New England Literature Program (NELP)

New England Literature Program  Flickr

NELP is a University of Michigan academic program that takes place off campus during the Spring half-term. U‑M faculty and other instructors teach the courses, and students earn regular U‑M credit.

The program takes place at Camp Wohelo on Sebago Lake in Maine. For six and a half weeks, 40 students and 13 U‑M instructors live and work together closely, reading New England authors, writing, and exploring the New England countryside, its people, culture, and history.

Academic Program.

 NELP students earn 8 hours of credit. Although NELP's academic work is taught as a single integrated academic experience, the credits appear on transcripts as three separate courses:

  • ENGLISH 473 Topics in American Literature (3 cr.)
  • ENGLISH 317 Literature and Culture (2 cr.)
  • ENGLISH 328 Writing and the Environment (3 cr.)

The program emphasizes the writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass, Sarah Orne Jewett, Robert Frost, Wallace Stevens, Carolyn Chute, Louise Glück, as well as other 18th- through 20th-century writers of various backgrounds.

NELP offers creative writing workshops, but most writing is done in a journal. Journal writing is required and is central to NELP education. The journals are both personal and academic. Student writing often explores creative expression, the natural world and the New England environment, and the writer's response to the NELP experience.

NELP courses are graded. The academic program requires completion of a reading list, active work in the journal, and vigorous participation in classes and in the journal group.

Who Can Apply? 

All University of Michigan students are eligible to apply for NELP, as are special students, international students, and students from other colleges. Some seniors participate in NELP after they graduate from U‑M. You need not be an English concentrator to apply.

Application. 

Applications for NELP are due to the English Department in early January, usually during the first week of Winter Term, along with a $35 non-refundable application fee. At that time, all applicants sign up for a 20-minute interview with two NELP staff members, to be held later in the month. Applicants who will not be on-campus in January can arrange for a phone interview and to submit their applications electronically.

Cost. 

Exact costs and detailed financial aid information will be provided in acceptance letters. There are two costs for attending NELP:

  • The NELP program fee, which covers transportation, textbooks, food and lodging for the duration of the program, will most likely be  $2200.
  • Spring half-term U-M tuition rates are set by the University. Out-of-state students should note the reduction in the cost of out-of-state tuition for students at NELP (made possible by a special arrangement with the College).

For further information and to download the brochure and application, visit the program website: www.lsa.umich.edu/english/nelp