreter of the humanities;
2. Intellectual interests, both generally and as they relate to the work of the institute;
3. Special perspectives, skills, or experiences that would contribute to the institute;
4. Commitment to participate fully in the formal and informal collegial life of the institute; &
5. The likelihood that the experience will enhance the applicant's teaching and scholarship.
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 would significantly contribute to the diversity of the seminar or institute. 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.
STIPEND, TENURE, AND CONDITIONS OF AWARD
Individuals selected to participate in six-week long projects will receive a stipend of $3,700. Stipends are to be applied to 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. Adjustments in cases where the stipend is insufficient to cover all expenses are not possible.
Institute participants are required to attend all meetings and to engage fully in the work of the projec t. 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 evaluations in which they review their work during the summer and assess its value to their personal and professional development. Special forms for this report will be distributed at the end of the institute, and completed forms should be returned directly to the Endowment. They will become part of the project's grant file and may become part of an application to repeat the institute.
All application materials should be sent to the project address at the University of California, Santa Cruz (see below). Sending application materials and reference letters to the Endowment will result in delay.
CHECKLIST OF APPLICATION MATERIALS
The following items constitute a completed application to a summer institute:
- Four copies of the completed application cover sheet,
- Four copies of a detailed résumé,
- Four copies of an application essay as outlined below, and
- Two letters of recommendation (four copies preferred).
The application essay should be no more than four double spaced pages. This essay should include any relevant personal and academic information. 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 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. Applicants to institutes may need to elaborate on the relationship between institute activities and their responsibilities for teaching and curricular development.
REFERENCE LETTERS
The two referees should be chosen carefully. They should be familiar with the applicant's professional accomplishments or promise, interests, and ability to contribute to and benefit from participation in the institute. They should specifically address these issues in their recommendations. Letters from colleagues who know the applicant's teaching and from those outside the applicant's institution who know his or her scholarship are often more useful than letters from college or university administrators. Referees should be provided with a description of the institute and the applicant's 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. It is the applicant's responsibility to make certain that the referees send their letters on time to the project office at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Four copies of each referee's letter would be helpful. If the letters of recommendation are included with the application, they should be in envelopes that are signed across the seal. Letters of reference must arrive, if possible, on time, but in any case not more than one week after the March 1 deadline.
Completed applications should be submitted to the following address of the project office and should be postmarked no later than March 1, 2002:
Cheryl Ridgway
Division of Humanities, 15 Cowell Commons
University of California, Santa Cruz
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz
CA 95064
Successful applicants will be notified of their selection by April 1, 2002, and they will have until April 15 to accept or decline the offer. Applicants who will not be home during the notification period are advised to provide an address and phone number where they can be reached. No information on the status of applications will be available prior to the official notification period.
Endowment programs do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age. For further information, write to the Equal Opportunity Officer, National Endowment for the Humanities, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20506. TDD: 202/606 8282 (this is a special telephone device for the Deaf).
Download
application in PDF format
NEH Summer Seminars and Institutes
Participant Application Cover Sheet
If this page is reproduced by computer, the information must appear with the headings listed in the order printed here. Do not exceed the space allotted on this page. Incomplete or illegible applications may be deemed ineligible.
Name:
Home Address:
Work Address:
Department:
Institution,
Street address,
City/state/ZIP)
E-mail:
Institution Type: Public_____ Private_____
2-year College _____ 4-year College_____ University_____
Courses taught this year--indicate U (undergraduate) or G (graduate):
Number of students taught this year:
Degrees your department grants:
How many years have you been teaching?
Citizenship (if not U.S., specify country, month and year U.S. residence began)
Telephones, home and work (include at least one where a message can be left and indicate which):
Name of Director and Title of Seminar or Institute to which you are applying:
List Dates and Titles of NEH Seminars and Institutes you have participated in:
how did you learn about this seminar or institute?
e-mail___ NEH flyer (posted___or sent to you___) NEH website___ other (specify)__________
______________________________________________________________________________
(printed name) (signature) (date)