U.S. Embassy in Austria

Study of the U.S. Institutes for Secondary Educators (SUSIs) are intensive post-graduate level academic programs that provide foreign secondary school educators and administrators the opportunity to deepen their understanding of U.S. society, culture, values, and institutions. The program goal is to strengthen curricula and to enhance the quality of teaching about the United States in secondary schools and other academic institutions abroad. Through a combination of traditional, multi-disciplinary, and interdisciplinary approaches, program content will examine the history and evolution of U.S. institutions and values, broadly defined. The programs will also serve to illuminate contemporary political, social, and economic debates in American society. The program features curriculum based on the study of how America’s foundations and historical development have shaped and continue to inform U.S. politics, economics, and society.

Program Format:

Study of the U.S. Institutes for Secondary Educators will take place at various academic institutions throughout the United States over the course of five weeks beginning in June 2023. Each Institute includes a four-week academic residency component and, if possible, a one-week integrated study tour to another region of the United States. Posts and prospective applicants may visit exchanges.state.gov/susi to obtain general information about the Institutes. The four-week academic residencies will take place at U.S. university and college campuses and will consist of a balanced series of lectures, panels, seminar discussions, readings, workshops, site visits, meetings with practitioners in the field, and cultural activities. One-week study tours to a different region will complement the academic residencies and showcase the cultural, geographic, and ethnic diversity of the United States. A key cultural component of the program involves community service activities, which provides participants with first-hand experience of the vital role of volunteerism in U.S. civil society. The program will offer multiple opportunities for follow-on engagement through alumni webinars, grant-funded follow-on projects, social media, and an alumni workshop.

Program Requirements and Restrictions:

Participants must be proficient in English and are expected to fully engage in all aspects of the program; they must attend all lectures and organized activities and complete assigned readings. Family members and/or friends may not accompany participants on any part of the U.S. component of the program. Please note that Institute curriculum will not formally address teaching methodology and pedagogical methods.

Should health, safety, and travel conditions continue to pose significant challenges, the program will pivot to a modified virtual format.

Award Information:

Selected participants will be awarded the following:

• International airfare;
• Housing and subsistence while in the U.S.;
• Book, cultural, mailing, and incidental allowances;
• Health insurance while in the U.S.;
• U.S. visa support.

Eligibility and Preferred Qualities:

• Austrian citizen;
• Candidates should be mid-career, typically between the ages of 30-50, highly motivated, experienced secondary school teachers and administrators;
• Ideal candidates are individuals whose home institution is seeking to introduce aspects of U.S. studies into its curricula, develop new courses in the subject of the Institute, enhance and update existing courses on the United States, or offer specialised seminars/workshops for professionals in U.S. studies areas related to the program theme;
• Dedicated to the field of secondary education as demonstrated through past scholarship, accomplishments, and professional duties;
• Little to no experience in the U.S. is preferred.

Application Details:

To apply please fill in the application form and send complete documentation
to ViennaUSEmbassy@state.gov
Application deadline: Friday, January 29, 2023