The Center for the Humanities & the Arts (CHA) is pleased to announce the call for applications for the Engaged Arts and Humanities Scholars. This program is a partnership with the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship. 

This two-year program is for Graduate students in the arts, humanities, and other programs  who use the methods/archives of the arts and humanities in their scholarship. Participants will join a community of learners who focus on the co-design of mutually beneficial projects with partners outside of the university in  Colorado communities. Students will receive a $5000 stipend over two years and up to $1000 in project funding. 

The Engaged Arts and Humanities Scholars program, which originated at the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship, helps students apply the tools of their academic disciplines and their interests and lived experiences to develop community-engaged projects. A key program goal is to develop a strong cohort committed to equity-oriented community-engaged work.   

The 2024-2026 cohort is co-facilitated by Lisa Schwartz, PACES, and Mariana Pereira Vieira, CHA. Students will also connect with faculty and staff from across campus and beyond with expertise in public and community-engaged scholarship. 

Meet the Engaged Arts and Humanities Scholar Cohorts

Application deadline for the 2025-2027 cohort: March 16, 2025

 

Program Information

Cohort members will:

  • Develop skills for academic and professional (non-academic) careers and grow their public and academic visibility.

  • Engage communities in the co-design of community-engaged outreach, research, teaching, and creative work and address justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in partnerships. In addition, cohort members will now have the opportunity to earn a micro-credential in Equity-Oriented Partnerships. 

  • Creatively apply the tools of arts and humanities disciplines to community interests and build mutually beneficial relationships with community partners. 

  • Broaden their networks and receive mentorship from artists, nonprofits, leaders, academics, and community members statewide.

  • Interview mentors about their experiences, and how they address equity and inclusion.

  • Workshop their ideas and activities with cohort colleagues and practitioners from across campus and beyond.

  •  The cohort will share aspects of their work in a culminating shared presentation or publication.

 

Funding

Participation stipend: Students receive a $5000 stipend to participate. Stipends will be paid in two installments at the beginning of each program year. 

Partner project funding: Up to $1000 for a community-engaged partnership project. The goal of the "partner" project is to develop a mutually beneficial and shared activity with community partners that leverages the student's scholarship and positionality. Scholars are eligible to each apply for funds up to $1,000 for partner project proposals provided that all requirements are met and that proposals meet specific criteria of the EAH scholars program for engaged scholarship. You must review your "partner" community-engaged scholarship project plan and budget with the program facilitators to be eligible to apply for funding. Project proposals are approved by a committee and are not guaranteed to be approved if they do not meet the specific criteria of the EAH scholars program. After a proposal is approved, a funding agreement is signed by the EAH scholar after stipulations in the funding agreement are met.

 

Application Process

Selection Criteria
A committee composed of faculty, staff, and EAH alumni will select applications based on:

  • The quality of the applicant's proposal
  • The connection of the applicant's research to arts and/or humanities

Eligibility

  • Applicants must be enrolled graduate students (MA, MFA, PhD) at CU Boulder and working in arts and/or humanities. Note: if you are in a unit outside of an arts and humanities discipline, you can still apply, but you will need to demonstrate how you are using arts and/or humanities methods/archives. You must be enrolled for the timeframe of the cohort (spring 2024 through spring 2026). 
  • Prospective EAH Scholars are not required to have prior experience with engaged scholarship. They are required to have a strong interest in applying the tools of an arts and humanities discipline and the student's unique experience to this work, and a strong commitment to developing themselves as a member of a cohort who fulfills all of the requirements of the program. Students who are solely seeking funding for community-engaged scholarship projects, and are not committed to or developing a community of learners and receiving mentorship should apply for outreach funding rather than this cohort.
  • Students who have already been part of this cohort or the CU Engage Community-Based Research (CBR) Fellows are not eligible. We will ask those who are accepted into the EAH scholars cohort not to apply to the CBR fellows program in the same year. If a student does apply to and is accepted into the CBR Fellows, they will need to immediately choose which program they want to remain in, as they cannot be in both. 

