Started in 2012, the NKU String Project has quickly grown into a program of excellence with national recognition. The NKU String Project is one of 41 String Projects in the nation. Model String Projects start with 35 students and $20,000. The NKU String Project started with 85 students and $0. Since its inception, the program has raised over $45,000 in grant funding and $3,000 in student-fundraised quarters. The NKU String Project has received praise from the National String Project Consortium and has been featured on WLWT News 5, WVXU Radio, WCPO News 9, and KY Forward Magazine. During the 2013–2014 academic year, the NKU String Project program embarked on a transdisciplinary project in which the youth students learned to compose by looking at and analyzing the building blocks of nature in the environment and comparing them to the building blocks of musical composition. In March 2014, the NKU String Project was featured at the American String Teachers Association National Conference as part of the first-ever National String Project Consortium Pre-Conference.
Undergraduate Teaching Assistants
Undergraduate Teaching Assistants are a vital part of the String Project curriculum. As part of the National String Project Consortium model, undergraduates receive teaching assistantships to observe and teach within the String Project. Not only do String Project participants get to study with fun and dedicated college students (in addition to studying under the Master Teacher), but NKU undergraduates also gain valuable teaching experience as well. All NKU Teaching Assistants must go through an application and selection process in order to obtain their position.