History Skills Academy 2025

The Hoover History Skills Academy will provide high school students with an unparalleled two-week learning opportunity on the Hoover campus to master best practices for designing, researching, and writing a substantive historical research paper using the extraordinary historical materials in the famed Hoover Library and Archives.

The Hoover History Lab is partnering with The Concord Review (TCR), publishers of America’s only journal for exceptional historical research papers written by high-school students. TCR is an experienced operator of in-person history camps for high-school students and will provide its own trained teachers and well-developed curriculum for this Hoover event. Students may also take advantage of submitting their finished paper for possible publication in TCR’s journal as a pre-collegiate academic accomplishment.

Any history topic may be proposed for the research project. Topics for which the L&A offers unique primary sources include those listed in their online collections and guides. (The main Stanford University library may also be utilized for other specialized research needs.)

All secondary-school students are eligible to apply.

A residential program is offered for students who want an immersive on-campus experience during the Academy, with TCR teachers supervising students housed in Stanford dorms and meals at dining halls and/or catered to the classroom. Alternatively, local students may opt to live off-campus and commute daily to the structured classroom program, which will run from 9AM to 4:15 PM weekdays, from Monday, July 21, through Friday, August 1, 2025.

The application deadline for this program has passed as of February 28, 2025.

To contact Cheryl Steets, Senior Program Manager, Hoover History Lab, click here.