Your Debate Season Should Should Start at the SDI!!

Established Commitment to Practice Debates - By providing SDI students with a packet of affirmative and negative positions at registration, practice debates and speeches typically begin the second day of the camp. All sessions conclude with judged tournaments for relaxed, yet structured, opportunities for students to validate their educational experiences with extensive student-teacher interaction.

History of Competitive Success – SDI Alumni have won tournaments or Top Speaker awards at the Tournament of Champions, St. Marks, the Glenbrooks, the Michigan-Michigan State Round Robin, NCFL Nationals, and various state championships. Many have gone on to succeed at the very highest levels of intercollegiate debate, including receiving the Copeland award for the top intercollegiate debate team, as well as reaching late elimination rounds at CEDA Nationals and the NDT.

Curriculum Diversity – The SDI retains staff members and lab placement for all skill levels, ranging from a pre-novice lab for individuals with no debate experience, to novices, to those seeking to polish national level varsity skills. Our coaches’ workshop also provides a unique opportunity for coaches to gain familiarity of the topic and theoretical issues of their choice.

Superb Instruction – We have gone to great lengths to bring in top-level members of both the college and high school debate communities to ensure the most well rounded exposure possible. Our staff is not just a dedicated group of successful high school coaches, college coaches, and current college debaters who have excelled…Our staff members are chosen because they are experienced and dynamic teachers who have a passion for debate.

Excellent Library Resources – Students have unrestricted access to the newly renovated MSU library, which offers a superb selection of materials housed in one easy to use facility. Many topic materials are placed on reserve prior to the SDI to ensure these materials are readily available for our students. An in-house library in the residence hall also contains computer based research facilities. Student dormitory rooms each contain full Ethernet access.

A Proven Dedication to Student Learning – Although MSU has the fastest growing institutes – from 43 to 300+ students in eight years – we maintain a low student-staff ratio and a commitment to extensive individual instruction by limiting large lectures and focusing on small group interaction.

Access to Our Unique "Evidence CD" - As part of SDI tuition, each student will receive a 2007 SDI Evidence CD that includes a scanned copy of every file produced within their particular session. Only attendees of the SDI have access to our popular evidence CDs.

Competitive Prices & Scholarships – We are committed to offering outstanding debate instruction at affordable prices, which include tuition, room and board, and copying of lab evidence. Limited need-based financial assistance is also available. Overall, the Spartan Debate Institutes offer well-rounded debate instruction at a great value.