Applying to the Summer Seminar
Please read through all of the directions for applying to the summer seminar carefully. Submit your application as a single PDF document using the form below, by March 2, 2015. Questions regarding the application or application process should be directed to asianamericanyc@gmail.com.
PLEASE BE SURE TO INCLUDE THE NEH APPLICATION COVER SHEET WITH YOUR APPLICATION
You need to save a PDF or scan the completed form and include it with the rest of your application.
Notification of program acceptance will be sent out by email on March 30, 2015.
Application Checklist
A complete application consists of one copy of the following collated items (click each item for details):
1. The completed application cover sheet
The application cover sheet must be filled out online at this address: https://securegrants.neh.gov/education/participants/
Please follow the prompts. Before you click the “submit” button, print out the cover sheet or save a copy as a PDF file. (You will need to add this to your application package by saving or scanning the printed copy as a PDF and combining it electronically with the rest of your application.) Then click “submit.” At this point you will be asked if you want to fill out a cover sheet for another project. If you do, follow the prompts to select the other project and repeat the process.
Note that filling out a cover sheet is not the same as applying, so there is no penalty for changing your mind and filling out a cover sheet for several projects. A full application consists of the items listed above, as sent to the project director.
You must submit a separate cover sheet online for each project to which you are applying in order to generate a unique tracking number for each application. Do not copy and paste a new cover sheet.
2. A résumé or brief biography with contact information for two professional references
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 two professional references.
3. An application essay
The application essay should be no more than four double-spaced pages in 12-point font. It should address reasons for applying; the applicant’s interest, both academic and personal, in the subject to be studied; qualifications and experiences that equip the applicant to do the work of the seminar or institute and to make a contribution to a learning community; a statement of what the applicant wants to accomplish by participating; and the relation of the project to the applicant’s professional responsibilities.
The most important part of the application is this essay. It should include your reasons for applying to the specific project; your relevant personal and academic information; your qualifications to do the work of the project and make a contribution to it; what you hope to accomplish; and the relation of the study to your teaching.
In writing their essays, applicants may want to consider some of the following questions:
- Do you work with immigrant students in your classroom and how might participation in the seminar enhance your teaching with regard to your student populations?
- What motivates your interest in Asian American literature, film, and/or communities, and how do you see the seminar as germane to those interests?
- Are there gaps that you have identified in the materials made available to you that pertain to Asian American history and/or experience, and if so, how do you see this seminar addressing some of those gaps?