Summer Institute
Featured Activities and Reports
  • Science article
  • The 24 April 2009 issue of Science magazine includes an article by Pfund et al. about the Summer Institute and its impact. More
  • Participant map
  • Summer Institute teams have come from institutions coast to coast: from Florida to Alaska, from Hawaii to New England. See a participant map to learn which institutions have sent teams to the Summer Institute.
End of featured activities

Application for 2010 Summer Institute

Applications are now available for the 2010 National Academies Summer Institute, which will be held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, June 21-26, 2010. The application deadline is March 26, 2010.

Applications forms may be downloaded below as Microsoft Word forms. Please read the information for prospective participants and the 2010 overview before submitting your application. Preference will be given to teams of applicants that teach large introductory biology survey, introductory molecular biology/genetics, or introductory ecology/evolution courses at research universities. Teams of two are expected, but teams of three will be considered if appropriately justified. Each team should include a junior and a senior member. The team may be comprised of two faculty members, or one faculty member and one member of the instructional staff. The faculty member may be either active in instruction or in an administrative position that will help the team implement change. The make-up of the proposed team must be explained and justified as part of the application. In addition, all members of each team must include brief individual statements, explaining how they hope their subsequent teaching and their institution will benefit from participation in the Institute.

Applicant teams must have the endorsement of an administrative official at their institution, who will agree to provide the costs of their travel to the Institute and to support their efforts toward improving undergraduate biology teaching at their institution after the workshop. A statement by this sponsor regarding the institution's reasons for supporting the applicants and their commitment to support of follow-up activities is a required component of the application.

Applications will be reviewed and evaluated by the National Research Council Summer Institute Steering Committee. Admission will be granted on the basis of team justification, participant responses, the administrator's statement of the institution's commitment to improving undergraduate biology education, and, to a lesser extent, representation of different types and geographical locations of participating institutions. The 2010 Institute will be limited to approximately 40 participants, so that admission is likely to be highly competitive.


Application Forms

Application forms are available as Microsoft Word forms. You should be able to complete and save your responses within the Word document. Please let us know if you require another format or experience any difficulties.

A completed application includes several elements: You may need to right- (PC) or option-click (Mac) to save the Word application forms on your local computer.

If you attach your responses on a separate page, please limit your response to each question to no more than a half-page.


Application Submission

Completed applications may be submitted electronically (preferred) or in hard copy. (Please do not send both electronic and hard copies of the same application.) If possible, all parts of the application (Cover Page, Participant Application Form, CVs, Departmental Endorsement Form, and Institutional Endorsement Form) should be submitted together (single PDF preferred; Microsoft Word or RTF also accepted). If electronic signatures are not possible, you may send the application as one package and copy those who sign the application and endorsements.

Submission methods:
  • PDF e-mail attachment to SummerInstitute@nas.edu (preferred)

  • Hard copy submissions to:
    National Academies Summer Institute
    Board on Life Sciences
    National Research Council
    Keck 640
    500 Fifth Street, NW
    Washington, DC 20001

  • Fax to 202-334-1289

The application deadline is March 26, 2010.

Questions about the application and admissions process may be directed to SummerInstitute@nas.edu.

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