ESRGs support research that applies knowledge to needs, and aims toward understanding and/or ameliorating social problems or community needs. You can request funding for research assistance, the purchase of equipment, and travel essential to Engaged Scholarship research that will take place during the calendar year. Successful applications are typically able to show how the proposed research is likely to culminate in products including but not limited to publications, public performances, or art installations. Faculty may request a maximum of two RA summer stipends ($6000 each) and/or up to $5000 in other support. Applicants may be any faculty rank but VAPs must have at least one or two years remaining on their contract with the College.

Pilot project grants are designed to support individuals and groups of students who wish to link their academics with action in a small scale or short term project with its own mission, goals, and objectives. Such projects could include feasibility studies; assessment of community assets, interests, and needs; prototyping or testing a new product, service, or program etc. in the US or elsewhere in the world. Awards a $6000 stipend plus project expenses if needed. This opportunity is open to first-years, sophomores, and juniors — both individuals and teams of students can apply.

The ChesterSemester Program is an interdisciplinary program on social change with an engaged scholarship (ESCH) internship component. The purpose of the program is to facilitate committed student engagement with visionary leaders in the city of Chester and focuses on critically understanding and helping to ameliorate some of society’s most pressing real-world problems by requiring students to participate in civic volunteer programs throughout the academic year. This fellowship awards students an academic credit for the fall and pays students for hourly internship work in the spring. This opportunity is open to all class years.

The Newman Civic Fellowship is a one-year experience that provides students with training and resources that nurture their assets and passions to help them develop strategies for social change. Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides in-person and virtual learning opportunities focused on the skills fellows need to serve as effective agents of change in addressing public problems and building equitable communities. This fellowship does not come with a stipend and is open to all class years.

Faculty can apply for up to $5,000 a year for courses that require substantial community engagement on the part of students, faculty, or visiting partners, though most awards are less than that so we can award a greater number of courses. Applicants typically request funds for honoraria for community partners or speakers; teaching assistants (TAs); travel; and equipment. We welcome compelling requests that fall outside these parameters, and we will consider requests for additional funding if the Engaged Scholarship components promise exceptional pedagogical and/or community impact.

In close collaboration with community partners, Engaged Humanities Studio Fellows embark on a 12- to 18-month project that addresses a contemporary issue through the arts and humanities. Awards are $15,000, $5000, or $1500. This opportunity is open to all Swarthmore faculty, staff, and students.

The CoLab at the Lang Center awards students $150 for a 10-hr project and $300 to complete a 20-hour remote project designed by community-based organizations, activists, and/or projects for social change. This program seeks to center community voices and put college resources to use in ways that are mutually beneficial to students and community partners. Community partners benefit from completed projects that might otherwise not be possible and students benefit from the opportunity to apply their academic learning to real-world projects aimed at social good. This opportunity is open to all class years.

Dare 2 Soar is Swarthmore College's largest and oldest tutoring group, serving hundreds of Chester, PA children aged K-12. It was founded as a student-run organization by Khadijah White '04 with Francisca Mata '04 and Greg Lok '04, with a mission "to provide elementary school students and families of Chester with positive role models of color that attend college and serve the community," and "to demonstrate to the children what social action is truly about so that they might one day continue this mission." Application is open to all class years and tutors are paid hourly.

The Lang Center supports faculty-led programs that encourage interdisciplinary learning and Engaged Scholarship. We are currently developing a formal application process. Stay tuned for more details!