Summer Institute

“ . . . where teachers come to improve their writing in order to improve the writing of their students.”

Every year since 1982, the CWP has invited outstanding teachers from all disciplines and levels of instruction to participate in a Summer Invitational Institute on the Storrs campus. This Summer Institute provides teachers with the opportunity to study current composition theories, to share their expertise, and to compile their own original writing portfolio.

During the summer institute you will write every day, participate in peer response groups, revise your writing, share your knowledge and insights with other teachers, conduct graduate-level research, build leadership skills, and grow as teachers and writers.

Compensation and Requirements

Compensation - All participants will receive an Aetna Fellowship with the option to earn six graduate credits in English.

Deadline for Applying - Applications for Summer 2024 are due by March 25th, 2024.

Application Requirements - Required materials include: 1-page essay on your teaching philosophy, two letters of recommendation (one may be a recommendation from a Teacher-Consultant, meaning someone wh has already completed a Summer Institute), and a résumé. Please indicate which area you may be interested in doing your research in: Reading/Writing Connection, Assessments and Writing, Writing and Technology, or The Writing Process, or something else. Please submit all materials through our Submittable page.

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Click the image to see Summer Institute Workshops

Picture Collage from 2019 Summer Institute

2025 CWP Summer Institute (SI) Details:

  • Dates: June 23—July 18, 2025 (start date is tentative pending snow days)
  • Applications Due: March 25, 2025
  • Orientation: May 10, 2025

Summer Fellows/Teacher-Writer Chapbooks

Click above to find an archive of the booklets created by teachers after each Summer Insitute. The essays, vignettes, and poems collected in these booklets, chosen by their authors with the advice of the other members of their groups, represent a small sample of the writing produced by teachers during the Summer Institute.