ADVANCE Program students work hard, play hard, and go home happy.  Then they come back!

The ADVANCE website will be updated in January, 2010 for the program next June.

Dates for upcoming program:  June 6, 2010 through June 26, 2010. We hope you will apply!

The ADVANCE Program for Young Scholars (ADVANCE) at Northwestern State University (NSU) in Natchitoches, Louisiana is one of five collaborative efforts with Duke University’s Talent Identification Program (TIP). NSU, a Member of the University of Louisiana System, offers the ADVANCE Program in cooperation with TIP and NSU assumes full responsibility for the instruction, administration, and outcomes of the Program. NSU’s ADVANCE Program is honored to offer the only residential program for gifted youth in the state of Louisiana that is affiliated with Duke TIP.

ADVANCE is a three-week residential program that offers a challenging and rewarding curriculum for gifted and talented students entering grades 8 through 12. ADVANCE provides a unique learning environment designed to motivate and challenge academically gifted students and set them on a path toward a lifetime of high academic achievement (see academics). Students enroll in a single course for three weeks of in-depth study. They attend 104 hours of class during the program and they cover an entire year’s worth of high school material or a semester of college level material in that three-week period.

Courses have approximately 15 students and are taught by highly qualified Instructor-Teaching Assistant (TA) teams. These teaching teams provide each student with the opportunity to attain maximum academic growth. Classes last six hours per day, Monday through Friday, and three hours on Saturday; the courses also require attendance at a one-hour study hall in the evenings. The classrooms and laboratories utilized are located on the NSU campus or on the campus of the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts (LSMSA).

The residential life portion of ADVANCE is vital to the program, offering balanced leisure and cultural activities to complement the intensive academic curriculum. ADVANCE has built up a host of traditions and a tightly bound (though by no means exclusive) community of staff and students that keep ADVANCErs returning year after year. In short, the ADVANCE Program provides everything gifted students could want in a summer experience: a unique and intellectually challenging curriculum that stretches their capabilities while furthering their academic careers; the chance to live and interact with peers of similar abilities and interests; and the opportunity to just have fun with other kids during summer break.

While participation in ADVANCE fosters intellectual, social, and emotional growth, it is important to recognize that genuine academic motivation is the true heart of the program. Students not willing to rise to this intellectual challenge or those primarily interested in a “summer camp experience” should refrain from applying to ADVANCE. However, the truly motivated student will enjoy a stimulating environment and a community of peers unlike any she or he has ever experienced.

Click here to read through our brochure.