Gull Summer Term 2026
The Gull Island Institute runs an annual 4-week program on remote islands in Eastern Massachusetts. This year, the 2026 Gull Summer Term will take place on Martha's Vineyard at The Barn House. The dates of this year's program are: ​
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May 17 - June 13, 2026
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This tuition-free program is intended for students who have completed at least two years of an undergraduate program (or have comparable academic preparation) or recent graduates who will have received their bachelor’s degree in 2025 or 2026.
Applications for the 2026 Gull Summer Term are open now until January 31st, 2026, at 11:59pm ET.
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Want to learn more? Join us for a webinar info session about the 2026 Gull Summer Term and application process, featuring program alumni and members of the application committee!​​
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(In January 2026, exact dates forthcoming)​
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Subscribe to our mailing list to receive updates about future opportunities!
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About the Term:
Our fourth annual flagship program will select a cohort of 8-9 students to live, learn, and work together in a remote campus location on Martha's Vineyard. During the program, all students participate in a Core Seminar focused around textual study in Western and Indigenous traditions and the history and ecology of the Cape and Islands region at multiple scales. Students are required to engage in daily labor rotations, including: land conservation, cooking, maintenance, woodworking, aquaculture, and regenerative farming. Finally, the student body assumes a key role in determining ground rules for the community through regular self-governance meetings. Before applying, please make sure to acquaint yourself with our approach to the "three pillars" that form the core of the educational experience at The Gull Island Institute.
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Our faculty consists of teachers, scholars, and educators from across natural and social sciences, arts, and humanities (see a list of faculty alums here). Student Teaching Fellows from previous Gull Island cohorts will be in residence to support and mentor students.
The 2026 Gull Summer Term, including room-and-board, is tuition-free.
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What to expect:
Minimal amenities, semi-private accommodations, and close collaboration with others. Spotty internet and evening meals around a fire place. Seminar discussions that continue long after class ends. Students and Faculty reside together in the beautiful rustic cottages of the Barn House on Martha's Vineyard. A policy of no drugs (including tobacco) and alcohol is strictly enforced.
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A typical day:
A day begins at the Gull Summer Term with breakfast prepared by your peers and time for students to catch up on readings. Labor rotations then break out: one group departs for an off-campus labor rotation with our community partners, performing a mix of island-based agriculture, sustainable aquaculture, and land management projects, while another group stays at the Barn House to mulch the garden, mend fences, and prepare communal meals and staples with ingredients sourced from the island. After lunch, everyone reconvenes for a 2.5 hour afternoon seminar before the kitchen crew meets again to cook dinner. After seminar - and before the dinner bell - a group heads to the beach for a chilly swim, while others go for a walk with visiting faculty, read in the main house, or head to their sleeping bunks for a moment of down time. Over dinner, students and faculty continue discussing the day's reading, while others joke about the intractable slowness of walking through the water in knee-high waders. After dinner, students convene the general body for a self-governance meeting to manage affairs of the community, prepare for the coming days work, and build Gull Island for the future.
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Questions? Email us at contact@gullisland.org.
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Gull Island Institute does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), citizenship, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in the administration of any of its educational programs, admissions policies, financial aid, and other related policies and programs, as well as volunteer and employment-related policies and activities.
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