Bryn Mawr College | Philadelphia, PA
NSD Philadelphia Session 1 is a two-week residential summer debate camp focused on Public Forum (PF) debate, great for all students, from beginners new to debate to experienced debaters honing their skills.
Limited spots available
Key Info
June 30 - July 13
Session 1
6th-12th Grade
Beginner & Intermediate PF
Session 1 curriculum teaches foundational and advanced concepts to students without feeling rushed. Our world-class faculty offer the perfect forum for rising stars to develop their voice.
Session 1 is a great starting place for students to expedite their journey into the upper echelons of public forum debate.
Bryn Mawr College is gorgeous, self-contained, and located in a quiet suburb of Philadelphia, perfect for students new to college settings.
We pride ourselves on providing personalized attention and interactive education for each NSD camper and ensure a 5:1 student to teacher ratio.
Best debate experience
"NSD Philly PF taught me a lot more than other camps and was more invested in helping each student improve. I really enjoyed being able to hang out with my friends after a day of learning. I plan to come back to NSD because I want to keep progressing outside of the debate season and I think NSD is an affective way to progress my skills."
Samuel Stein | NSD Philadelphia PF Alumni
Acton Boxborough High School
Best debate experience
"2022 was my first year attending the NSD Philly PF camp. NSD went more in depth than all other coaching/camp experiences I've had. Labs were set at a good pace, and I was always working on something. A fun lab group activity we did together was play basketball and prepping in areas around the school."
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Aamir Kutianawala | NSD Philadelphia PF Alum
Westwood High School
Best debate experience
"It was my first time at the NSD Philly PF camp. Lab leaders helped us learn how to drill and provided good lectures for us. I was able to work with a mentor frequently who helped explain contentions which help grow my understanding of debate concepts."
Catherine Gao | NSD Philadelphia PF Alum
Durham Academy
Best debate experience
"NSD moved at a good pace for someone like me who was just beginning to learn about debate. The program flowed really well and allowed us time to think and understand before moving on to another topic. Lab meetings were fun and so were meal times because we got to hang out with friends while also discussing debate related topics."
Audrey Jiang | NSD Philadelphia PF Alum
Shady Side Academy
Best debate experience
"I really liked the pace of our lab, it was engaging and I didn't get burned out. Sully was a great lab leader because he was fun and always offered his help, he also did a lot of work outside of lab for us. NSD was much better than other camps I have attended and I would return because it had great coaching and was a very fun experience."
Abir Rawal | NSD Philadelphia PF Alum
Edina High School
Best debate experience
"This was my first year at NSD Philly PF. NSD was more interactive than other camps and coaching experiences I have had. I would definitely return for future years of NSD because it was fun and lab leaders and mentors were really helpful in learning about weighting tournaments, helping prep, and doing drills."
Kuber Sarwal | NSD Philadelphia PF Alum
Ridge High School
Best debate experience
"I found NSD’s Philly PF camp very helpful in improving my debate abilities. The staff was excellent and very attentive. I'm confident that absent my NSD experience, I wouldn't have been nearly as prepared to compete at major national circuit tournaments. I'd highly recommend NSD to anyone looking for a high quality and fun debate experience."
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Ilan Benavi | NSD Philadelphia PF Alum
LC Anderson High School
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In the last 3 years, our alumni have achieved:
#1 Rated Debate Camp
*based on student rankings/bids
Bids
ALUMNI
Speaker Awards
NSD Philadelphia fosters a close-knit, driven, and fun environment for students to learn, hosted at a renowned liberal arts college.
Located in a safe and quiet Philadelphia suburb, Bryn Mawr College campus is beautiful, self-contained, and perfect for students who are attending camp at a college or university for the first time.
At the midpoint of camp, students have a “free day.” Under camp supervision, students are able to explore campus, participate in camp organized games, attend supervised outings to local attractions, or spend the day with family if expressly authorized by a parent guardian.
