Applications for the 2025 Monticello Teacher Institute are now open! Please click here for the 2025 application.
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation is proud to offer the Monticello Teacher Institute (MTI), an immersive professional development program that provides social studies teachers the opportunity to research and study at Monticello and the Jefferson Library in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Participating teachers:
- Engage in a collaborative environment, facilitated by group excursions, discussions with leading Jefferson scholars, and other focused workshops.
- Conduct research to bolster their historical understanding and build resources for their classrooms.
- Tackle the complex history of Jefferson and Monticello, including race, slavery, and freedom.
- Experience the power of place on the Monticello mountaintop through artifacts, oral histories, the landscape, and more.
- Return to their schools to act as ambassadors for MTI by engaging students and fellow educators in Jefferson’s ideas and the history of Monticello.
The Application Process
The 2025 Monticello Teacher Institute will take place in two sessions.
- Session 1: Sunday, July 13 - Friday, July 18
- Session 2: Sunday, July 27 - Friday, August 1
To apply, complete this online application, which includes a series of short answer questions, uploading a resume, and two letters of recommendation. Applicants can note their preference for a particular session on the online application.
We will be accepting applications from October 1, 2024 until April 1, 2025, and will announce decisions in late April.
Eligibility
Fellowships will be awarded to:
- Qualified teachers who are employed full-time in a K-12 classroom.
- Secondary social studies educators, as well as to elementary teachers, librarians, and those interested in making cross-curricular connections to Jefferson’s diverse interests and wide-reaching ideas.
- Applicants from across the United States. International applications may also be considered.
- At this time, we do not accept applications from those serving in administrative or advisory roles, student teachers, or teacher educators.
Selection
Applicants will be chosen by a selection committee according to evidence of their success as a teacher, demonstration that the fellowship will relate to the teaching skills and needs of the applicant, and the commitment and qualifications of the applicant to undertake a concentrated study relating to the life and times of Thomas Jefferson, including basic research skills, writing proficiency, and competency using digital education tools and technology. Previous fellows have researched topics such as the legacy of the Declaration of Independence, education, slavery at Monticello, and the sciences.
"I am incredibly grateful for attending this program this past summer. It was an amazing opportunity to get an immersive study of the time period and you are able to explore places and items on the ground that are not shown to the general public. The staff at Monticello have such a wealth of knowledge and just as much value the educators’ insight as well as opened up my eyes to so many ideas for my classroom. I learned so much more about the time period than I ever could otherwise. It was life changing."
-Lindsay McBride, prior MTI participant
All-Inclusive Funding
The Monticello Teacher Institute is all-inclusive, providing stipends for participation and meals, as well as travel reimbursement. Lodging and transportation are provided during the fellowship.
Certificate of Completion
At this time, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation is not certified to confer graduate or professional development credits through the Monticello Teacher Institute. However, each participant will be given a certificate of completion a letter testifying to what the program consists of and the number of hours of work completed.
Accessibility
When considering your ability to participate, please keep in mind that Monticello is indeed Jefferson’s “little mountain.” Tours and programs cover 1-3 miles of walking daily on uphill, downhill, paved, and unpaved walkways in hot and humid weather. If accepted, please notify staff in advance of any medical conditions, dietary restrictions, etc. so that we can support your onsite experience. For more information about accessibility at Monticello, go to Information for Visitors Needing Special Assistance.
Online Application ➔
Questions
Contact Monticello’s Education & Visitor Programs Department at education@monticello.org with "Monticello Teacher Institute" in the subject line if you have any questions.
The Monticello Teacher Institute is made possible by generous donations from Mr. and Mrs. Paul B. Barringer II and The Charles Fund, Inc.