Fellowship Program
Deep Dives, Urban Sabbaticals and Urban Graduate Fellowships are designed to enhance the impact of Extension, and the broader land-grant university system, in metropolitan communities. The application period for 2024 fellowships has passed. The RFP for 2025 fellowships will be released next spring and applications will be due July 31, 2024.
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Fellowship Overview
The Fellowship Program was created to enhance the visibility and impact of Extension in metropolitan communities. To do so, we have developed three fellowships – Deep Dives, Urban Sabbaticals and Urban Graduate Student Fellowships to provide a wide variety of opportunities for both academic and non-academic individuals.
Applications will be accepted on any topic of interest that addresses our mission and goals including projects related to: Extension programs; delivery methods; organizational models; professional development; social, economic, or environmental issues; or other challenges or opportunities in metropolitan communities. For the current round of funding, we are especially interested in applications related to the following topics:
- Climate Change
- Workforce Development
- Health Equity
- Wildfires/urban forestry
- Diversity, equity and inclusion
- Civics/civility/community building
DEEP DIVE FELLOWSHIP
Deep Dive Fellowships were established to spur innovation, address complex issues facing metropolitan areas, and support the organizational needs of urban Extension programs, while providing opportunities for academic and community-based professionals to lead multi-state or national projects. The ultimate goal of each Deep Dive is to build a sustainable network which continues to secure funded projects, produce scholarship, and expand Extension’s capacity in metropolitan areas after the fellowship concludes.
Anyone may apply. Only participants from WCMER platinum member institutions are eligible for funding which may be up to $10,000 annually for up to two years. See the WCMER member page to find out if your institution is a platinum member.
URBAN GRADUATE STUDENT FELLOWSHIP
Urban Graduate Fellowships will allow post-graduate students pursuing Master’s or Doctoral degrees to work with the WCMER and faculty from member institutions to conduct applied research, develop new or sharpen existing skills related to working in metropolitan communities, develop and / or pilot new programs, conduct feasibility studies for new programmatic areas, or co-author scholarly products.
Graduate fellowships may range from one quarter up to a full academic year including summer terms. Anyone is eligible to apply. Only participants from WCMER platinum member institutions will be eligible for stipends of up to $2,500. See the WCMER member page to find out if your institution is a member.
URBAN SABBATICAL FELLOWSHIP
Urban Sabbaticals allow community-engaged scholars to work with the WCMER and faculty from member institutions to conduct applied research, develop or sharpen skills related to working in metropolitan communities, develop and/or pilot new programs, conduct feasibility studies for new programmatic areas, or co-author scholarly products.
Sabbaticals may range from 2-12 months upon mutual agreement. Anyone is eligible to apply. Only participants from WCMER member institutions will be eligible for stipends of up to $5,000 for platinum members and $2,000 for silver members. See the WCMER member page to find out if your institution is a member.
Timeline
- June 15, 2023: Application period opens
- July 31, 2023: Application deadline (11:59 PDT)
- August 31, 2023: Awardees notified
- January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2024: Period of performance
- April 30, 2024: Final report detailing accomplishments and use of funds
How we Support our Fellows
We actively engaged in the success of these fellowships. Applicants should view them as collaborative agreements and not stand-alone research or program development funding.
To support our fellows, we provide:
- grant support for multi-university projects, including established master agreements with member institutions;
- staffing support for workshops, webinars, summits, or other activities associated with the project; and
- access to metropolitan communities across the nation through connections to member institutions and the National Urban Extension Leaders (NUEL) network to help expand the reach and impact of the fellowship.