24/7 Housing Staff & Security
Faculty accompanied pickup and drop-off service on arrival/departure days is available for PHL airport and the Philadelphia Amtrak station
Campus amenities include Air Conditioning (AC) in dormitory rooms, cafeteria, and classroom buildings, convenient gym access, and bedding
High-speed Wi-Fi everywhere on campus, and computer access in the library
Lunch and dinner in campus dining hall included in the meal plan, with breakfast options easily accessible on campus
Conveniently located on-campus cafe and student center for snacks, meals, and fun games
Limited spots available
Each NSD camp is built on a core set of values. Our Philadelphia PF curriculum provides a comprehensive and in-depth camp curriculum to teach students foundational and advanced PF debate skills. Our program is designed to enable students of all skill levels on their journey to competitive excellence in national circuit debate. Each student learns and rigorously prepares a camp topic, selected from the slate of upcoming topics for debate during the season, while refining debate skills and exploring academic fields relevant to our topic. Students learn our core curriculum, engage in structured practice activities, receive mentorship, and participate in practice rounds, all in small group, active learning environments.
Students are grouped into labs based on experience level, which we assess by gathering information prior to camp, and these groups form the heart of the NSD experience. All NSD labs maintain a 1:5 instructors to student ratio, to enable an active, small group collaborative environment. NSD treats all students as equally important by assuring individualized attention to each and appointing veteran national circuit instructors to work in every lab. Each lab is led by both senior and junior faculty members. Labs focus on developing and leading students through a robust lifecycle of skill development that emphasizes repetition, implementation and skill mastery.
5:1 student-to-faculty ratio, or better, with a small group of 10-14 students
Led by the best debate minds in the country
Receive a core curriculum that is appropriate for each student’s level
A “homeroom” environment that meets consistently over the course of camp, so that lab leaders are familiar with each student’s needs and progress, and students form close-knit friendships
Labs enable us to teach students the core curriculum in a small group environment that facilitates the introduction of new concepts through discussion, structured activities, and collaboration in small groups
Great opportunity for fun bonding times, with lab dinners and activities for socializing
Rather than teach our core curriculum through large group lectures, we supplement daily lab meetings with additional instruction from specialist faculty who rotate in to teach in lab. Rotations consist of three 2-hour blocks of time (one a day for three days) during which labs receive instruction on specialized topics by two instructors who are experts in those topic areas. Rotations capture the benefits of large group lectures (introducing students to new staff, and allowing the staff to speak on their strongest topics), but retain the unique benefits of lab (hands on instruction, small size, and the ability to effectively and immediately reinforce topics with drills and homework).
Learn specialized topics in debate from instructors who are expert in those topic areas
The small group lab setting is the perfect way to teach students in an environment that facilitates the introduction of new concepts through discussion, structured activities, and collaboration in small groups
Rotations meet over several days, so instructors can provide students with readings, drill materials, and assignments to be assessed at the next meeting
Learn the core curriculum through active learning and hands-on small group work
Each student is assigned a mentor group, with one faculty mentor and a total of four students. Mentor groups meet almost daily for the duration of camp, so that mentors can track students’ progress and needs over the course of camp. This creates a terrific environment for students to receive a specific curriculum tailored to each individual student’s needs and interests. In mentor group, students receive customized drills, ask questions they have from other parts of their curricular day, and work on research projects and case construction.
4:1 student-to-faculty ratio, or better
Groups are matched by experience level, so that each group is a set of peers with similar needs
Forge close connections with mentor and fellow mentees, and provide students an additional instructor who will closely track their progress throughout camp
Receive structured drills, feedback on cases and assignments, assistance with special research projects, and the opportunity for Q&A’s in a small group environment
Great opportunity for fun bonding times, with mentor group dinners and activities for socializing
All students attending NSD have practice debates on most days, judged by our expert instructors, who provide extensive round feedback on what students should do to improve. Some of these rounds will occur in the annual NSD Camp Tournament, which provides a competitive opportunity for students to showcase the skills they have learned over camp.
