The Summer Institute in the Arts & Humanities

The Summer Institute in the Arts and Humanities provides a unique opportunity for selected undergraduates to earn full-time, academic credit through immersion in scholarly research with accomplished scholars and peers. Bringing together four faculty and twenty students in plenary, seminar and tutorial-style sessions, the Institute encourages mutual learning as well as independent thought.

The institute was created by the Undergraduate Research Program in collaboration with the Simpson Center for the Humanities in response to student demand for opportunities to engage in scholarly work at the undergraduate level. Conversations with and surveys of faculty in the humanities led to the concept of an intensive summer research program that would bring faculty and students together to explore an interdisciplinary theme.

he Summer Institute offers a research opportunity for undergraduates that provides them the intensive training and environment in which to pursue individual research. This scholarly experience occurs in the context of a group of students working on related projects with faculty who offer expertise from disciplinary and interdisciplinary points of view.

The goals for the Summer Institute in the Arts and Humanities are to increase the number of undergraduates doing research in the humanities by providing an intensive research opportunity for humanities and arts students; to engage humanities and arts faculty in research with undergraduates; to create tools for faculty to introduce individuals and groups of students to scholarly research; to establish a community of undergraduate arts and humanities scholars; and to create a forum for humanities undergraduates to present their scholarly work.

Participants are selected through an open, competitive application process and are provided a scholarship to participate in the program. Student participants develop individual, original research ideas related to an interdisciplinary theme, create a scholarly research paper or project, work through a faculty and peer critique process and formally present their work to their colleagues and the larger community at a closing symposium.

Be sure to read Phillip Thurtle's 2005 Summer Institute Symposium closing remarks on the value of undergraduate research in the arts and humanities.

The Summer Institute in the Arts and Humanities at the University of Washington is sponsored by Undergraduate Academic Affairs , the Simpson Center for the Humanities , the Office of Research , UW Educational Outreach , the Undergraduate Research Program, and the Mary Gates Endowment for Students .