Be the best.  Be at Iowa.

LD Debate Institute is about a staff of champions training champions.  19 (and counting) former Iowa participants have appeared in the Final LD Round of the NFL National Tournament!  The personal and professional collegiality of Iowa's staff is unparalled.

Iowa's staff-to-student ratio promises the individual attention needed to gain the advantage on the highly technical argument issues challenging debaters today.  With the diversity of debate philosophies among our staff, we will develop a wide set of possible strategies on the topic throughout the Institute.

Iowa offers a revolutionary new approach to the summer learning experience--small numbers in each division, advance preparation of materials, an intensive and structured schedule, close communication among faculty and students throughout the year, extensive guided and independent practice, diversity in teachers, students, and curriculum, and our belief that students benefit from a variety of approaches.  It's first-class debate preparation at an affordable price.

Lectures

Iowa's lecture options has something for everyone!  You choose what lectures you want to attend, based on your experience level and interest.  Novice students may want to attend lectures on rights and general theories of morality and justice, where philosophers Mill, Kant, and Rawls will be highlighted. 

Intermediate and Varsity debaters with institute experience (both at Iowa and at other workshops) may choose between two lecture series: the advanced application of philosophies and strategies developed under the traditional model, and lectures on alternative philosophies, post-modernists and post-structuralists theories of ethics, such as Hiedegger, Lacan, Lyotard, and Foucault.

Iowa also offers an elective series to students. These 90-minute seminars offer an array of topics to students that range from “Debating for the Non-debate Audience,”  “Advanced Strategies of Refutation and Extension," and “Improving Crystallization Strategies” to "Topicality the Unturnable Disadvantage."  In many cases, guest experts provide additional insights through the elective seminars.

Interlab Instruction

Students are divided into Interlab divisions by debate experience of approximately 40 students with 4-5 instructors. Here, students learn skills such as cross examination, word economy, rebuttal strategies, argument design, execution, and refutation, and find which methods work best for them.  Additionally, the students will have been exposed to a number of approaches to skills development that they can bring to their teams. It is this marketplace of ideals that places Iowa at the top of many LD coaches' list of preferred institutes.

Labs

Iowa offers four different divisions of LD Debate:

• Traditional Labs will focus on a slower, more oratorical writing and speaking style.  Argument development will be rooted in major philosophical  and pragmatic themes related to the topic.
• Progressive Labs will focus on strategic elements of casing and rebuttals that include a more rapid rate of speaking, the application of policy debate practices to LD, and how to improve technical efficiency.
• Mixed Labs provide students with the opportunity to build cases and strategies that have elements of both traditional and progressive styles.  Students will learn versatility in rates of speaking, as well as types of argumentation.
• 3rd Week Option is dedicated to individual attention!  An additional set of elective lectures is offered, along with practice rounds of 14 additional critiqued debates.  Two additional topics for the upcoming year will be covered. This option is limited to 40 participants. All participants must be enrolled in a current two week division offered by Iowa. Be sure to indicate which division you are enrolling in on your application in addition to applying to participate in the 3rd Week Option.
  
  

Honors Advising

On most evenings, students meet with their honors advisor replicating the process that undergraduate students receive in a college setting. This gives students the opportunity to interact with another staff member on a consistent basis, receive additional feedback, and obtain answers to questions from lab, lectures, and electives.