Join a vibrant research community
Spend a semester immersed in a research community while living in one of the most culturally dynamic cities in the US. Join a group of highly passionate and motivated students and conduct your own research project in a premier humanities library.
Fall 2020 seminar theme:
Students will explore food from an interdisciplinary perspective. Tap the Newberry Library’s original source materials to investigate Indigenous villages, maps of stockyards, new foods introduced during the 1893 World's Fair, and recipe collections.
Students will explore not just what people read but how, where, and why they read it. Tap the Newberry Library’s original source materials to investigate how, from Gutenberg to digital media, reading has offered a means of defining the self, encountering others, drawing lines of inclusion and exclusion, and imagining change.
Schedule
Fall semester (early September–mid-December)
See full schedule
Who can apply
Undergraduates from any four-year US college or university
Host institution
Newberry Library in Chicago, IL
Living arrangements
Students live in furnished apartments near the Newberry Library in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood.
Application deadlines
Fall semester 2020 deadline
March 15, 2020
Fall semester 2021 deadline
March 15, 2021
If the deadline has passed and you are interested in applying, contact the ACM Office immediately. Late applications may be accepted on a space-available basis.
Begin your adventure
Watch students and faculty describe what immersive research experiences are really like.
Join a community of scholars
“This program allowed me to have a test experience of the research side of academia.”
—Benjamin Kern, Colorado College, international political economy major
You’ll be treated as a visiting scholar at the Newberry Library, working alongside professors and fellow academics to develop your research abilities. Watch yourself grow as a researcher over the course of the semester!
Access a collection of rare humanities resources
“I found that the pure desire to unearth something that has never been examined before is a reward beyond any praise or recognition.”
—Kelsey Cole, Monmouth College, English major
From cartographic catalogues to 16th century political pamphlets, use some of the world’s finest primary resources to develop your research topic.
Live in a vibrant, culturally diverse city
“It’s impossible to overemphasize the amazing location of the program – I still glow when I talk about my semester in Chicago.”
—Jennie Morrison, Kenyon College, American studies major
Experience life in the city of Chicago! When you’re not researching a topic that you’re passionate about, you’ll explore Chicago’s history, food, museums, theater, music, architecture, and everything in between.
Once-in-a-lifetime experiences
As I got more and more involved in my research at the Newberry, 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.
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The Newberry Seminar was an excellent preparation for making the transition from undergraduate to graduate scholar. Even now, as a PhD candidate in history, I am using skills learned at the Newberry Library to facilitate research at national repositories.
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The Newberry's resources are truly unique, and everyone you meet is willing to help you with your project. I had a great time, and I would recommend it to anyone who is genuinely interested in humanities research.
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