How To Apply to Voices of the Ancients
These projects are designed principally for full-time or part-time teachers and librarians in public, charter, independent, and religiously affiliated schools, as well as home schooling parents. Museum educators and other K-12 school system personnel—such as administrators, substitute teachers, and curriculum developers—are also eligible to participate. 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. Foreign nationals teaching abroad at non-U.S. chartered institutions are not eligible to participate.
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 an NEH Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshop whose director is a family member, is affiliated with the prospective applicant’s institution, or is someone with whom the prospective applicant has previously studied.
To be considered eligible, applicants must submit a complete application as indicated on the individual Landmarks Workshop website.
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.
During NEH Landmarks workshops, K-12 educators collaborate 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 32 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.
A selection committee (consisting in most cases of the project director, one of the project scholars, and a veteran teacher) will read and evaluate all completed applications.
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.
While recent participants are eligible to apply, selection committees are asked to give first consideration to applicants who have not previously participated in an NEH-supported seminar, institute, or workshop.
Teachers selected to participate as Voices of the Ancients 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, lodging, and meals. Stipends are taxable income.
Summer Scholars 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 workshop will receive a reduced stipend.
At the end of the workshop, Voices of the Ancients Scholars will be asked to provide an assessment of their workshop experience, especially in terms of its value to their personal and professional development. These confidential evaluations will become a part of the project’s grant file.
A completed application consists of the following items:
- a completed application form,
- a résumé or short biography with contact information for a professional reference, and
- an application essay (no longer than two double-spaced pages) as outlined below.
The application form must be filled out online.
Please follow the prompts; be sure to indicate your first and second choices of workshop dates. You should receive a copy of your responses once you submit the 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 email address of one professional reference.
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.
Completed applications should be submitted via the online application to the project director, not the NEH, no later than March 5, 11:59 pm Pacific.
Your completed application should be submitted online.
All applicants will be notified on April 2, 2025 and must accept their offer by April 16, 2025.
Once you have accepted an offer to attend any NEH-supported Summer Program (NEH Landmarks Workshop, NEH Summer Seminar, or NEH Summer Institute), you may not withdraw in order to accept an offer from another program.
NEH does not condone or tolerate discrimination or harassment based on age, color, disability, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), genetic information, national origin, race, or religion. Nor does NEH condone or tolerate retaliation against those who initiate discrimination complaints (either formally or informally), serve as witnesses, or otherwise participate in the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) process, or oppose discrimination or harassment. 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).