About

The Institute for Speech and Debate (ISD) is a nationally recognized summer program for middle and high school students that covers the full range of competitive speech and debate events. What sets ISD apart from most debate camps in this catalog — which specialize in a single debate format — is its breadth: alongside Lincoln-Douglas and Public Forum debate, ISD offers dedicated tracks in Congressional Debate, Extemporaneous Speaking, Interpretation of Literature, and Original Oratory and Informative Speaking. For students who compete in speech events, or who want to explore them, ISD is one of the few national residential programs that takes those events seriously as standalone disciplines rather than afterthoughts.

In 2026, ISD runs two sessions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Session 1 (June 27–July 10) and Session 2 (July 12–July 25), with one-week options available for the first week of each session. Both residential and commuter enrollment are offered. Tuition for the two-week residential program is $3,899; one-week residential is $2,799; commuter options run $2,599 (two weeks) and $1,999 (one week). Financial aid is available on a rolling basis, with priority consideration for requests submitted by March 1.

ISD is open enrollment — admission is not competitive, and students of all experience levels are welcome. A Foundations track is available for students entirely new to speech and debate, with separate pathways for public speaking and debate. Each event track runs its own curriculum, with instruction from experienced coaches and faculty. A Coaches Clinic runs concurrently, making ISD one of the few programs to invest explicitly in developing the adults who run school programs.

For students already committed to a debate format like LD or PF, specialist camps — VBI, NSD, MDI — will offer deeper competitive preparation. ISD's value proposition is different: breadth, accessibility, and serious instruction in the speech events that most debate-only camps ignore entirely. For a student who competes in Extemp, Interp, or Oratory, or one who hasn't yet decided where in the activity they belong, ISD is one of the best summer options available.