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Newberry Seminar in the Humanities

Chicago, Illinois

The Newberry Library is one of the world’s leading independent research libraries.  Focusing on the humanities, its evolving collections embrace the history and literature of  Western Europe and the Americas.  With an active educational and cultural presence in Chicago, the Newberry offers a host of exhibits, lectures, classes, concerts, and other public programming related to its collections.  In addition, the Newberry makes available a variety of highly-acclaimed fellowships and programs to scholars, teachers, and undergraduates.  Located in the heart of Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, the Library is near theatres, museums, parks, concerts, shopping, restaurants, and Lake Michigan, making it a vibrant location from which to experience all that Chicago has to offer.

The ACM Newberry Seminar in the Humanities offers motivated and mature students a tremendous opportunity to do independent study and research while working closely with professors and scholars in one of the world’s great cities.  Fall semester participants write a substantial paper on a topic of their choice, based on research in the rich primary collections of the Newberry Library.  They work closely with faculty members and a select group of colleagues in a seminar that provides context and guidance for their research.  In some cases, the paper qualifies as a senior or honors thesis.  In all cases, the fall seminar gives participants significant research experience that prepares them for graduate study, professional education (such as law school), or other careers.  Each year, the fall seminar is taught by a team of two visiting faculty members, with a focus on a specific theme in the humanities.  Themed short-term seminars, offered in the winter and spring, include class meetings and a shorter paper, providing a similar experience of independent research and writing.

Students live in furnished, shared apartments within walking distance of the Newberry Library, where the majority of their research and work takes place.  During the fall semester,  students can gain additional work experience through a variety of part-time jobs at the Library. 

For more detailed information about the ACM Newberry Seminar in the Humanities, please use the links located on the left-hand side of this page.

Application deadlines

March 15, 2009

Fall 2009 semester

While preference will be given to students who have met the application deadline, late applications may be accepted on a space-available basis.

If the application deadline has passed and you are still interested in applying for a program, please submit your application immediately and contact the ACM Office.

Program contacts

Emily Gaul
Program Associate

205 W. Wacker Drive, Suite 220
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: 312.263.5000
egaul@acm.edu

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Newberry Seminar in the Humanities

Katrina Jagodinsky The ACM Newberry program was an excellent preparation for making the transition from undergraduate to graduate scholar. Not only were the seminar discussions excellent, the intimate training from archivists and work opportunities in Newberry departments introduced us to the broader academic network of professional scholars and gave us an advantage in applying to graduate schools. Even now, as a PhD Candidate in History at the University of Arizona, I am using skills learned at the Newberry Library to facilitate research at national repositories. Any ACM student considering graduate study should definitely seek the opportunity to participate in the Newberry Seminar in the Humanities.

—Katrina Jagodinsky, Newberry Seminar in the Humanities, Fall 2001

Jennie Morrison The Newberry is an ideal environment to challenge one's intellectual limits. The first time we met as a group, our professors emphasized the strength and quirkiness of the Newberry's “community of scholars." During the course of the semester I was continually amazed by the amount of partnership and collaboration that took place not only within our seminar, but also within the library as a whole. As I got more and more involved in my research, I found myself bouncing ideas off of a variety of individuals: from classmates to professors to librarians. Moreover, scholars within the library are unbelievably accessible. It’s also impossible to overemphasize the amazing location of the program- I still glow when I talk about my semester in Chicago.

—Jennie Morrison, Newberry Seminar in the Humanities, Fall 2007

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Who we are

The Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) is a consortium of 13 independent, liberal arts colleges in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Colorado.