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 2025 are due by March 25, 2025 at 11:59 PM.

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 who 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 30—July 25, 2025 (start date is tentative pending snow days) - 8:30 AM-3:30 PM in the Austin Building on the Storrs campus - off on July 4th
  • Orientation: May 24, 2025 - 8:30 AM-3:30 PM in the Austin Building on the Storrs campus
  • Applications Due: By March 25, 2025 at 11:59 PM

Summer Fellows/Teacher-Writer Chapbooks

Click above to find an archive of the chapbooks created by teachers after each Summer Institute. The essays, vignettes, and poems collected in these chapbooks, 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.