Eligibility and Guidelines

From the NEH Eligibility Criteria 

​NEH PARTICIPANT ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Seminars and Institutes for K-12 Educators  

Seminars and Institutes 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. Project directors may admit a limited number of educators who work outside the K-12 classroom and who can demonstrate that their participation will advance project goals and enhance their professional work.

At least three seminar spaces and at least five institute spaces must be reserved for teachers who are new to the profession (those who have been teaching for five years or fewer).

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.

A participant need not have an advanced degree in order to take part in a seminar or institute. Individuals may not apply to participate in a seminar or institute whose director is a family member, who is affiliated with the same institution, who has served as an academic advisor to the applicant, or who has led a previous NEH-funded Seminar, Institute or Landmarks program attended by the applicant. In any given year an individual may apply to a maximum of two projects but may attend only one.

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 seminar or institute if they have been debarred or suspended by any federal department or agency.

To be considered eligible, applicants must submit a complete application. The application requires basic personal and professional information, as well as a current résumé and application essay. If you have questions about eligibility, or if you need accommodations to be able to apply, contact Crystal Johnson (cjohnson@chicagohistory.org).

Participants in past NEH programs are eligible to apply, but project selection committees are directed to give priority consideration to teachers who have not yet participated in NEH programs. 

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).

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. 

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