We understand that professors are struggling in the American university system. Most students are disinterested, unmotivated, and unprepared for class. This brings down the quality of education for everyone, especially for students who are eager to learn from you. We also know you’re burdened by administrative tasks like grading, committee work, and bureaucratic nonsense, which takes time away from teaching. We also understand that institutional policies or ideological biases can heavily influence the tone of your classroom, making an authentic and candid teaching experience difficult.

Taking education to the next level is a challenge when these are the obstacles so many teachers face today.

Now, imagine what it would be like to teach a seminar to students who are hungry to learn on something you’re deeply passionate about. You wouldn’t have to navigate the demands of your college. The materials like books and meals would be provided at no cost to you or your students. You’d be able to create an open, friendly, and thoughtful environment that your best students could thrive in.

ISI Forum grants are on-campus seminars that make this sort of learning experience possible.

Interested teachers who work on college campuses and teach students are invited to apply to participate in an ISI Forum during the Fall 2024 – Spring 2025 academic year. This program is intended to broadly introduce students to the conservative and Western intellectual tradition and is meant to take place over the course of an afternoon, allowing enough time for fellowship and deep learning. Teachers who apply and are accepted into the program will receive a $400 honorarium upon successful completion of all of the program requisites, which are listed below. ISI also provides $800 for any costs related to the ISI Forum, including books for up to 16 people, two meals, venue reservation fees, etc.

The goal for each ISI Forum is to not only expose students to the best of what has been thought and said, but it is also to identify students who are particularly engaged, thoughtful, interested, and show a strong moral character. To complete the program, teachers must identify a handful of these students after the program is complete and must include these details in reporting. These students will be personally reached out to by ISI staff and considered for advanced programming and other exclusive opportunities.

The Benefits of ISI Forum Grants

  • We will pay for the venue, the books, and the meals so you can focus on designing a seminar that will expose students to the Western and conservative intellectual tradition
  • $400 Honoraria when you teach five or more students
  • Lecture on a topic that aligns with ISI’s educational program but that draws from your own interests and expertise
  • Recruit students you want to attend your seminar so you can directly impact the intellectual growth of students in your academic community
  • Enhance your teaching portfolio and experience. Upon successful completion of the ISI Forum, you are encouraged to include the ISI Forum in your CV as a specialized teaching experience
  • Use ISI Forum grants to showcase your expertise in your field. This is a chance to raise your profile within and beyond your academic community and further your involvement within our faculty network

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute was founded in 1953 to educate the next generation of great Americans. Since our founding, we’ve cultivated a vibrant community of students, faculty, and alumni dedicated to the foundational principles rarely taught in the classroom.

ISI Forums give you the freedom to teach a seminar related to one of our five pillars of education: Political Philosophy, Economic Freedom, American Experience, Technology and Human Dignity, and Arts and the Imagination.

Our graduates become leaders in their communities, in their states, and on the national and global stages. Hundreds of thoughtful and principled leaders have come through ISI’s programs including Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito, PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel, Reason magazine editor Katherine Mangu-Ward, Hillsdale College president Larry Arnn, and Heritage Foundation founder Ed Feulner.

Will you help us educate the next generation of American leaders?

Testimonials

“ISI’s seminars are like oases in the desert of higher learning. No organization matches its ability to bring together serious young students in the pursuit of wisdom. ISI students are universally the most astute and engaged that I have had the pleasure of teaching.”

  • Dr. Casey Wheatland – Texas State University

“Anyone who is downcast about Generation Z hasn’t spent enough time with ISI. it’s been my privilege to engage college students from many parts of the country at ISI events. Consistently, I have encountered intelligent, curious, and well-prepared young people eager to engage thoughtfully on great issues. The next generation of conservative American leaders will owe a debt of gratitude to ISI.”

  • Dr. David Goldman

“ISI is one of the most important educational institutions left in the United States. It forms friendships and relationships between faculty and students rooted in the ideas that shaped our cultural inheritance and thus it helps to form the future leaders upon whom our continuance as a great nation depends.”

  • Dr. Khalil Habib – Hillsdale College

How it works

ISI Forums give you everything you need to teach the perfect seminar. We want to empower professors to teach their best students the topics that interest them most. We will provide you the funding and best practices you need to design a successful seminar AND we’re going to pay you $400 to do it.

  • ISI Forum teacher must lead recruitment efforts, book the event space, and buy/distribute books (with ISI Forum funds)
  • ISI Forum teacher must use funds on expenses related to the ISI Forum. Descriptions of the spending will appear in the RAMP card issued to teacher
  • ISI Forum teacher must direct students to complete the student survey during the meeting time
  • ISI Forum teacher must complete the After-Action Report and include both a roster of students who signed up and attended along with a list of students who they’ve ID’d as a “talent pick” for ISI to connect with

Fill out the form below. If your seminar topic is accepted, we will provide you with our guide on how to design the best seminar possible. Once you’ve told us the date you plan to hold the seminar we will send you a visa credit card so you can purchase all the supplies you’ll need. It is at ISI’s discretion to determine whether a seminar topic complies with our educational mission, and all applicants should expect to hear back within one week of submission.

All applications are vetted by ISI staff to ensure programming is consistent with ISI’s mission and values, but we do encourage teachers to draw from their own interests and expertise to provide students a structured experience.

Interested teachers can browse the ISI Educational Approach Topics document located below for forum ideas. The educational pillars animate ISI’s core programming for students.

You must also select a text that students must read ahead of the ISI Forum. ISI includes recommendations for the length of text to select and how much reading time to give students in the “Best Practices” section below.

Once your application is accepted and you’ve received the funds, you’re ready to invite students.

During the seminar, you will have the students fill out a feedback survey, which takes roughly 10 minutes. Once the seminar is complete, you are required to complete an After-Action Report detailing how the seminar went, your feedback, and identifying your best students. Once you’ve completed all required reporting and surveys, you will receive a $400 payment.

ISI Forum Grants Best Practices PDF

The ISI Educational Approach Topics PDF

Fill out the form below and get started teaching the best seminar of your life