The Gilder Lehrman Institute is pleased to offer several programs for students throughout the year, encouraging the study of American history and supporting students in their career and research goals.
Learning Opportunities
AP US History Study Guide
The Institute’s AP US History Study Guide provides videos, timelines, primary sources, and essays for students to use in preparation for the Advanced Placement United States History exam each year.
Hamilton Education Program Online
The goal of the Hamilton Education Program Online is to help students in grades 6–12 see the relevance of the founding era by using primary sources to create a performance piece (e.g., a song, rap, poem, or scene) following the model used by Lin-Manuel Miranda to create the musical Hamilton. The program consists of classroom activities and digital resources that can be incorporated into a regular curriculum on the founding era. Students participating in the program will have the chance to submit their performance piece and be selected to see a performance of Hamilton in New York City.
Hamilton Cast Read Alongs
Hamilton Cast Read Alongs feature Hamilton cast members reading award-winning children’s books followed by a discussion of the history behind the story led by Gilder Lehrman Master Teacher Keisha Rembert. A full catalog of Hamilton Cast Read Alongs can be found here.
Gilder Lehrman History School
Since the Gilder Lehrman Institute launched History School in April 2020, more than 5,500 students have participated in twenty-eight courses with our award-winning teachers. In History School, master teachers present lessons anchored in primary source documents, many from the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s collection of more than 80,000 American history artifacts. Our goal is to engage students and excite them about history so that they leave each lesson more knowledgeable about a new idea, theme, document, or pivotal moment in history.
History School classes will be offered in summer 2024 and announced in spring 2024. Recordings of fall 2020 and spring 2021 classes are available here.
History U: Self-Paced Courses for Students
The Gilder Lehrman Institute’s History U offers free courses in American history to high school students. These courses, led by the nation’s top historians, are drawn from our MA in American History program and allow you to study history at your own pace.
Taking a History U course can enhance college applications, supplement classroom learning, and allow you to explore your own love of history.
Each History U course includes
- Video lectures by a leading history professor
- Primary sources and in-depth readings
- Short quizzes to review your knowledge
- A certificate of completion for the course
More than five courses in subjects ranging from American immigration history to political history are now available. Please visit gilderlehrman.org/HistoryU to sign up.
Transcribe!
The Institute’s Digital Volunteer Transcription Project, Transcribe!, allows students to transcribe documents from the Gilder Lehrman Collection. These typed transcripts will help make primary sources more accessible for students, teachers, and researchers. This volunteer opportunity is available to students who are at least thirteen years old.
Prizes and Honors
Richard Gilder History Prize
The Richard Gilder History Prize serves as an opportunity for Affiliate School teachers to honor a promising and passionate history student in their school.
We provide an important book on American history with a commemorative bookplate allowing schools to personalize the prize, which makes a great award to include in an end-of-year classroom ceremony. In addition, students honored with the Richard Gilder History Prize at the high school level have the opportunity to join the Gilder Lehrman History Scholars, an honorary group of students who are among the first to learn about new courses, scholarships, and other opportunities offered by the Institute.
David McCullough Essay Prizes
Students in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade in our Student Advisory Council, awardees of the Richard Gilder History Prize, participants in our EduHam Online program, History U and History School course enrollees, and past Book Breaks History Scholars of the Week are eligible and encouraged to enter the David McCullough Essay Prizes, which offer $25,000 in prizes to outstanding student writing. Students can submit an original essay, written independently or for a 2022–2023 class, that has been revised, expanded, and adapted to conform with the McCullough Prize specifications.
Student Advisory Council
The Student Advisory Council is a group of high-achieving students with an interest in history who are nominated by their teachers to join this elite community of like-minded individuals. The students have the opportunity to work with Gilder Lehrman Institute staff members to provide feedback on existing programs and help the institute refine its outreach with the needs of young people in mind. Students in grades 8–12 are eligible to participate in the council and act as the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s student voice. For more information on how to join, email studentadvisorycouncil@gilderlehrman.org and click here for the application form.
2023–2024 Voting Rights Prizes
As part of The Right to Vote: The Role of States and the US Constitution, the Gilder Lehrman Institute is hosting a contest to award ten $500 Voting Rights Prizes to outstanding student work using material from The Right to Vote project for civic engagement as part of argumentative essays, podcast PSAs, and reports on projects in their community.
Internships
The Institute hosts remote internships for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students (along with recent college graduates) year round. Interns are paid starting at $15 per hour. During the academic year, interns work an average of 10–15 hours per week, and during the summer session they work an average of 15–24 hours per week.
Scholarships and Fellowships
Gilder Lehrman-National History Academy Scholarships
The Gilder Lehrman Institute and the National History Academy are partnering to provide twenty scholarships exclusively to students at schools in our Affiliate School Program. These scholarships for the National History Academy's four-week residential summer program are inclusive of room, board, learning materials, and transportation and admission to historic sites. Transportation to and from the Foxcroft School for the program itself will not be covered by the scholarship.
Affiliate School Program Scholarships to Partner Colleges and Universities
The Gilder Lehrman Institute has partnered with Gettysburg College (Gettysburg, PA) and Marist College (Poughkeepsie, NY) to offer scholarships of $5,000 or more each year for up to four years exclusively for students from Gilder Lehrman Affiliate Schools. Learn more about the Affiliate School Program here.
Email affiliate@gilderlehrman.org if you have additional questions.
College Fellowships in American History
The Gilder Lehrman Institute offers awards of $3,000 each for undergraduates to come to New York to do research at the Gilder Lehrman Collection and other archives. Each applicant is required to submit a brief project proposal as well as an annotated list of five documents from the Gilder Lehrman Collection to be used in the project. Details about the College Fellowships in American History can be found here. To apply, please visit this page.