Eligibility and Guidelines


From the NEH Eligibility Criteria 

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

Seminars and Institutes target 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. They may also admit museum educators and other K-12 school personnel who demonstrate that participation will advance project goals and enhance their own professional work. At least 20% percent of institute spaces must be reserved for teachers who are new to the profession (those who have been teaching for five years or fewer).

You are eligible to apply if you are a:
  • United States citizen, including those teaching abroad at U.S. chartered institutions and schools operated by the federal government;
  • resident of U.S. jurisdictions;
  • foreign national who has been residing in the United States or its jurisdictions for at least the three years immediately preceding the application deadline.

You are NOT eligible to apply if you:
  • are a foreign national teaching abroad
  • are related to the project director(s)
  • are affiliated with the applicant institution (employees, currently enrolled students, etc.)
  • have been taught or advised in an academic capacity by the project director(s)
  • are delinquent in the repayment of federal debt (taxes, student loans, child support payments, and delinquent payroll taxes for household or other employees)
  • have been debarred or suspended by any federal department or agency
  • have attended a previous NEH professional development project (Seminars, Landmarks, or Institutes) led by the project director(s) 

A participant need not have an advanced degree in order to take part in a seminar or institute. J1 and F1 visa holders should confer with their sponsoring institution regarding their eligibility to receive a stipend from another institution.  

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 ([email protected]).

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.

In any given year, an individual may attend only one Institute or Landmarks workshop. Participants may not accept an additional offer or withdraw in order to accept a different offer once they have accepted an offer to attend an NEH Institutes or Landmarks program. Endowment programs do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or age. 
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