Summer Seminars and Institutes

NEH Summer Seminars and Institutes grants broaden and deepen understanding of the humanities in supporting professional development programs, specifically designed for a national audience of K-12 educators or college and university faculty. The programs provide one- to four-week opportunities for participants (NEH Summer Scholars) to explore a variety of topics relevant to K-12 or undergraduate education in the humanities.

NEH Summer Seminars and Institutes
• focus on the study and teaching of significant texts and other resources;
• provide models of excellent scholarship and teaching;
• contribute to the intellectual growth of the of participants; and
• build lasting communities of inquiry.

An NEH Summer Seminar or Institute may be hosted by a college, university, learned society, center for advanced study, library or other repository, cultural or professional organization, or school or school system. The host site must provide facilities for collegial interaction and scholarship. The program must be held only in the United States and its territories.

Seminars and Institutes are designed either for K-12 educators or for college and university faculty. Programs for K-12 educators must involve someone with significant K-12 experience in both project planning and implementation and must respond to K-12 curricular needs.

Seminars
A Seminar provides an intimate and focused environment in which sixteen participants study a specific humanities topic under the guidance of one or two established scholars. Seminars have few, if any, visiting faculty. They emphasize sustained interaction among the participants and director(s) through discussion of common readings, conversations about teaching, and advising on independent projects.

Institutes
An Institute allows twenty-five to thirty-six participants to pursue an intensive program of study under a team of scholarly experts, who present a range of perspectives on a humanities topic. Participants and scholars mutually explore connections between scholarship about and the teaching of the topic.