University of Pittsburgh
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How to Apply

Applications for the summer 2024 workshop sessions are now closed.

Principles of Civility for NEH Professional Development Programs

NEH Seminars, Institutes, and Landmarks programs are intended to extend and deepen knowledge and understanding of the humanities by focusing on significant topics, texts, and issues; contribute to the intellectual vitality and professional development of participants; and foster a community of inquiry that provides models of excellence in scholarship and teaching. NEH expects that project directors will take responsibility for encouraging an ethos of openness and respect, upholding the basic norms of civil discourse. Seminar, Institute, and Landmarks presentations and discussions should be:

  1. firmly grounded in rigorous scholarship, and thoughtful analysis;
  2. conducted without partisan advocacy;
  3. respectful of divergent views;
  4. free of ad hominem commentary; and
  5. devoid of ethnic, religious, gender, disability, or racial bias.

NEH welcomes comments, concerns, or suggestions on these principles at questions@neh.gov.

Participant Eligibility

Landmarks programs are designed for a national audience of full- or part-time K-12 educators who teach in public, charter, independent, and religiously affiliated schools, or as home schooling educators. Museum educators and other K-12 school system personnel— such as, but not limited to, administrators, substitute teachers, and curriculum supervisors—are also eligible to participate. At least three spaces per workshop session or six spaces total for the entire program must be reserved for teachers who are new to the profession (five or fewer years teaching experience). Participants 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. U.S. citizens teaching abroad at U.S. chartered institutions are also eligible to participate. Foreign nationals teaching abroad are not eligible to participate.

Individuals may not apply to participate in a Landmarks workshop whose director is a family member, who is affiliated with the same institution, who has served as an instructor or academic advisor to the applicant, or who has led a previous NEH-funded Institute or Landmarks program attended by the applicant.

Participants may not be delinquent in the repayment of federal debt (e.g. taxes, student loans, child support payments, and delinquent payroll taxes for household or other employees). Individuals may not apply to participate in a Landmarks workshop if they have been debarred or suspended by any federal department or agency. 

Participant Expectations

Project applicants who accept an offer to participate are expected to remain during the entire period of the program and to participate in its work on a full-time basis. If a participant is obliged through special circumstances to depart before the end of the program, it shall be the recipient institution’s responsibility to see that only a pro rata share of the stipend is received or that the appropriate pro rata share of the stipend is returned if the participant has already received the full stipend.

Once an applicant has accepted an offer to attend any NEH Summer Program (Seminar, Institute, or Landmark), they may not accept an additional offer or withdraw in order to accept a different offer.

Participants are required to submit a project evaluation.

Participants will be expected to abide by the University of Pittsburgh’s public health and safety guidelines at the time of the Workshop. In addition to providing proof of vaccination you may be required to continue masking while on campus, during transportation, and during visits to sites related to the Workshop.

Application Information and Instructions

Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshops provide K-12 educators with the opportunity to engage in intensive study and discussion of important topics and issues in American history and culture, while providing them with direct experiences in the interpretation of significant historical and cultural sites and the use of archival and other primary evidence.

Prior to completing an application to a specific workshop, please review the project website 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.

NEH Landmarks workshops involve teachers in collaboration with core faculty and visiting scholars to study the best available scholarship on a specific landmark or cluster of landmarks. Workshops, offered twice in one summer, accommodate 36 teachers in each one-week session. Participants benefit by gaining a sense of the importance of historical and cultural places, by making connections between the workshop content and what they teach, and by developing individual teaching and/or research materials.

Please Note: An individual may apply to up to two NEH summer projects (NEH Landmarks Workshops, NEH Summer Seminars, or NEH Summer Institutes), but may participate in only one.

Selection Criteria

A selection committee (consisting of the project director, one of the project scholars, and a veteran K-12 teacher) will read and evaluate all properly completed applications.

At least three workshop spaces will be reserved for teachers who have been teaching for five years or less. While recent participants are eligible to apply, selection committees are charged to give first consideration to applicants who have not previously participated in an NEH-supported seminar, institute, or workshop. Additionally, preference is given to applicants who would significantly contribute to the diversity and dissemination of the workshop. 

Special consideration is given to the likelihood that an applicant will benefit professionally and personally from the workshop experience.  It is important, therefore, to address each of the following factors in the application essay:

  • your professional background;
  • your interest in the subject of the workshop;
  • your special perspectives, skills, or experiences that would contribute to the workshop; and
  • how the experience would enhance your teaching or school service.

Stipend, Tenure, and Conditions of Award

Teachers selected to participate as NEH Summer Scholars will receive a $1,300 stipend at the end of the workshop session. Stipends are intended to help cover travel expenses to and from the project location, books, and ordinary living expenses.  Stipends are taxable.

Participants are required to attend all scheduled meetings and to engage fully as professionals in all project activities.  Participants who do not complete the full tenure of the project will receive a reduced stipend.

PLEASE NOTE: stipends WILL NOT be available on the last day of the workshop. All checks will be mailed to the participant’s home address within 60 days of the workshop’s conclusion.

Application Instructions

In any given year, an individual may apply to a maximum of two NEH summer programs, but may attend only one NEH program per summer. Once they have accepted an offer to attend any NEH Summer Program (Landmarks or Institutes), participants may not accept an additional offer or withdraw in order to accept a different offer.

Application Checklist

A completed application consists of the following items:

  • a completed application form
  • a résumé or short biography with contact information for a professional reference uploaded with the application form
    • Please include a résumé or brief biography detailing your educational qualifications and professional experience. Be sure the résumé provides the name, title, phone number, and e-mail address of one professional reference.
  • an application essay (no longer than two double-spaced pages) as outlined below uploaded with the application form
    • The application essay should be no more than two double-spaced pages. The essay should address your professional background; interest in the subject of the workshop; special perspectives, skills, or experiences that would contribute to the workshop; and how the experience would enhance your teaching or school service.

Submission of Applications and Notification Procedure

Applications are due by March 5, 2024. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance on April 5, 2024.

All applicants will be notified of their acceptance, waitlist, or non-acceptance status on this date (not before and not after) by email.

Those who have been accepted will have until April 19, 2024 to accept or decline an offer.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Endowment programs do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or sexual orientation.  For further information, write to NEH Equal Opportunity Officer, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20506.  TDD:  202/606-8282 (for the hearing impaired only).