Rounds are paired based on skill level, so that students debate rounds with peer competitors
Great opportunity for students to implement the new skills they learn at camp and receive feedback from experts on the arguments they have written
Each round is paired with structured, expert feedback on the details of each speech
Practice rounds provide excellent material for instructors to lead students through structured “redo” speeches, so that students make steady progress on debate skills
We end most days with office hours, modeled on the office hour system used by many colleges and universities. During office hours, all of our faculty are available to meet with students individually (or in small groups, if they prefer), and students are empowered to select the topics for each of their office hours meetings. This makes office hours an excellent opportunity for students to learn more about topics that interest them, develop new skills, receive assistance on homework, and do structured practice by redoing speeches from rounds they have debated or by having instructors create custom drills calibrated to their needs.
Access to all of our top faculty
One-on-one meeting time
Students select what they would like to work on
Receive customized drills, assistance with homework, and insight from top faculty
Paired with open work time, so that students can switch fluidly between office hours meetings with faculty and collaborative work with their peers
In elective seminars, students learn about niche topics–from debate strategy to philosophy to political theory–from specialist instructors. Students choose from a wide range of elective seminar options, so they can attend the seminars that most interest them.
Seminar offerings provide options for students of every skill level, from novice to advanced varsity
Opportunity for students to chart their own course, and select topics in areas of debate and academia that spark their interest
Learn from faculty who are most specialized in and passionate about the seminar topic area
Great opportunity for students to interact with additional instructors at camp
With the introduction of concepts, example materials, and research tips, seminars are a great way for students to jump start their own work on a seminar topic
Students have the opportunity to practice and showcase their new skills in a supportive, educational environment with our end of camp tournament. All students participate in preliminary rounds, and students who perform well also participate in elimination rounds, which also serve as showcase demonstration debates for all students to watch.
All students participate in six preliminary rounds, with helpful analysis and feedback from our faculty judges
Qualifying students debate in elimination rounds, while other students have the opportunity to learn by watching those rounds and hearing judge feedback
“Break out” elimination rounds, so that the top younger debaters have more opportunity to make it into elimination debates
Tournament-like structure allows students to familiarize themselves with the real, in-person tournament environment
Opportunity to practice competing against top students, with excellent faculty judging
Students watch demonstration debates on the camp resolution from our younger faculty, many of whom were recently nationally top ranked debate competitors. Demonstration rounds are moderated by senior faculty, who break down the round with students in-between speeches, answer student questions, and provide a post-round analysis.
Demonstration debates featuring recent top competitors help familiarize students with the camp topic, as well as high-level debate strategy and execution
Debates are divided by skill level, so that students receive demonstrations that are attuned to their level of background knowledge and their curricular needs
Expert moderation assists students in understanding demonstrations in-depth, speech-by-speech
Materials for demonstration debates (cases, rebuttal speech documents, etc.) are distributed to students, so that they can be used for student drills
With any camp registration, students receive free access to NSD’s Skill Builder pre-camp curriculum. Skill Builder features stand-alone curriculum modules intended for independent study, built by top faculty. At camp, we want our students focused on the most valuable aspects of our sessions: intensive, interactive instruction that amplifies and deepens students’ existing skill sets and builds new ones, learning deep skills in specialty areas from top faculty, and participating in a supportive learning community with peers. Skill Builder helps students solidify background skills ahead of camp, so students can focus on what matters most while they are at camp.
Purposefully built by top debate coaches to help students improve their debate skills through focused, individual work
Step-by-step, easy to use modules with tools to improve their debate skills and arrive at camp ready to maximize their improvement
Includes drill materials and rubrics for self-assessment, so students can practice on their own
Great for students with skill areas they want to improve before camp, and for true beginners who want an introduction to debate before camp
Helps students focus on the most valuable work at camp, not on catching up
Our instructors bring in-depth experience from past tournaments to the classroom, providing invaluable insights that maximize your potential. We are dedicated to providing personalized feedback to help you build confidence with key concepts and skills.
$3,195
Dates: June 30 - July 13
Includes Tuition, Housing, Meals
Free Access to Skill Builder Program
Paymen Due Upon Registration
$2,795
Dates: June 30 - July 13
Includes Tuition and Meals
Free Access to Skill Builder Program
Payment Due Upon Registration
If you are unable to attend camp for the full duration due to conflict in schedule, please contact us about attending camp for a subset of time.
We are committed to providing low-income students with access to our camp programs through need-based scholarships. If you are interested in applying for financial aid, please view our scholarships page.
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