Telluride Association Seminar/Summer Program

I am writing to invite you to nominate intellectually curious, motivated students to apply for a full scholarship to one of our programs in Summer 2020. We offer the Telluride Association Sophomore Seminar (TASS) for 10th graders and the Telluride Association Summer Program (TASP) for 11th graders. TASS and TASP are free, six-week programs, co-sponsored by Cornell University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Maryland. Every year, students say their experience was life-changing. Here is a quick link to the nomination form. For more information, read on!   At each program, 14-16 students live together in a residence hall at the host university and participate in a seminar led by two professors. Seminar topics vary from year to year; for TASS, there is a special focus within the fields of critical Black and ethnic studies. You can read about the 2020 topics at tasp.tellurideassociation.org and tass.tellurideassociation.org. The program seminars meet for three hours each weekday. Our professors ask students to read carefully, to consider controversial ideas from many perspectives, and to express ideas clearly in writing and in class. Instead of grades, students receive extensive feedback from their professors and college-age mentors. Outside of seminar, our programs place special emphasis on building a close-knit educational community. Students learn from each other as they share meals, discuss the topics of the day, practice public-speaking skills, and decide democratically on extracurricular activities they'll undertake as a group.    We seek applicants from around the country and from all backgrounds. We offer all students a full scholarship, with no charge for tuition, books, or room and board. Although students are responsible for arranging travel to and from their program, travel subsidies are available. We also offer subsidies to offset lost wages for students whose summer work would otherwise help support their families.    The 2020 application will also be available on our website: tass.tellurideassociation.org for TASS and tasp.tellurideassociation.org for TASP. Please visit nominate.tellurideassociation.org to add your students to our online nomination form. (If this link doesn't pre-fill with your information, click the link at nominate.tellurideassociation.org and enter "069675 " as your "SID".)  Nominations are needed by November 22, 2019 (and by November 15, if possible) so we can mail application materials to prospective candidates in early December.   Please let students know you have nominated them to apply for this program. You and your students are welcome to contact me with any questions about the program or the application process. Thank you, whether you are nominating your students for the twentieth time or for the first! The continuing success and growth of TASS and TASP is a tribute to committed supporters like you. Sincerely,   Ellen Baer, Administrative Director