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Please note: The application period has closed for this 2019 NEH Summer Institute.

ELIGIBILITY

Please review the eligibility criteria for participation in NEH Summer Seminars and Institutes as an NEH Summer Scholar at:
http://www.neh.gov/files/divisions/education/eligibility/school_teacher_eligibility_criteria.pdf

If you cannot access NEH web pages until the government is up and running again, please know that we are seeking applicants who are K–12 teachers of any subject matter.  Further criteria appear below.

In any given year, an individual may apply to two Seminars or Institutes; but may attend only one.

 

SELECTION CRITERIA

The selection committee will be comprised of the project director, a social studies teacher, and a University of Oregon history professor. We will evaluate all complete applications in order to select a group of 25 NEH Summer Scholars and identify a number of wait-listed alternates. We will go to our alternates if we are turned down by anyone in our top 25.

Five spaces in this Institute will be reserved for teachers who are new to the profession (those who have been teaching for five years or less), so please be sure to mention in your application essay if you have this special eligibility.

All other things being equal, highest consideration is given to those who have not previously attended an NEH Seminar or Institute. Furthermore, when choices must be made between equally qualified candidates, preference is given to those who would enhance the diversity of the program.

We will be looking for applicants who are effective and committed as teachers/educators; whose intellectual interests relate to the topic(s) of the institute; whose special perspectives, skills, or experiences will contribute in a significant way to the program; and, evidence that your participation will have a long-term impact on your teaching.

We hope to cast a broad net, as we seek a diverse applicant pool of K–12 teachers from across the country and from a range of disciplines, especially social studies, but also welcoming language, literature, art, music, and dance. Science teachers wishing to develop historical or contemporary topics such as cartography, geology, ethnobotany, and ethnozoology, will also be sought-after applicants, since their fields are especially well suited to what we will see and read about the Trail. We hope to attract serious teachers—Native and non-Native—who enjoy using reading, journaling, and discussions to enrich their curriculum, and who are open to new experiences, collaborations, and hands-on learning. Due to the fact that two of our three weeks will involve a journey, we urge you to dig deep to decide whether an educational tour will be right for you. Remember, too, this will not be a vacation.

 

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Prior to applying to a specific seminar or institute, please study the project website and carefully consider the project’s requirements. A complete application consists of the following three items:

1.   The Application Cover Sheet

  • Complete the coversheet on line at:  https://securegrants.neh.gov/education/participants/
  • Follow the prompts.
  • Before you click the “submit” button, print the cover sheet and add it to your application package. Then click “submit.”
  • You will be asked if you want to fill out a cover sheet for a second project.  If you do, repeat the process.
  • Do not use the same cover sheet for different projects.

2.   A Résumé and References

Please include a résumé or curriculum vitae (not to exceed five pages). Include the name, title, phone number, and e-mail address of two professional references. Do not include letters with your application.  If you make the short list, we will reach out to your references.

3.   The Application Essay

The application essay should be no more than four double-spaced pages. It should address your interest in the subject to be studied; qualifications and experiences that equip you to do the work of the seminar or institute and to make a contribution to the learning community; a statement of what you want to accomplish by participating; and, a description of your imagined curricular project and its relation to your professional responsibilities. We will look for evidence that you are an effective and committed teacher/educator, whose intellectual interests relate to the topic(s) of the institute, whose special perspectives, skills, or experiences will contribute in a significant way to the program, and, evidence that your participation will have a long-term impact on your teaching.

The essays will be especially important in the application. In your essays, the selection committee will look for strong, explicit connections to the content we have assembled, especially as outlined in the schedule (detailed syllabus), and clear, relevant, and appealing ideas about potential curricular materials that might grow out of this institute. We will look for signs that the applicant is a team player, collegial and collaborative, and flexible/adaptable about potentially challenging multicultural situations where they might be out of their “element.” We seek patient people who are good listeners and quick to pick up on protocols. We hope to see applicants who are outdoorsy people who will thrive in immersive educational experiences and not be overly fatigued by walking or by riding on a bus for the journey portion of the Institute.

 

 SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS AND NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE

  • How to submit your application: Applications must be submitted to the project director, not the NEH, and must be postmarked no later than March 1, 2019.  Applications sent to the NEH will not be reviewed.  Send your application to:  Stephanie Wood, 2085 University Street, Eugene, OR 97403.
  • When to submit your application:  It must be postmarked no later than March 1, 2019.
  • When you will hear back:  Successful applicants will be notified of their selection on Friday, March 29, 2019.
  • The big decision:  Successful applicants will have until Friday, April 5, 2019, to accept or decline the offer.  Please note: Once you have accepted an offer to attend any NEH Summer Program (NEH Summer Seminar or Institute), you may not accept an additional offer or withdraw in order to accept a different offer.

 

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT

Endowment programs do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or age. For further information, write to the Equal Opportunity Officer, National Endowment for the Humanities, 400 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024. TDD: 202/606-8282 (this is a special telephone device for the Deaf).

 

 

 

This institute is being funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

“Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this web resource do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.”