Join us for an in-person camp on Cornell's Ithaca campus this summer! During this camp, high school students will learn new debate skills and have opportunities to practice them in intra-camp practice exercises as well as adjudicated tournament debates. Our instructors include Cornell faculty (including Ivy League faculty as camp lecturers is a unique feature of this camp!), esteemed debate coaches from successful programs at both high school and college programs, and top college debaters. Students will receive cutting-edge academic insights into contemporary political topics. Our instruction on debate techniques will utilize the World Schools Debate (WSD) format while also providing a broader slate of instruction that is relevant to all debate formats. At the end of the camp, students will participate in Cornell's Debate Camp Tournament using the WSD format.
Our diverse staff has past and ongoing experience coaching champion debaters in many formats of debate - Worlds Schools, British Parliamentary, Worlds University Debate, Policy, Public Forum, Lincoln Douglas, and even Speech events. Our camp is also unique because it gives students access to Cornell professor lectures on social issues, where the content of those lectures becomes the topic of student debates. This depth of coaching experience and academic knowledge is used to emphasize the big picture of what makes a good argument about timely topics, ensuring that such fundamentals carry over not only to any competitive format but also classroom and life applications.
Location(s)
- Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Schedule
- July 25 - August 3, 2026
Cost/Compensation
- Residential Tuition: $3,750
- Commuter Tuition: $1000
Eligibility Requirements
- Middle school students (at least 12 years old by the time camp begins) and high school students with English language proficiency.
Deadline
- Rolling until the camp is full (typically by late spring)
Application or Entry Requirements
- A completed registration form
- Full payment of tuition
Notifications of Decisions
- Rolling
Financial Aid Details
Other Dates to Keep in Mind
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Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York. Founded in 1865, Cornell is comprised of nine undergraduate schools and four graduate and professional schools in Ithaca, two medical graduate and professional certificate programs in New York City, and one in Doha, Qatar.
As the preeminent educational institution in the world focused on work, employment and labor, the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) generates and shares knowledge that improves the lives of workers and transforms the future of work.
