The United States Embassy in Minsk invites Belarusian Secondary School Educators to participate in the Study of the U.S. Summer Institutes (SUSI). Deadline for applications is December 17, 2017.
Study of the U.S. Summer Institutes (SUSI) are sponsored by the State Department’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. Summer Institutes are five-week academic programs for multinational groups of educators from outside the United States. Institutes are held at university campuses throughout the U.S. and focus on a particular theme or topic in American studies.
The purpose of these institutes is to strengthen curricula and improve the quality of teaching about the United States in academic institutions overseas. Each program includes two components: an intensive, four-week academic seminar and a one week integrated study tour designed to reinforce the academic content of the seminar.
The U.S. Summer Institutes is a highly competitive program, and the U.S. Embassy will nominate only one candidate per institute. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. State Department pays all costs.
The Study of the U.S. Institutes for Secondary Educators (Teachers) will provide three multinational groups of 20 experienced secondary school educators (including teachers, administrators, teacher trainers, curriculum developers, textbook writers, ministry of education officials, and others) with a deeper understanding of U.S. society, education, and culture – past and present. The focus of the Institutes will be on providing content and materials for participants to develop high school level curricula about the United States. To this end, the Institutes are organized around a central theme or themes in U.S. civilization. Through a combination of traditional, multi-disciplinary, and interdisciplinary approaches, program content will examine the history and evolution of U.S. institutions and values, broadly defined. The programs will also serve to illuminate contemporary political, social, and economic debates in American society. The four week academic residencies will take place at U.S. universities, colleges, or other academic institutions and will consist of a balanced series of lectures, panels, seminar discussions, readings, workshops, site visits, meetings with practitioners in the field, and cultural activities. One week study tours to a different region of the United States will complement the four week academic residencies. One goal of the study tours is to showcase the cultural, geographic, and ethnic diversity of the United States.
Two of the Institutes will be tailored for secondary school teachers; please note that the main focus of the Institutes for teachers is on content and materials about the United States rather than teaching methods and pedagogy. The third Institute will be tailored for experienced administrators including teacher trainers, curriculum developers, textbook writers, ministry of education officials, and others.
Study of the U.S. Institutes are highly competitive. Priority will be given to candidates who have firm plans to enhance, update or develop courses and/or educational materials with a U.S. studies focus or component, who have no or limited prior experience in the United States, and who have special interest in the secondary education as demonstrated through past scholarship, accomplishments, and professional duties.
Candidates should be mid-career, highly-motivated and experienced secondary school teachers and administrators. Ideal candidates are individuals who are seeking to introduce or enhance aspects of U.S. studies into their curricula or to offer specialized seminars/workshops for education professionals in U.S. studies or related fields.
Candidates must demonstrate English language fluency. Institutes are rigorous and demanding programs; participants will be expected to handle substantial reading assignments in English and to fully and actively participate in all seminar and panel discussions. Candidates should be willing and able to fully take part in an intensive post-graduate level academic program and study tour.
The deadline for submitting applications is December 17, 2017.
Please submit your application form by e-mail to: belarusprogram@state.gov no later than December 17, 2017.
The Application Form can be found here.
Should you have any questions, please write to belarusprogram@state.gov.