Application

1. Section One:

  • Personal information
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV) (this is solely to give us a general idea of your background)​​
  • You will be asked to certify that you have discussed your application and participation in this program with your thesis advisor. 
  • Commitment to attendance for mandatory meetings (these are critical to the development of this cohort program and eligibility to remain in the program and receive stipends and project funds). Meetings will be held every month, except for June and July. Two required meetings in April 2024 are non-negotiable:

Friday, April 12, 10-12 pm

Friday, April 19, 11-1 pm

2.   Section Two: Address the following questions and upload a single document (12pt., double-spaced, PDF).

  1. How would you explain your research to a public audience? (300 words or less)
  2. Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are critical to this program: can you share your understanding of these terms (300 words or less)? If these terms are foreign to you that is fine; we just want to know what your understanding of these terms is. Read the CHA JEDI Statement to see how the CHA values JEDI perspectives.
  3. How do you think your arts and/or humanites disciplinary skill set, interests, and experiences might connect to the public or apply to community engagement? How do you think you will use the tools of the arts and/or humanities for public engagement? (300 words or less)
  4. Why are you interested in this program, and what are your goals for your participation? (300 words or less)
  5. Optional: What questions do you have for us? (150 words or less)

EAH Scholar Application Form

Program Timeline

2024-2026 Cohort

While the program is designed with an understanding of the needs and schedules of graduate students, the requirements and activities listed below are mandatory for participation and funding. Failure to comply with the requirements listed below will have pre-determined consequences that will be shared during the orientation. Events and meetings take place on campus or virtually where noted. There will be other opportunities and events that cohort members will also be strongly encouraged to participate in or attend.  

YEAR 1 Spring and Summer 2024 

  • April 12, 2024 10am-12pm
    • ​In-person orientation: (Unfortunately, if you cannot attend in full, you cannot be part of the cohort.) Introduction to each other, "What is community-engaged scholarship and outreach" and "What are participatory practices?" Focus on our values, community building, and overview of the program.  
  • April 19, 2024 11am-1pm
    • ​Go over individual EAH cohort plans and parts to be completed over the summer and AY 2024-25. Scholars will select dates to share work in Fall 2024 and draft timelines for specific components that they will complete and share with the group in AY 2024-25 
  • Before May 31, 2024
    • ​Meet individually with facilitators Lisa Schwartz and Mariana Pereira Vieira once before May 31, 2024
  • Summer 2024: Date and time TBD
    • Virtual meeting to check in on individual cohort participant plan progress

Fall 2024 (September - November) 

  • ~2 hours per meeting depending on the topic and activity. Cohort members will workshop equity-oriented partnership activities in cohort meetings. You must attend 2 of 3 meetings to remain eligible for funding; missed meetings will require make-up work.
    • Wednesday, August 28, 4:30-6:30 pm
    • Wednesday, September 25, 4:30-6:30 pm
    • Wednesday, November 6, 4:30-6:30 pm​

Spring 2025 (January-April)

  • ~2 hours per meeting depending on the topic and activity. Cohort members will workshop equity-oriented partnership activities in cohort meetings. You must attend 2 of 3 meetings to remain eligible for funding; missed meetings will require make-up work.
    • February 5, 2025
    • March 5, 2025
    • April 2 Required: Present your developing project proposal at a "critique" where you will receive feedback from campus and community members. A presentation template will be provided. Mandatory for project funding eligibility. 

YEAR 2

  • Summer 2025: Write Grant Proposal draft

  • 1 meeting in Fall 2025, 1 meeting in Spring 2026

Additional Meeting Requirements

  • Planning meeting for development of shared presentation, publication, or workshop (date TBD, format to be determined by the group).

    • Participate in a session for the next EAH Scholar cohort

    Mentor-related Activities 

    • Between April 15 and November 15, 2024: 
      • Interview your community mentor about their community-engaged work and write up an interview blog post to be shared online (draft due by August 9, 2022). May be done in person, by phone, or by video chat.
    • Between September 2024 and September 2025: 
      • Do an advisory session with your mentor on your proposed community-engaged scholarship “partner” project (a partnership with communities on a project relevant to their teaching, research, or creative work). May be done in person, by phone, or by video chat.

    Other required activities (EAH Scholars profile pages, project proposals, etc.)

    • Summer and academic year 2024–25:
      • ​Provide Lisa Schwartz, program lead, with content for your EAH scholars page (see example student pages from prior years).
    • Summer and academic year 2024–26:  ​
      • Complete monthly reflections and/or assignments in your process portfolio related to your community-engaged scholarship process (how you are thinking about the work, relationship development with partners, how you are using and developing your interests and experiences as well as your partners in the design of equity-oriented, shared activity).  
      •  Complete your community-engaged scholarship project proposal. Project proposals are approved by a committee and are not guaranteed to be approved if they do not meet the specific criteria of the EAH scholars program.  
      • Complete community-engaged partner project 
      • Complete project reflection summary
      • Determine how you will share your work with broader audiences.
      • Complete evaluation materials from the program (ongoing).