Spring Creek Project Graduate Student Residency
Location: The Cabin at Shotpouch Creek
This residency provides Oregon State University graduate students the time and space to work on a writing or research project aligned with the mission of the Spring Creek Project. Residents receive exclusive use of the Cabin at Shotpouch Creek for one week during Oregon State University’s winter, spring, or summer breaks, as well as a stipend of $250. The cabin, located within a nature reserve, offers a profound experience of concentrated solitude and simple living that is conducive to curiosity, reflection and sustained focus.
Students are invited to apply for a solo residency or for a collaborative residency with another student. If applying together, students can work on a collaborative project or on individual projects that would benefit from synergistic time together. Example projects include a thesis or dissertation, an independent study, or an internship in the humanities, creative writing or environmental sciences.
Residency Details
Oregon State University graduate students from any field engaged in a writing and/or research project that aligns with the mission of the Spring Creek Project are eligible to apply. Those working on projects at the intersection of environmental science and writing, art, music, the humanities or interpretive social science would be a good fit.
Students must be highly responsible and respectful of the values of the retreat and in a position to benefit from prolonged solitude and silence. Within four weeks of completing the residency, students will submit a one-page letter describing their experience at the cabin and how it influenced their work.
Spring break graduate residency: March 24-30, 2024
Summer graduate residency: June 24-30, 2024
Applications, including student and faculty recommendation letters, are due by 11:59 p.m. Monday, March 4, 2024. All applicants will be notified of their status within one week of the application deadline.
Applications are accepted online via Submittable. The application form consists of a few short answer questions and a space to upload materials. Two documents are required for applications to be considered complete:
- From a faculty member: a one-page nomination letter that speaks to the content and direction of the proposed project and the student’s responsibility and ability to live respectfully in a nature reserve. This letter will be submitted directly by the faculty member, so applicants should share the form link when requesting nomination.
- From the student: a one-page narrative letter that describes the proposed project and communicates how the work aligns with the mission of the Spring Creek Project.
Students and faculty nominators will submit materials separately. If two students are applying collaboratively, each student will request nomination letters and submit materials separately.
Dedicated to creating conversations among writers, philosophers, artists and others in the humanities and environmental sciences, the Spring Creek Project works to nurture collaborations among people with various ways of seeing, understanding and expressing the relation between humans and the rest of the natural world. A committee composed of writers and researchers familiar with this mission will review all applications.
Students will be notified of the selection committee's decision approximately one week after the application due date.
For more information, please contact contact program coordinator Joy Jensen at [email protected].
Spring Creek Project