1 Week - 6/28-7/4 - $1400
This program is designed for students that compete in Congressional Debate in National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) and/or Texas Forensic Association (TFA) competitions. Students will receive a mock docket of Congressional legislation at the beginning of June. The 1-week workshop will focus on fundamentals of public speaking, competition procedure, and will research and prepare arguments for and against a selection of items in the mock docket. Students will spend Monday-Thursday in morning, afternoon, and evening sessions in University classrooms and/or libraries researching and practicing. Students will spend the first half of Friday in a mock Congressional Debate competition and will spend the evening doing a fun activity with their group. Students will depart Saturday morning.
2 Week - 6/28-7/11 - $2800
This program is designed for students that compete in Policy Debate in National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) and/or Texas Forensic Association (TFA) competitions. Students will receive a set of evidence for the 2026-2027 topic at the beginning of June. The 2-week workshop will focus on fundamentals of public speaking, competition procedure, and will research and prepare arguments for and against a selection of items in the mock docket. Students will spend Monday-Thursday in morning, afternoon, and evening sessions in University classrooms and/or libraries researching and practicing. Students will spend the first half of Friday in a mock Congressional Debate competition and will spend the evening doing a fun activity with the departing 1-week students. Students will spend the first Saturday morning with instructors receiving constructive criticism regarding the first mock legislative session and then participate in 4th of July activities in the evening. During the second week, students will do more targeted speaking activities and prepare arguments for the expanded Congressional Docket.
Meet the Staff
Kirsten Nash, Curriculum Director
Kirsten Nash has spent the last two decades helping students discover their voices, sharpen their thinking, and compete at the highest levels of speech and debate. A longtime educator and coach in Texas and on the national circuit, she has guided students to major competitive success, including the 2025 MBA Champion, the 2024 TFA State International Extemp Champion, the 2019 NSDA Champion, and eight UIL State Championships. Her students have also reached finals at tournaments such as Harvard, Berkeley, Yale, Stanford, and the University of Texas, along with dozens of other national and state competitions.
In Congressional Debate, Kirsten has coached multiple finalists at both the UIL and TFA State Tournaments, as well as national-level finalists and numerous qualifiers to the Tournament of Champions. Her approach emphasizes strong research habits, strategic thinking, persuasive writing, and confident delivery, which allows students to succeed both in competition and beyond. This will be Kirsten's 8th year with UTNIF.
Beyond the tournament circuit, Kirsten has taught advanced research, writing, government, and communication courses and has mentored hundreds of students through academic planning, college admissions, scholarships, and interviews. She currently runs her own consulting firm, Illuminate Ventures, LLC, where she provides coaching, mentorship, and guidance to students pursuing excellence in public speaking, debate, and academic opportunities.
Registration Information
- Preliminary Application Fee $250 (Non-refundable first payment credited to full program cost; do this first!! Remaining payment is not due until June 1)
- Parents/guardians must agree to terms and conditions for application to become active (as part of the preliminary application). Please note that enrolled students cannot legally agree to the terms and conditions and as a result may not self-enroll.
- Additional forms will be sent electronically after the preliminary application has been received and processed
- STUDENTS: Go ahead and create your UT EID if you have not previously made one using the EID CREATION LINK
Check Payment
Checks should be made out to UTNIF and may be mailed to:
UTNIF
Dept. of Communication Studies
2504A Whitis Ave. (A1105)
University of Texas
Austin, TX 78712
Received checks will be credited directly to the student's account on the registration site. Please remember all relevant fees. No application will be considered without payment of the non-refundable pre-application fee, which will be applied to the final tuition amounts. Placements are made on a first-come first-served basis until we reach capacity. After June 1, please call to check availability as dorm spaces may be filled.
Other expenses
A $50 refundable cash room key/room fines deposit (no checks) will be due at registration. Deposits will be returned once any and all library charges and room charges are cleared, generally in two to three weeks after the conclusion of the UTNIF camps, but we can not guarantee a return until we have been able to process all bills from library and the dormitories.
Students will of course want to have money for sodas, pizza, magazines, handbooks, UT apparel, possibly an institute T-shirt, and supplies such as pens, paper, tape, file folders, expandos, interp binders, and boxes for filing, etc. We encourage students to bring computers, laptops, printers, etc. Students will be responsible for any copying of articles, scripts, and books necessary to complete their assignments (approx. and $30-$45 per oratory and interp student, and $50-$80 per debate and extemp student depending on how diligent they are in their work habits) and any and all library fines incurred.